Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
TIGER
MASTER OF UNDERSTATEMENT
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi would have turned 80 yesterday, but he left us a little over nine years ago. Encomiums poured in for the courage that enabled him to play at the highest level despite losing his vision in one of his eyes, his heroic batting exploits on the numerous occasions he triumphed over his disability, his tactical nous as captain of India, and above all, his two major contributions to Indian cricket: the upliftment of fielding standards; and the expulsion of the scourge of regionalism in the team.
There was an inspirational if somewhat unsubtle scene in the
Hindi movie Chak De India, in which the coach played by Shahrukh Khan tells the
Indian women’s hockey team that they are all India players, not representatives
of Maharashtra, Bihar, Bengal or Haryana. Anyone familiar with Indian cricket
of the 1960s can easily relate to this scene. It was Pataudi who first spoke
those words unequivocally almost as soon as he took charge as captain. He set a
personal example by insisting on the best combination being selected no matter
where the players emerged from. Yes, he did have his favourites—who,
incidentally, all performed—but no one could accuse him of regional bias.
He set high standards as a fielder, proving quicker, more athletic, and
accurate (with his brilliant throws) than the youngest members of his team. He
demanded bruised knees and turf-stained trousers and shirts from his boys—even
if it meant some of them had to incur exorbitant laundry charges as the diving,
sliding nawab was known to borrow gear from his teammates after arriving
nonchalantly flannel-less at the ground!
Ajit Wadekar was rightly credited with masterminding India’s
first overseas series wins against West Indies and England, both in 1971.
Tiger Pataudi led India to its first Test series victory abroad—by a convincing
3-1 margin over New Zealand in 1968, after top batsman Graham Dowling
(239) and fast bowler Gary Bartlett (6 for 38) had sent the Indians hurtling to
a crushing defeat in the second Test at Christchurch. He not only scored
consistently, but inspired his colleagues to do their best as well. All rounder
Rusi Surti was his faithful lieutenant and tireless soldier, Wadekar scored the only Test hundred of his
career during that series, and EAS Prasanna added 24 more scalps to his
impressive 25 Australian victims in the first half of that twin tour. The eight-Test
campaign proved that India could compete well abroad. Except for one match,
India put up a gallant fight in all four Tests in Australia, though she lost
0-4. The captain, who missed the first Test through a hamstring injury, came in
for high praise from the Australian press for his outstanding batting in the
series "on one good leg and with one good eye."
Back in India, the home team gave several anxious moments to the
touring Australians before the visitors eventually prevailed. The tour by New
Zealand that followed perhaps proved Pataudi's undoing as captain. Though it
was never officially stated, it was believed
that chairman of selectors Vijay Merchant bludgeoned his way (with his
casting vote) through the meeting that deposed Pataudi and anointed Ajit
Wadekar India's new captain because he had been dissatisfied with the
discipline standards of the team that season. While Pataudi was believed to be
no admirer of Vijay Merchant the man, he had huge respect for his batting—and
Bombay cricket in general.
Declining invitations to tour abroad again,
Tiger made an impressive comeback against England in the 1972-73 season at
captain Wadekar's express request, and eventually came back as India captain
when Wadekar announced his retirement, hounded by critics after India's
disastrous 1974 tour of England. The rest is history, with Pataudi entering his
best phase as captain, despite failing abjectly as batsman against the fiery
West Indies attack. India fought back after being two down against the mighty
West Indies to draw level at 2-2, but was trounced by the tourists, with
skipper Clive Lloyd (242) going on a rampage.
Tiger's greatest contribution as India's
captain was perhaps the forging of the famed spin quartet and virtually
inventing the awesome close-in cordon that was to become the template for many
future teams. He was known to favour the Bedi-Prasanna-Chandrasekhar trio, but
once said that the fourth spinner S Venkataraghavan would have been a permanent
member of his eleven as an all rounder had he paid more attention to batting
for which he had considerable talent.
Pataudi's work ethic was unquestionable, but he
owed allegiance to an old-fashioned school of thought that believed that what a
player did off the field or what hours he kept during match days was entirely
his business, so long as he remained match-fit, and delivered on the ground. A
whole generation of cricketers could have performed better than they did had
there been greater monitoring of their regimen by the team management. India
might have emerged sooner as a strong force in world cricket..
Pataudi who never bragged about his
achievements was self-deprecatory to a fault. Any underlying sadness about what
might have been had he not lost an eye in a car accident was hidden away from
the public. He bore personal loss and sorrow stoically, often with a smile. He
was a champion of young talent, and many stars benefited from his kindly gaze.
GR Viswanath, BS Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar and EAS Prasanna were among those he
spotted early, when he was himself not much older than they. He left his home
cricket team of Delhi to join his friend ML Jaisimha in the Hyderabad team, and
became an honorary 'southerner' in Indian cricket. Crowds in this part of the
world loved him. So did his Hyderabad and South Zone teammates, as well as his
rivals in the zone. In his last innings at Chepauk, he signed off in great
style with 198 against Tamil Nadu in the 1975-'76 season. Few in the 30,000
strong crowd knew it was his farewell knock. Nor did the 21 others who played
the match along with him. After all, he was the ultimate master of
understatement.