Anant Dhondu Solkar (19 September 1951 – 26 May 2024) was an Indian first-class cricketer. He was the younger brother of Test cricketer Eknath Solkar.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anant Dhondu Solkar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 September 1951 Pawas, Bombay State, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 May 2024 (aged 72) Bandra, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off break | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Eknath Solkar (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972/73–1975/76 | Railways | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976/77–1980/81 | Maharashtra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 18 March 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Life and career
editBorn on 19 September 1951 in Pawas, Maharashtra, Solkar played as a bowling all-rounder who batted right-handed and bowled off spin. He had five siblings (including Eknath Solkar) and his father was a groundsman at the Hindu Gymkhana in Bombay.[1] In a Harris Shield match in 1968, he scored 396 and took 6/28. This is regarded as the best all-round performance in school cricket.[2] He made his first-class debut in the 1972/73 season for Railways and, in the same season, registered his career-best bowling figures of 8/100 in a Ranji match against Delhi. He switched to his home state team Maharashtra in the 1976/77 season and represented it for five seasons. After getting dropped from the team, he quit playing cricket on the advice of his elder brother Eknath Solkar.[2] He finished with 26 first-class appearances in which he took 63 wickets at an average of 23.96.[3]
After his cricket career, Solkar became an alcohol addict. He recollects, "I don’t know what happened. There was nothing left in my life after cricket. I was slowly becoming addicted to it. My day would start and end with it." In 1986, his 15-year-old daughter died of blood cancer. Solkar, who was employed with Tata Electric, quit his job in 1987.[2] He came out of his alcohol addiction in 2007,[4] and worked as an umpire in local matches between 2001 and 2009. He then started to coach young cricketers free of cost in Mumbai.[2]
Solkar died on 26 May 2024, at the age of 72.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Eknath Solkar". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d Joshi, Harit N (2 November 2014). "After battling alcohol addiction, Eknath Solkar's brother now coaching young cricketers". Mid Day. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ "Anant Solkar". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ Thyagarajan, Roshan (7 January 2016). "The Tondulkars and Solkars who burned brightest and faded away". Wisden India. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ Gupta, Gaurav (26 May 2024). "Eknath Solkar's brother Anant passes away". Times of India. Retrieved 29 May 2024.