by Sumit Gangopadhyay
Naoomal Jaoomal Makhija was born in Karachi.
He played three Tests for India, the inaugural Test of 1932 and two more in 1933-34. In first-class cricket he scored 4140 runs with five hundreds and captured 108 wickets. He played Ranji Trophy mainly for Sindh and Bombay Quandrangular and Sindh Quadrangular for the Hindus.
He started his cricket with Sindh Quadrangular in 1924-25. In 1925-26 he attracted attention with 59 against the Muslims. Subsequently, he scored 48 against the Muslims in the next season, and also captured four wickets. Hence, in 1926-27 he was selected to play against Baluchistan in the Karachi team and hit a hundred. That season, he played for Hindu and the Rest combined side against the visiting MCC side and without blazing the turf, falling to Maurice Tate . But, playing for Karachi against the tourists, he hit 32 and 83. However, he did not get an opprtunity to play in the unofficial ‘Tests’.
Due to the Civil Disobedience Movement, the MCC side could not visit India to play Tests in 1930-31. Hence, Vizzy , the Maharajakumar of Vizianagram toured India with his own side. The Kumar’s side included Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe. Alongside there were CK Nayudu, Mushtaq Ali and Naoomal Jaoomal.
Playing for Vizzy’s team, Naoomal scored 201 runs including a highest of 91 and picked up six wickets in the first-class matches. In the matches not designated first-class, he scored 59 agaisnt Allahabad, a hundred against Ceylon and a half century apart from bagging some wickets against Ceylon Muslims.
Two trial matches were held before the epochal 1932 tour to England. Naoomal scored a hundred and a fifty and picked up seven wickets.
In England he captured just 17 wickets but scored more than 1200 runs. In the historic first ever Test played by India, he opened the innings with Janardan Navle and faced the first ball.
Son Hari Naoomal played for Karachi University. Naoomal himself stayed back in Pakistan after the partition, and performed the role of coach and selector of the Pakistan side. In 1971 he returned to India.
During the Jubilee Test of 1980, due to the absence of Ramaswamy, Jaoomal was fecilitated as the oldest cricketer. He passed away during that year.
Naoomal Jeoomal, perhaps the most magnificently named Indian cricketer, was born on April 17, 1904
Translated from Bengali by Arunabha Sengupta