IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma and Co. wear black-armband to pay tribute to Padmakar Shivalkar - know everything about him

Rohit Sharma and team pay black-armband tribute to Padmakar Shivalkar. (ICC Photo)

Those watching the toss in the Champions Trophy semi-final between India and Australia in Dubai might have wondered why Rohit Sharma, India’s captain, was wearing a black armband. Later, when the team lined up for the national anthem, it would be seen that his teammates too had donned them.

The gesture was a tribute to Padmakar Shivalkar, the left-arm orthodox spinner who was a stalwart of Mumbai cricket for over two decades. Shivalkar, widely considered one of the greatest players never to be capped by India, was a cornerstone of the Mumbai teams that won the Ranji Trophy 15 seasons in a row in the 1960s and early 1970s. Unfortunately for him, and Rajinder Goel, another domestic titan, their careers overlapped with that of Bishan Singh Bedi, the master of the left-arm-spin craft.

In honour of the late Shri Padmakar Shivalkar, Team India is wearing black armbands today.
BCCI (@BCCI) March 4, 2025

Shivalkar’s fluid action and remarkable accuracy were greatly appreciated by his teammates, with Sunil Gavaskar among the first to pay tribute. “One of my regrets as India captain is not being able to convince the national selectors to include 'Paddy' in the Test team,” said Gavaskar. “He deserved the India cap far more than some others who got it. Thats fate.”

Who was Padmakar Shivalkar

After making his first-class debut in 1962, Shivalkar took 589 first-class wickets at an incredible average of 19.60 in 124 matches. As many as 361 of those wickets were in the Ranji Trophy. That included the scarcely believable figures of 13 for 34 in the 1972-73 final against Tamil Nadu at Chepauk, a match in which the home side were skittled for 80 and 61.

Also Read - India lose 14 consecutive tosses in ODIs, Rohit Sharma sets unwanted record in Champions Trophy semifinal vs Australia

In his later years, Shivalkar was a popular and greatly respected figure on the Mumbai cricket circuit. Bedi, for one, never hid his admiration for his contemporary, and the BCCI honoured him with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Shivalkar passed away on March 3, the day after Vibarbha won the Ranji Trophy against Kerala. The star of their campaign was Harsh Dubey, the left-arm spinner who broke the single-season record in the competition by taking 69 wickets. Dubey’s method? Left-arm orthodox spin. Shivalkar, like Bedi and Goel, may have passed on, but their craft is in safe hands.