He arrived on the scene like a shooting star. He sparkled briefly but faded away too quickly. Narendra Hirwani will forever be remembered for his memorable debut against the West Indies but his struggles later on restricted him to just 17 Tests.
Hirwani moved to Indore and he was under the guidance of former Madhya Pradesh cricketer Sanjay Jagdale. Hirwani made his first class debut for Madhya Pradesh at the age of 16 and he immediately impressed with a five wicket haul. From then on, he performed consistently and during the three Test U-19 series against Australia, he took 23 wickets. During the U-25 series against the West Indies, he picked up six wickets in the second innings and he was selected for the home series against the West Indies and this played a huge part in his selection for the Indian team against West Indies in the 1987/88 series.
Hirwani made his debut in the fourth and final Test of the series in Chennai. On a pitch which assisted the spinners, Hirwani proved to be unplayable. He ran through the West Indies batting and picked up 8/61. He repeated the dose in the second innings and picked up 8/75 to help India level the series 1-1. His match haul of 16/136 broke Bob Massie's record for the best figures by a bowler on Test debut and the record stands even today.
Further success came to Hirwani during New Zealand's tour to India. In three Tests, he picked up 20 wickets, including 6/59 in the second innings of the Bangalore Test. Hirwani also played a vital role in ODIs. During the tri-series in Sharjah featuring Sri Lanka and New Zealand, Hirwani picked up 10 wickets in three games, including 4/46 in the final against New Zealand to win the trophy. He was chosen as the Man of the series.
From then on, Hirwani was in the midst of a slump. In the tours to West Indies and England, Hirwani struggled for penetration. With the emergence of Anil Kumble, Hirwani's days in the Indian team were numbered and he drifted in and out of the squad. Hirwani played his last Test against South Africa in Kolkata in 1996 but he continued to contribute immensely on the domestic scene. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2005/06. He had picked up 732 wickets in first-class cricket, including 400 wickets for Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. Following his retirement, Hirwani was appointed in the national selection panel in 2008 until a different committee took over in 2013-14.
by Siddharth Vishwanathan