|
saLT |
the-south-asian Life & Times Oct - Dec 2011 |
|
|||
|
Cover Story SALT
interviews
From
Battlefield to
|
|
||||
|
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi
– A
Distinguished Captain & A Sportsman To The Last By Roopa Bakshi
A stylish
individual, hero of many, a thorough gentleman, an intensely private person
– and a fine representative of the game of cricket, he was all this and
more. He exuded class on and off-field. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, known as
"Tiger", was one of India's most successful Test captains. He had a superb
career despite playing with impaired vision in his right eye as a result of
a car accident. He became
captain midway during the tour of the West Indies in 1962, when the captain,
Nari Contractor, suffered a severe head injury after being hit by the pace
bowler, Charlie Griffith, at a practice match in Barbados. At 21 Pataudi
became the youngest Test captain. He led India to
her first series win overseas, against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1968. Universally
popular, he possessed a great sense of humour. The 70-year-old
former Indian cricket captain passed away in New Delhi on September 22,
2011.
It is difficult to write an obituary of somebody one has never met – only
admired. The dashing and handsome ‘Tiger’ Pataudi was perhaps India’s first
sporting superstar. A star on and off-field, he did not have the arrogant
mannerisms of one, which endeared him to all. His aristocratic upbringing
and education brought out his best – modesty and a dignified bearing. He
belonged to an era when cricket was still a gentleman’s game and not the
cold-blooded billion-dollar industry it has now turned into. For my
generation, Pataudi and his team were our first introduction to the game of
cricket. We kids worshipped him (especially after his unbeaten 203
against England), our teenaged female cousins drooled over him, our parents,
uncles and aunts admired him, and grandparents loved him. Pataudi’s
flair for the game, his easy strokes and brilliant fielding ignited the
passion of cricket amongst us. It inspired a generation of cricketers to
come. Read the entire article in the print edition of The South Asian Life & Times subscribe@the-south-asian.com
|
|||||
|
Copyright © 2000 - 2011 [the-south-asian.com]. Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. |
|||||
