“I am very grateful to be a part of the journey together as I was born in 1947. The good fortune of being born in 1947 is that soon after independence, India was still finding its feet and we were part of the journey. As school children, as collegians. I was fortunate enough to be brought up traditionally in Calcutta (as Kolkata was known at the time). I still feel that the 1960s was the time I grew up. Calcutta was the most important city in India in those days. Calcutta was quite a princely state in those days. I loved being a part of the culture. Calcutta was always culture-wise art-wise and sports-wise. I felt very privileged,” recalled Doshi.
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He also reflected on how independent India has evolved over the years: “Although I don’t consciously think so, it stems from the way you grew up. I think India has given the world a lot over thousands of years. I don’t just look at industrial development,” Doshi said, “We compare our country to other developed countries, to a large extent. We have to move forward as a country. Industrially developed countries should realize their mistakes. Happens. Look at global warming, processed foods and mechanized life. People are going back to square one now. I’ve lived in England for 30 years and people are changing. People are watching yoga, breathing . There has to be a balance.”
One of India’s defining moments in cricket in the 74 years of independence is the 1983 World Cup victory under Kapil Dev, by which time Doshi had played the last of his 15 ODIs (22 wickets) for the country.
Asked what he finds to be the defining moment in Indian cricket, Doshi said: “It is a progressive thing. If you have to pay attention to a few moments, I am not going to take the 1983 World Cup win as the only moment. For me, this is one of the moments. For me the real cricket is Test cricket. One day cricket is good. The 1983 World Cup was a success because we had very confident Test cricketers in it; He was no ordinary cricketer. For me, the development was very progressive. We withdrew because of some failure in our own system, regional bias. One of the pinnacles of Indian cricket was the last Test series win in Australia (2-1 in 2020-21), beating Australia on the way down. It was one of the biggest wins of all time. If you look at Indian cricket, on different occasions people have won and the team won and made us feel that we can do it. If we can make it consistent in the 2000s under the leadership of Kohli and Sourav Ganguly, then people stand up and say, ‘Hey, this is a world class team’. Consistency is the name of the game. “
And being a proud Indian, Doshi had full faith in the future of the country. “I think as Indians we should realize that we have been the melting pot of the world for thousands of years. There are all kinds of races and races in our country that you cannot even imagine. Such is the beauty of the earth. That people have made India their home. We need to think beyond religion, beyond all other aspects of life, look at the country and respect each other completely. We need to tolerate each other. The need is, be comfortable with each other. I am not saying we are not, but we need to aim more towards that. India should come before anything else.”
Describing the future of Indian cricket, Doshi issued a warning: “We need to take care of some important things. The youth and parents have to be educated and made to understand that Test cricket is the nursery of the whole game. Playing cricket with the right approach, technique and attitude is the most important thing, which I am slowly but steadily missing out on, as you look at the Indian Premier League, and the short form of the game becomes an ambition for the youth. , which is sad. . I want them to emulate great Test cricketers, succeed in first-class games. This is where I would like the BCCI to take the first class more seriously than ever.
Doshi is one of those rare cricketers who fought against the odds, made a mark in their chosen sport and played the game with pride and determination to bowl the team to victory. He had to compete with a certain Bishan Singh Bedi before making his way into the Indian Test team three months before his 32nd birthday in 1979.
And in the four years that his Test career lasted, he played 33 Tests, taking 114 wickets at an average of 30.71, with six five-wicket hauls and a best of 6/102. Taking more than 100 Test wickets in those days was rare and those figures figured prominently, and so did Doshi in world cricket. He was instrumental in some of India’s Test victories, the most prominent being a 1–1 loss to the three-Test series in Melbourne in February 1981, playing with a broken leg.
Doshi made his mark in Indian domestic cricket for Bengal and East Zone, as well as for Nottinghamshire and later for Warwickshire in the English county circuit, taking wickets by bagfuls with his left-arm spin. Interestingly, Doshi played for India before playing the Irani Cup (played between Ranji Trophy champions and Rest of India), although it was not under his control. “It was a challenge for me to survive but I had the passion to play cricket, represent India and be good. I tried to improve at every level, and it’s a great satisfaction when other people recognize and appreciate you,” Doshi said.
