Naushir Mehta, also spelled as Noshir Mehta, is a former Indian first-class

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 ...

er who played for

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

as an

off break Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to ...

bowler between 1967/68 and 1976/77. In 2014, he completed 50 years in his playing career.

Career

Mehta started as a fast bowler before he switched to bowling right-arm

. Having started playing cricket at the age of 16 in 1964 for Secunderabad Union Cricket Club, Mehta represented Hyderabad at the first-class level for ten seasons starting from 1967/68. His father

Sorabji Mehta Sorabji Mehta (1904 – 2 May 1988) was an Indian cricketer. He played 22 first-class cricket, first-class matches for Hyderabad cricket team, Hyderabad between 1937 and 1953. He also played first-class cricket for the Parsees cricket team, ...

, who played first-class cricket for Hyderabad and Parsees in the 1930s and 1940s, was also the chairman of the

Hyderabad Cricket Association Hyderabad Cricket Association is the governing body of cricket activities in Hyderabad and other districts in the state of Telangana in India and the Hyderabad cricket team. It is an affiliated member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India ...

(HCA). Mehta and Mumtaz Hussain formed a successful spin pair for Hyderabad in the early 1970s. Mehta took 29 wickets at an average of 13.55 in the

1970–71 Ranji Trophy The 1970–71 Ranji Trophy was the 37th season of the Ranji Trophy. Bombay won their 13th title in a row defeating Maharashtra in the final. A proposal to promote two teams from the zonal leagues to the knockout stage was made Maharashtra in th ...

and 34 wickets at 16.55 in the

1971–72 Ranji Trophy The 1971–72 Ranji Trophy was the 38th season of the Ranji Trophy. Bombay won their 14th title in a row defeating Bengal in the final. Highlights *Bengal was captained in the final by former Indian football captain Chuni Goswami Subimal " ...

including four

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Takin ...

s and one

ten-wicket haul In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

. In the same season, he played for Rest of India against an Indian XI and took the wickets of Indian Test captain

Ajit Wadekar Ajit Laxman Wadekar (; 1 April 1941 – 15 August 2018) was an Indian international cricketer who played for the Indian national team between 1966 and 1974. Described as an "aggressive batsman", Wadekar made his first-class debut in 1958, ...

, opener

Ashok Mankad Ashok Mulvantrai Mankad (12 October 1946 – 1 August 2008) was an Indian cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he played for India in 22 Test matches. Ashok Mankad was born in a Vadnagra Nagar Brahmin family as the eldest son of Vinoo Man ...

and

Syed Abid Ali Syed Abid Ali (9 September 1941 – 12 March 2025) was an all-rounder Indian cricketer who was a lower-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler. He also played an important role in Indian cricket in the 1960s and '70s. Early life Abid Ali att ...

. He also played first-class cricket for Hyderabad Cricket Association XI and Andhra Chief Minister's XI, apart from South Zone, during his career. Although Mehta played his last first-class match in the 1976/77 season, he continued to play the game in the local leagues. In November 2014, he completed 50 years in his playing career. At the time he was working as a spin bowling coach for the HCA Academy of Excellence. He also appeared in a brief role in the 2005 cricket-themed Bollywood film ''

Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Naushir Living people Indian cricketers Hyderabad cricketers South Zone cricketers Indian cricket coaches 1940s births Parsi people Year of birth missing (living people)