Don Bradman's famous baggy green gifted to Indian player in 1947 goes up for auction, could fetch in crores

A historic Baggy Green cap worn by legendary Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman has been put up for auction and is expected to fetch a huge price, possibly running into crores in Indian currency.

The cap, which Bradman wore during the 1947-48 Test series against India, is being auctioned by Lloyds Auctions. Bidding has opened at just one dollar, but experts believe the final amount could touch one million dollars.

Don Bradman is regarded as the greatest cricketer the game has ever seen. He scored 29 centuries in only 52 Test matches between 1928 and 1949 and retired with an astonishing batting average of 99.94, a record that remains unmatched even today.

‘Genuine piece of cricket history’

What makes this Baggy Green even more special is that Bradman personally gifted it to an Indian Test cricketer during India’s first-ever tour of Australia. The cap has stayed with the same family for over 75 years and has never been displayed publicly or put up for sale before.

“This is a genuine piece of cricket history that Sir Donald Bradman personally gifted. Its uninterrupted family ownership for 75 years and its direct link to ‘The Don’ make it one of the most important Bradman-related pieces to come to auction,” Lloyds Auctions Lee Hames was quoted as saying by AAP.

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The cap was reportedly gifted to Sriranga Wasudev Sohoni during the series that India lost 4-0. In Bradman’s era, Australian players wore a new Baggy Green cap for every Test series, unlike modern players who usually keep one cap throughout their career.

Bradman memorabilia has fetched big money in the past. His first Baggy Green cap from his 1928 debut series was sold for AUD 450,000 (Rs 2.7 crore approx) in 2020. However, the most expensive Baggy Green ever sold belonged to the late Shane Warne, whose cap was bought for over AUD 1 million (Rs 6 crore approx) to support bushfire relief efforts in Australia.