The Only Parsi to Be in Pakistan Test Squad is No More

Rusi Dinshaw, the only Parsi to  have ever been selected in a Pakistan Test squad, has passed away quietly and his death in tragic circumstances has brought  into sharp focus the failure of the PCB to look after its  former players.      

Dinshaw, an 86 year-old man in need of proper care and  support, was suffering from schizophrenia. He breathed his last here Monday.      

Dinshaw a stylish left-handed batsman and left arm  spinner who was a member of the Pakistan Test squad that first  toured India in 1952-53 was reduced to begging at the Karachi Parsi Institute and at some traffic signals in the city before  his death.      

"It is very sad to hear about the plight of Rusi Dinshaw  because while he may not have actually played a Test match but  he had the honour of being in Pakistan's first Test squad and  is an important part of Pakistan cricket's history," former  Test captain Aamir Sohail said.      

Relatives of Dinshaw said that in the 60s he had began to  show signs of depression and was diagnosed with schizophrenia  and the electric shock treatment prevalent in those days broke  his spirit.      

"He used to come to the Karachi Parsi Institute ground  every day and ask people for money and just shuffle around  asking visitors for five and ten rupees. I have seen his prime  and it is a tragedy that no one from Pakistan cricket  including, the Board, ever bothered to provide him any medical  care or financial support," the head curator at the KPI for  last many decades, Hussain said.

Dinshaw, who came to Pakistan after partition, has the  honor of scoring a double hundred in the Ruby Shield schools  tournament in Kolkata and also in 1946 he led Karachi  University to victory against Bombay University to win the  Maharaja Kumar of Kutch/Bihar Trophy.      

"He later represented Sindh and Karachi and was a good  batsman. I was pretty close to him and over the years seeing  his plight it really hurt me," Pakistan's former Test captain,  Hanif Muhammad said.      

Hanif and Dinshaw toured India together in 1952-53.      

"I remember when we were introduced to the then Indian  President, Dr Rajendra Prasad he specially asked about the young Parsi batsman," Hanif said.      

Sohail said that people like Dinshaw were heroes for Pakistan cricket and it was unfortunate the PCB or government  never bothered to pay due respect to such figures.      

Former test leg-spinner, Abdul Qadir noted that Dinshaw was not the first Pakistani player who had got such treatment.      

"It is sad to hear about the circumstances in which Rusi Dinshaw lived but I recall how our former Test bowler Mahmood  Hussain also spent his final days when he didn't even have  proper slippers and no one bothered to support him," Qadir  said.

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