Palwankar Baloo
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Babaji Palwankar Baloo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
19 March 1876 Dharwad, India |
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| Died | 4 July 1955 (aged 79) Bombay, India |
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| Bowling style | Left-arm orthodox spin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | bowler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | BP Shivram (brother), P Ganpat (brother), P Vithal (brother), YB Palwankar (son) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1905–1921 | Hindus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First-class debut | 8 February 1906 Hindus v Europeans | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last First-class | 8 December 1920 Hindus v Parsees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 27 January 2009
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Babaji Palwankar Baloo (19 March 1876 – 4 July 1955), commonly known as Palwankar Baloo, was an Indian cricketer. He bowled left-arm orthodox spin with great accuracy and the ability to turn the ball both ways. He was also a moderately skilled lower-order batsman.
He was the first member of the Dalit (also known as the "Untouchable") caste to make a significant impact on the sport. Although being one of the finest cricketers of his time, he was never allowed to lead the team as a captain because of his so-called lower caste. However, in later years, his brother Palwankar Vithal was made captain of the Hindu team by the Hindu Gymkhana Club, which was seen as an impact of changing social situations in India.
Baloo was born in March 1876 in Dharwad. His father was employed in the army, and he either worked in an ammunition factory in Kirkee, or was a sepoy in the 112th Infantry Regiment. His family name of Palwankar came from his native village of Palwan. Being a Dalit, he faced discrimination prevalent in India at that time. (Guha 2002:86)
His first job was tending the pitch at a cricket club for Parsis in Poona, now known as Pune. He also occasionally bowled to the members, and was paid 3 Rupees a month. Around 1892, he moved to the Poona Club, a cricket club for Europeans, where his duties included rolling and sweeping the pitch, erecting the practice nets and occasionally marking the tennis courts. His salary increased to Rs.4 a month.
One of the Europeans, a Mr Tross, encouraged the young Baloo to bowl to him in the nets. His skill at slow left-arm bowling was enough to encourage other members to bat against him for practice, in particular the fine batsman Captain J.G.Greig. In time, he was bowling to them regularly, his bowling important practice for the club members. Despite bowling for hundreds of hours, Baloo later lamented that not once did any of the club members offer to allow him to bat—a role then considered the preserve of the aristocratic classes.(Guha 2002:90). An undocumented story states that he was paid 8 annas by JG Greig every time he dismissed him. Baloo thus perfected his bowling, spending hours in the nets bowling to the Europeans.
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