Syed Abid Ali passes away at 83

Former India all-rounder Syed Abid Ali passed away on Wednesday, March 12, at the age of 83. Abid was an exceptional fielder and played 29 Tests for India.

He made his India debut in December 1967 in Adelaide, where he took 6-55 in the first innings with his medium pace. On the same tour, he scored 78 and 81 in Sydney. His Test career lasted until 1974, ending with 47 wickets and 1018 runs.

Abid opened both batting and bowling for India in seven of his 29 Tests. This included two away matches against New Zealand in February 1968, three against the same opposition at home in September and October 1969, and two on the tour of West Indies in February and April of 1971.

Sunil Gavaskar paid tribute to Abid, saying, "He was a lion-hearted cricketer who did anything the team needed… He loved the tip and run and when promoted up the order in my debut Test match, this tactic resulted in some overthrows which reduced the pressure considerably… He was a thorough gentleman with impeccable manners who spoke professorially."

Abid played only five ODIs, but three of those came in the first-ever men's ODI World Cup. In his last 50-over appearance, he scored a 98-ball 70 against New Zealand. He also had a first-class tally of 397 wickets and 8732 runs in 212 games, with a career-best score of 173*.