Padmakar Shivalkar, a celebrated left-arm spinner considered among India’s finest cricketers who never played for the national team, has passed away at the age of 84. He died in Mumbai on Monday. He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
Shivalkar is often mentioned alongside Rajinder Goel, Haryana’s left-arm spinner and the highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy history, as both were unfortunate to have their careers overlap with Bishan Bedi.
Sunil Gavaskar shared a regret, stating that as the Indian team captain at the time, he couldn’t convince selectors to choose Goel and Shivalkar for India. He told The Hindu when the BCCI honored Goel and Shivalkar with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, “They were born in the same era as the greatest left-arm bowler I have seen, Mr. Bishan Singh Bedi. Otherwise, they too would have played many Tests for India.”
Padmakar Shivalkar (right) with fellow spin legend Erapalli Prasanna
Gavaskar and Shivalkar were teammates during Bombay’s (now Mumbai) golden era in Ranji Trophy. Shivalkar played in 10 of Bombay’s Ranji Trophy victories from 1965-66 to 1976-77, a period where they won every title except one. He also returned in 1980-81 to help reclaim the title and made another comeback at 47, playing two matches in the 1987-88 season.
Shivalkar’s first-class debut was in April 1962 for Cricket Club of India President’s XI against an International XI featuring cricket legends like Bob Simpson, Tom Graveney, Colin Cowdrey, Everton Weekes, Richie Benaud, and Sonny Ramadhin. In that match, he took 5 for 129 and 2 for 44 in a draw.
Throughout his career, Shivalkar claimed 589 wickets in 124 first-class matches at an average of 19.69, including 361 Ranji Trophy wickets, the most for a Mumbai bowler. His best performance was 8 for 16 in the 1972-73 final against Tamil Nadu, which Bombay won decisively.
V Ramnarayan, another skilled spinner from the 1970s who also missed out on playing for India, praised Shivalkar and Goel for their dependability. He noted that captains could rely on them and only needed to focus on supporting bowlers.
Ramnarayan described them as tireless bowlers with smooth, seemingly effortless actions, which were a result of their hard work in practice. He suggested that Shivalkar, with his flight and variations, might have been more effective on good wickets, while Goel was possibly more potent on deteriorating pitches.
Shivalkar’s preferred dismissal method, getting batsmen stumped, reflected his bowling style. He told The Cricket Monthly in 2017, “I used to enjoy getting the batsman stumped. With my command over the loop, batsmen would step out and get trapped, beaten and stumped.”
