XtraTime Web Desk: Very few will remember the three match ODI series between India and West Indies at Toronto Skating and Curling club. A young cricketer from Baroda was handed the India cap alongside Chris Gayle and Corey Collymore. Jacob Martin went on to play for only 10 ODIs for the country. Martin, who led Baroda for its first ever Ranji Trophy title against Railways in 2001 was born on this day in 1972.
Jacob Martin has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit. In his 138 first class appearances, Martin has scored 9192 runs at a healthy average of 46.65. In a career spanning for almost two decades, Martin scored 23 first class hundreds.
He burst into limelight during the 1998-99 Ranji Trophy seasons when he piled 1000 runs. Following which he was called for national duty. He made his debut against West Indies in Toronto in 1999 and was also selected for the tour of Australia which followed.
In what turned out to be a tough tour for India, Martin showed glimpses of his potential. His knock (39) against Pakistan during the tri-series at WACA showed tremendous grit and temperament. Following that tri-series his international career took a nose dive. He was dropped from the Indian team. It took a while for him to make a comeback into the Indian team for the ri series in South Africa in 2001. Unfortunately, he only played a couple of games against Kenya. He didn’t get the chance to wear the India cap again. He decided to hand his boots after the 2008-09 seasons.
Martin made headlines for wrong reason as he was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on April 27,2011 in connection with a 2003 human-trafficking case. The case, registered at the Indira Gandhi International Airport police station, alleged that Martin had taken a youth to the UK on the pretext of playing cricket there in exchange for money.
The issue came to notice, according to a PTI report, when one Nimesh Kumar was found travelling with a fake passport. He subsequently disclosed that his trip had been arranged with the help of Martin and an associate for a sum of Rs 7 lakh. Martin was later released on bail.
He had a life threatening road accident in December 2018 and was in ventilator. He suffered several injuries to his lung and liver and had to resort to life support system. After being in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for almost a month, he was discharged from the hospital.
The cricketing fraternity came forward to support his treatment after his family went through a financial crisis owing to the increasing medical expenses for his treatment. Past and present India cricketers including Sourav Ganguly, KL Rahul, Krunal Pandya, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Kiran More and Yusuf Pathan were a few names who came forward to support Martin.