Dicky Rutnagur
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Dicky Jamshed Sohrab Rutnagur (26 February 1931 – 20 June 2013) was an Indian sports journalist. He was cricket correspondent for the ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'' from 1958 to 1966, when he became a
freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
based in the UK. He covered
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
,
squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...
and
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' from 1966 to 2005. A
Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...
, he was born in
Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...
and was educated at
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. He then worked in the family business, which published the ''Indian Textile Journal''. He then began covering cricket matches as a freelance, writing for ''The Bharat'', a local sports paper, and then for daily newspapers. With
Anandji Dossa Anandji Jamnadas Dossa (September 15, 1916 – September 22, 2014, in New York City) was an Indian cricket statistician. He represented his school and Wilson college in inter-school and inter-collegiate cricket while growing up in Bombay. He was ...
, he co-edited ''The Indian Cricket-Field Annual'' throughout its life from 1957-8 to 1965-6. He first wrote for ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
'' in 1963, and his most recent piece appeared in the 2007 edition. He wrote two books, including a biography of squash legend
Jahangir Khan Jahangir Khan (Pashto, born 10 December 1963) is a former professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982–1991). He is widely regarded as the greatest squash player ...
. Encouraged to move to England by Ron Roberts, he joined ''The Daily Telegraph'', for whom he covered
county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...
from 1966 to 2005. According to his ''Wisden'' obituary, "a press box with Dicky in it was always full of cigarette smoke, chat and mischief, with whisky afterwards". He sometimes wrote for two national newspapers at the same time, as "Dilip Rao" when he wrote for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' and as "D.J. Rutnagur" when writing for ''The Daily Telegraph''. He was the only person to witness both of two cricketing feats: when
Garry Sobers The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, NH, AO, OCC (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a Barbadian born former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowle ...
hit six sixes in an over from Malcolm Nash in a
County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
match in Swansea in 1968 and, more than 16 years later, when
Ravi Shastri Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri (born 27 May 1962) is an Indian cricket commentator, former professional cricketer and head coach of the India national cricket team. As a player, he played for the India national cricket team between 1981 and 199 ...
did likewise, off Baroda slow left-armer Tilak Raj in a
Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...
game in Bombay. He died at the age of 82 on 20 June 2013 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
after a prolonged illness. He was the father of cricketer Richard Sohrab Rutnagur.


Books

*''Khans Unlimited: A History of Squash in Pakistan'', Oxford University Press, 1997, . *''Test Commentary'', India v England, 1976–77


Notes


References

*''Barclay's World of Cricket - 2nd Edition'', 1980, Collins Publishers, , p654. *''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 2007 edition, , p80. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutnagur, Dicky 1931 births 2013 deaths Cricket writers The Daily Telegraph people Indian sportswriters Indian sports journalists Parsi people from Mumbai Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century English businesspeople