Prince Salim passes away at 88

Salim Durani, the cricketer who was the apple of eye for Indians during the 60s and early 70s breathed his last at 88. Once upon a time he was the Prince of Indian Cricket. However, very few people knew that he lived in Gujarat's Jamnagar with very modest facilities. Despite the age factor, Salim was still very charming and candid till his last days. Salim was the first cricketer to win the Arjuna Award.
Salim’s nephew Shabbir who lived with him said, “Salim uncle fell at home last month, after which he was operated for a leg fracture. He had almost recovered from that, but fell sick 10 days ago. For the last 10 days he was bed-ridden and passed away on Sunday morning. My father and his two brothers including Salim uncle all live together in a joint family in our Jamnagar home.”
Salim was born in Afghanistan. To commemorate this fact, he was also invited to the first historical test between India and Afghanistan in Bengaluru. His family shifted to Pakistan from Kabul when he was 3. After partition he and his mother chose India as homeland.
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar had given the title of 'Prince Salim' to him for being well known for his deeds with a very big heart. Salim was the most favourite among the audience as he is known to be the only cricketer in the history who hit 'Sixes on Demand'. On six to seven instances, it happened that the audience sitting in the stands cheerfully demanded for a 'six' and Salim immediately responded by hitting a 'six'. This made him the most popular cricketer among the audience in those days.
Favourite moment
Salim has had several achievements in his cricketing career, but, according to him, his favorite moment of life was when he was selected to play for the Indian team at the age of 24. Salim represented India from 1960 to 1973, during which he played 29 test matches as an all rounder. He has also played 170 first class matches for Saurashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan cricket teams.
The highlight of the career for Salim came in 1972-73, when he was dropped from the playing eleven in the fourth test against England in Kanpur. However, people protested his dropping with slogans 'No Durani. No Test'. So much so that the board had to include him in the fifth and final test in Mumbai.
Bollywood
Salim also starred in a Bollywood movie as a lead actor alongside Parveen Babi. Not only that, he has also coached Salman Khan when he was a kid. Salim used to take an autorickshaw for transit as he could not afford a car for himself. But, as a true sportsman he used to say that I don't have a car, as I don't drive. Salim was fond of meeting people and he invariably tried to meet all visitors to his residence in Jamnagar.