A baggy green cap worn by Sir Donald Bradman in Australia’s 1947‑48 Test series against India has sold for approximately Tk 3.90 cr, setting a record for a cap worn by the legendary Australian batter.
Bradman had given the cap to Indian cricketer Sriranga Wasudev Sohoni, whose family looked after it for 75 years. The cap had never been on public display before the auction.
The baggy green is awarded to Australian players for Test cricket. In Bradman’s era, players received a new cap for each series. Today, Test debutants are given a single cap which they keep throughout their careers.
“That’s over three generations under lock and key,” said Lee Hames, chief operating officer of Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers. “If you were a family member you were only allowed to look at it when you were 16‑years‑old for five minutes.”
The cap was sold to an anonymous bidder. After the 16.5 per cent buyer’s premium of A$75,900 (approximately Tk 64.5 lakh) is added, the total comes to around Tk 4.55 cr. The cap is expected to be displayed in an Australian museum.
The cap, with “D.G. Bradman” and “S.W. Sohoni” inscribed inside, is in good condition. It surpasses the previous record for a Bradman cap from the same series, sold in 2024 despite sun fading and insect damage, which fetched Tk 4.07 cr including buyer’s premium.
Bradman, who died in 2001 aged 92, is widely regarded as cricket’s greatest batter, averaging 99.94 across 52 Test matches.
The 1947‑48 series was his last at home. He scored 715 runs in six innings at an average of 178.75, including three centuries, a double hundred and his 100th first‑class ton, as Australia won 4‑0. The series also marked India’s first tour as an independent nation.
