Shah Nyalchand
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| Full name | Nyalchand Sukhlal Shah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 September 1915 Dhrangadhra, British India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 3 January 1997 (aged 81) Junagadh, Gujarat, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Left-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Only Test (cap 63) | 23 October 1952 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 9 September 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shah Nyalchand ⓘ (14 September 1915 – 3 January 1997) was an Indian Test cricketer.[1][2]
Nyalchand was a left arm medium pace bowler who was particularly effective on matting wickets.[3] His only Test match was against Pakistan at Lucknow in 1952/53, which was one of only two occasions that a matting wicket was used for a Test in India. He returned figures of 3 for 97.[4] Frank Worrell once described Nyalchand as the 'king of matting wickets'.[3]
Nyalchand played 24 seasons of Ranji Trophy, half of which were for Saurashtra. He captained Saurashtra for three seasons. His most successful season was 1961/62 when he took 27 wickets, including a split hat-trick against Maharashtra. During this purple patch, he took ten wickets in three consecutive matches across two seasons. Apart from the Test, he appeared for a few times for zonal sides against visiting teams. He toured East Africa with the Sundar Cricket Club of Bombay in 1957.[3]
Nyalchand was schooled in Sir Ajitsinhji High School in Dhrangadhra. He worked as a draughtsman with the Public Works Department of Gujarat government at Rajkot.[3] He did cricket coaching for a time and was the recipient of an aid from the benefit fund of BCCI. His death was from a massive heart attack.
References
- ^ "Shah Nyalchand". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
- ^ Wisden 2025, p. 1461.
- ^ a b c d Mukherjee, Abhishek (14 September 2014). "Shah Nyalchand: India's matting-wicket specialist". Cricket Country. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "India vs Pakistan, 2nd Test at Lucknow, Oct 23 1952". Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
- Obituary in Indian Cricket 1998