Salim Durani would spend all his money on his friends: Anshuman Gaekwad

While former Indian cricketer and coach Anshuman Gaekwad played in only one domestic match against Salim Durani, who passed away on Sunday, Durani remains one of his favourite cricketers. Talking to us about the kind of cricketer and person Durani was, Gaekwad tells us, “While Salim had played a lot of cricket with my father (former Indian captain DK Gaekwad), he was very friendly with juniors like me.He was a large-hearted person and would spend all his money on his friends. In those days, we would have benefit matches for players in Sharjah and we used to get a big amount (USD 35,000). When Salim got to know that he would be the beneficiary of one such match, he took a loan from his friends by showing that letter. After that, he took about 10 of his friends to Sharjah. Back then, quality electronic goods weren’t easily available in India. He took care of all the expenses (their boarding and lodging) and even bought a lot of electronic goods for his friends. Once they were back in Bombay (now Mumbai), they were left with no money to even pay the customs duty and all those goods were confiscated. So, Salim ’s Sharjah benefit match earnings were spent entirely on his friends! That’s the kind of person he was-he never cared for money and once he had money in his pocket, he would spend it all on his loved ones.”
Gaekwad adds, “As a cricketer, he was a genius who was born to play cricket. I played just one competitive match against him. It was a Duleep Trophy match and watching his lazy run up, I thought he would be an easy bowler to face. He was at the fag end of his career and I didn’t have any trouble while facing the first three balls. But on the fourth one, he produced an unplayable delivery and I was bowled. Later, when I asked him about it, he just laughed and said, “You should never take it easy when you are playing.” That lesson stayed with me for the rest of my career. Once, when he was not selected in the Indian team for a test match (in Kanpur), there were posters saying, ‘No Durani, no test.’ That’s the kind of popularity he enjoyed, and the selectors were forced to pick him in the team for the next match. Due to the kind of person he was, he enjoyed a lot of goodwill and whether it was Mumbai, Kolkata or any other city, he would go and stay with his friends for months, and they would be happy to host him. He was a thorough gentleman who was soft-spoken and humble, and I used to meet him every time I went to Jamnagar. I will really miss him.”