Indian cricket legend Salim Durani dies at 88

New Delhi: Salim Durani, the debonair India cricketer of the 1960s with a movie star looks, a puckish sense of humour, and a penchant for hitting monstrous sixes on demand, died on Sunday.

He was 88.

His death was confirmed by sources close to the family.

He had been living with his younger brother, Jahangir Durani, in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Durani had undergone a proximal femoral nail surgery after he broke his thigh bone in a fall in January this year.

The Kabul-born Durani, who packed a punch with his bat and was also a handy left-arm orthodox bowler, played 29 Tests and was instrumental in India defeating England 2-0 in the historic five-match Test series in 1961-62, picking up eight and 10 wickets in the team's victories at Calcutta and Madras.

Durani, known for his fine dressing style and swagger, scored just one century though he had seven fifties in the 50 innings he played for the country, scoring 1,202 runs.

A decade after the epic triumph against England, he played a key role in helping India to victory against the West Indies in Port of Spain, dismissing both Clive Lloyd and Sir Garfield Sobers.

The star cricketer also dabbled in Bollywood, starring opposite renowned actor Praveen Babi in the movie Charitra in 1973.

Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman took Twitter to pay homage to Durani and said India’s first Arjuna Award winning cricketer and a man who hit sixes on public demand, Salim Durani.

India’s first Arjuna Award winning cricketer and a man who hit sixes on public demand, Salim Durani.



Om Shanti. Heartfelt Condolences to his family , friends and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/AcJKjMBKaH

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) April 2, 2023

An aggressive left handed batsman, who could demolish the best of bowlers and who acquired the reputation of hitting sixes on demand, Durrani in full flow was a joy to watch. But it was as a bowler that he first made his mark in Indian cricket. He ambled in to bowl with a lazy action but the best of his deliveries beggared description. For Durrani, having delivered the ball from his great height could make the ball lift and turn.

Durrani bowled India to victory over England in 1961-62, successively picking up eight and ten wickets in the country's triumphs at Calcutta and Madras. 

Almost ten years later he helped shaped another notable victory - this time over West Indies at Port of Spain - by dismissing Clive Lloyd and Gary Sobers, the latter for a duck. His only century in Tests was against West Indies in 1962. 

Durrani had a special rapport with the spectators, who once agitated, when he was inexplicably dropped for the Kanpur Test in 1973, with placards and slogans like ``No Durrani, no Test''.