Shah Nyalchand was an Indian Cricket player, played Ranji Trophy from pre independence times. He was born on 14th September 1915 in Dhrangadhra, Gujarat. He was an Indian Test cricketer, whose only test match was against Pakistan in Lucknow
(Uttar Pradesh). He was a left handed batsman and left arm medium bowler. His first class cricket spanned for 1939 to 1964.
Shah Nyalchand was schooled in Sir Ajitsinhji High School in Dhrangdhara in Gujarat. He worked as a draughtsman with the Public Works Department of Gujarat government at Rajkot District of Gujarat.
Shah Nyalchand was a left arm medium pace bowler. He was particularly effective on matting wickets in the test matches. His only Test match was against Pakistan at Lucknow in 1952 to 1953. He was the one person who was famed for using the matted wicket for a test in India. Shah Nyalchand returned the figures of 3 for 97. He was once described as the "king of matting wickets".
Batting Averages of Shah Nyalchand
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 | 6s | Ct | St | |
| Tests | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6* | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class | 57 | 91 | 36 | 420 | 33 | 7.63 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
Bowling Averages
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wickets | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
| Tests | 1 | 1 | 384 | 97 | 3 | 3-97 | 3-97 | 32.33 | 2 | 128 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class | 57 | 14419 | 5305 | 235 | 7-32 | 22.57 | 2 | 61.3 | 15 | 6 |
Shah Nyalchand played 24 seasons in Ranji Trophy. He played for Saurashtra Cricket Team, Gujarat. He captained Saurashtra Cricket Team for three seasons.
The most successful season of Shah Nyalchand was 1961 to 1962 when he took 27 wickets, including a split hat-trick against Maharashtra Cricket team. During this purple patch, he took ten wickets in three consecutive matches across two seasons. Apart from the Test, Shah Nyalchand appeared for a few times for zonal sides against visiting teams. He toured East Africa with the Sundar Cricket Club of Bombay (Mumbai) in the year 1957.
Shah Nyalchand did cricket coaching for a time. He was the recipient of an aid from the benefit fund of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) He died on January 4, 1997 in Junagadh District of Gujarat at the age of 77. His death was from a massive heart attack.