One such accolade and recognition came from none other than West Indies’ Garfield Sobers, who is the greatest all-rounder to ever play the game. Doshi recalled how the turning point in his career came: “My real success came in England when Sir Garfield Sobers recommended me to Nottinghamshire (mid-1970s). It was a fairy tale to me as the world’s greatest.” Cricketer who had no idea about this boy from Calcutta, saw me bowling and recommended me to Nottinghamshire. It was just an incredible way of life. Of course, I want to play county cricket, hone my talent, experience was able to achieve and play against the best players in the world. In those days county cricket was a different cup of tea. The best players in the world were playing there. I know many cricketers who were competing to play there but they Never got a chance. As a non-Test cricketer, I was very privileged. And being an Indian spinner I got the opportunity. I am a fan of England cricket and its system to allow me to participate and prove my talent. Thank you very much.”
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Such was Doshi’s brilliance as a left-arm spinner that as he entered his 30s, he was picking up piles of wickets that he could not be kept out for long. He said: “I enjoyed the game, loved the game. Nothing ever disappointed me. If I didn’t bowl well, I looked at it and analyzed it. It was always a dream to play for India. There were many great cricketers like Rajinder Goyal and Padmakar Shivalkar who never played for India. I was lucky that I got success. When you keep playing, you are improving your skills. In those days as a bowler you were expected to bowl from one end and win matches. The fact that I continued to perform at the highest professional level in England also tilted the balance in my favour. “
The Indian team, led by Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, registered back-to-back Test victories in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Doshi knows what it means to win a Test in Australia, he was instrumental in leveling the three-Test series 1-1 in one of India’s famous victories in Melbourne in 1980–81. Doshi’s bowling figures in this Test were 3/109 in 52 overs in the first innings and 2/33 in 22 overs as India won by 59 runs, defending a small target of 143. Kapil Dev took painkillers for his thigh injury. 5/28 with incredible support by Doshi at the other end.
Doshi was determined to play this Test and contribute to India’s victory despite a leg injury.
In his own words: “This is the most satisfying Test match of my career because we didn’t win often in Australia. Even the recent series win in Australia has come after ages. Winning overseas was very foreign to us. Every time you have a chance, that too in Australia, was a big deal. Also, it was a three-Test series, and it was almost unheard of to come back and square off. I broke my leg on 1st February 1981 and the test started on 7th February. After the X-ray, the doctor said that I should not walk at all and I need to rest. I was determined to play and said, ‘I have to play, we have to win. That was the hunch, felt in my heart. I was bowling well. With a piece of luck and blessings, I could have won the match. I felt that I had to play an important role. the rest is history. I didn’t leave the field even for a second. The biggest satisfaction was watching the series square off. “
Doshi’s skills were such that even the legendary Australian captain-turned-television commentator, Richie Benaud, had the view on Channel 9 that if Doshi bowled to the best of his ability and spread a web around Australia, India would win that Test. And so it happened. “Imagine the pressure of bowling with a broken leg, managing the workload and living up to the expectations of many. I was playing for my own satisfaction. it was very big. I feel blessed to be able to do this, it was for my team and country, and nothing bigger has happened,” Doshi said.
Doshi’s limited overs representation for the country was limited, but he had memorable outings, including a 3/32 on his ODI debut in Melbourne in 1980, and also took 8 overs, 7 maidens, 1 run, 1 wicket for Nottinghamshire against Northampton. There were some unimaginable figures. Man-of-the-match performances of 6/48 for a World XI led by John Player League and Clive Lloyd in 1977 and a full England against Viv Richards, Richard Hadlee, Sunil Gavaskar, Clive Rice, Zaheer Abbas and Malcolm Marshall. XI in Bristol in 1980.
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