Hussain set to dethrone Stewart

Nasser8217;s uncle, Raza Abid Hussain spoke at length to this paper within minutes of receiving a call from England from his brother, Raza Jawad Hussain Nasser8217;s father who informed him of the appointment.

Of course, Nasser is not the first Indian-born player to play for England. Back in the 1930s, Nawab of Pataudi sr turned out for the English team and was even part of the infamous Douglas Jardine8217;s team in the Bodyline8217;series from which he walked out protesting the captain8217;s tactics to stop Sir Don Bradman. Before him, Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji, too, represented England in Test cricket.

Nasser, the third of four children of Jawad Hussain, hails from a family of sportspersons. Jawad8217;s elder brother, Mohd Hussain represented erstwhile Madras in hockey as a right-half. Jawad himself played on the Madras University cricket team and also was the secretary of the Madras Cricket Club; the other brother, late Nawaz Hussain, captained the Madras University cricket team, according to Abid Hussain who played cricket at the college level.

Abid Hussain said that the family8217;s roots can be traced back to the Nawab Wallajah, the ruler of Karnatic during Robert Clive8217;s times. 8220;We are also related to Abdul Ali, the Prince of Arcot,8221; said Abid Hussain with a sense of pride.

Nasser was barely four years old when his family shifted to England where he went on to complete his graduation. His brothers, Meheryar and Abbas, too took tocricket, but were not as successful as Nasser has been. Nasser has a younger sister in Benazir.

8220;We are all happy for Nasser and yes, it is a proud moment for all of us,8221; said Abid Hussain.