Ajit Agarkar made his international debut in 1998, four years after India’s 1993 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev bid adieu to the game of fame. He was regarded as the Men in Blue’s answer to a fast bowling all-rounder. Agarkar had all the ingredients needed to become the country’s next fast bowling all-round sensation – a genuine match-winner with the ball and a handy lower-order batsman – but he never became a long-lasting mix between himself Get it Batting and bowling performance.
Agarkar’s entry into international cricket was like an avalanche as he became the fastest bowler to take fifty wickets in ODIs at that time. While he broke one record after another during the said time with the ball, his batting career declined as he was dismissed for seven consecutive Test ducks against Australia.
But, he was not a tailender, as it was not possible for tailenders to score a 21-ball fifty in ODIs as he did against Zimbabwe in 2000. Two years later, Agarkar showed his batting performance again by scoring a breath-taking century against England at the prestigious Lord’s Stadium against the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Matthew James Hoggard and Ashley Fraser Giles.
During the later phase of his career, Agarkar became an ODI specialist and was India’s best bowler during the 2005–06 season. However, he was dropped from the India team due to his disappointing performance in the World Cup.
He finished his career as India’s third high-wicket-taker in ODIs with 288 scalps in 191 matches. He is behind only Anil Kumble (334 wickets) and Javagal Srinath (315 wickets). He was also the fastest player to score 1000 runs and take 200 wickets in ODIs in terms of number of games played.
After a successful home season, Agarkar was called up in India’s squad during the tri-series against Australia in 1998 and made an immediate impact. He finished the tri-series as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. He was also a part of India’s 1998 World Cup squad but did not appear in every game as his form declined.
Six years after his debut, Agarkar bowled the best spell of his career at the MCG in 2004, when he took six for 42. However, his valor went in vain as India lost the said ODI to Australia. A year later, he turned the clock once again with a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the Pune ODI.
Agarkar’s best performance with the bat in ODIs came in 2002 when he scored 95 against West Indies batting at number three.
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