Bal Dani

Hemachandra Tukaram 'Bal' Dani  pronunciation  (born 24 May 1933, Dudhani, Maharashtra – died 19 December 1999, Nashik, Maharashtra ) was an Indian Test cricketer.

Bal Dani was predominantly a right-handed batsman. He could also bowl medium pace bowler and later turned to off and leg breaks. His only Test match was against Pakistan in 1952/53. India won the game losing only for wickets, Dani did not get a chance to bat and took a single wicket. Only 19 at the time, his opening partner was the 41-year-old Lala Amarnath. He toured Pakistan in 1954/55 without appearing in a Test match.

He did his schooling at Rungta High School, Nashik. Contemporary cricketer Bapu Nadkarni also attended the same school. He held a B.A (Hons) degree. His early first class career was with Maharashtra but he moved to Services after joining the Indian Air Force in 1956. He rose to become an Air Commodore and retired in 1987.

He hit 15 centuries and took 200 wickets in his career. He captained Services for several years. He played most of his good cricket well after the end of Test career. After the retirement, he was the national selector from 1968 to 1975. He was the manager, selector and coach of Maharashtra Ranji Trophy side between 1989 and 1997. He was involved with the charity organisation Sneha Seva in Pune.

See also

• One Test Wonder

References

• Christopher Martin-Jenkins, The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers
• Dani's obituary
• Obituary in Pioneer

External links

• Cricinfo Profile
• Cricketarchive Profile