Pataudi was a much misunderstood man: Nadkarni

Veteran lower order batsman remembers Pataudi as a bit reserved,though a brilliant player.

Former left-arm spinner and handy lower order batsman Bapu Nadkarni said that former India skipper Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi,who died in the capital due to lung infection,was 8220;a much misunderstood man8221; during his playing days because of his aloofness.

8220;He was a much misunderstood man. His handicap was he did not know many players in the team as he had come from England where he was an Oxford Blue. He was a loner,but he was a good man,8221; said Nadkarni,who was among the seniors whom Pataudi had captained.

Pataudi was pitchforked into captaining the Indian team which had seniors like Polly Umrigar,Vijay Manjrekar and Nadkarni in it,when tour skipper Nari Contractor suffered a near-fatal skull injury in the early part of the disastrous series in the West Indies in 1962.

Contractor was felled by a nasty ball from Charlie Griffith in the game against Barbados at the Kensington Oval and battled for his life as the 21-year-old Pataudi took over the team8217;s reins.

The team was drubbed 5-0,two of them by an innings,by the mighty West Indies side led by Frank Worrell.

Nadkarni said what amazes him even now is how Pataudi,whose father Iftekhar Ali also captained India on the 1946 tour of England after having represented that country earlier in Tests against Australia,could play cricket at the highest level so well even with the sort of physical handicaps he had.

8220;In those days international cricket was of a very high level and what amazes me is how he could carry on with three handicaps 8211; he had one eye the other having been lost in a car accident in England,one effective shoulder and one effective thigh 8211; and play so well,8221; said Nadkarni.

Story continues below this ad

8220;I still remember some of his fine innings,the 80-plus he made at Melbourne on the 1968 tour against Australian fast bowler Graham McEnzie,the knock 103 he made on a turning track at Chepauk Chennai against England led by Ted Dexter before the West Indies tour and the double hundred 203 not out he made at Delhi against MCC led by Mike Smith in 1964,8221; recalled Nadkarni.

Asked about Pataudi as a captain,Nadkarni said he was the first captain to instill a belief among the Indian players that foreign teams could be beaten. 8220;That was the legacy he left behind,8221; remarked Nadkarni about Pataudi,who led the team to its first overseas Test series victory in 1968 in New Zealand.

Chandu Borde,who was Pataudi8217;s deputy on the 1968 visit to Australia,described the death of his former captain as 8220;shocking8221;. 8220;It came as a shock to me,8221; said Borde who described the departed player as someone with a great sense of humour.

8220;We all thought at first he was a very reserved man after having been brought up in the UK but later on came to realise he was a fantastic guy with a great sense of humour,8221; said Borde.

Story continues below this ad

8220;On that tour to Australia there was a late night party and he wanted to play a practical joke. He told me to come up to him during the party and ask when was he going back to India for his wife8217;s birthday and I did so. Next day there was a heading in the newspaper. He was that kind of a man,8221; said Borde with a laugh.

8220;Also on that tour of the West Indies in 1962 he and Dicky Rutnagur journalist played a practical joke on the others at Montego Bay where we were staying by saying a hurricane was on the anvil and we should all close all windows. Everyone did so and they enjoyed the joke,8221; he recollected.

Borde also said that when Pataudi took over as captain on the ill-fated Caribbean tour he had quite a few seniors playing under him but always gave them respect and also asked them for guidance. 8220;When he took over he was very young and there were seniors in the team like Polly,Bapu,Manjrekar,myself and Jai M L Jaisimha. But he always respected us and asked us what to do on the field,8221; said Borde.

Borde,who once captained the Indian squad in a Test in England in 1967 when Pataudi could not play,said that he was an outstanding fielder which was the reason for the nick-name he got 8211; Tiger.

Story continues below this ad

8220;I saw him fielding for Oxford in England before his eye injury. He was so brilliant on the field. No wonder he got the nickname 8211;Tiger,8221; Borde recalled.

8220;He was well respected not only in India but also in other countries. He was also the first batsman to loft the ball when we were of the old school. Jai followed his example later,8221; he remembered.

Borde also recollected that the team led by Rahul Dravid in 2007 in England,in which he was the manager,had lifted the inaugural 8220;Pataudi8221; Trophy.

Former captain Contractor also offered his condolences to Pataudi8217;s family. 8220;My association with Pataudi was very brief. He did not play in the first two Tests and the tour match in West Indies and then I got injured,8221; Contractor said.

Story continues below this ad

Prior to the tour when the vice captain had to be named the choice was between Polly,Chandu and the Nawab and he was preferred as Polly was to retire after the tour,according to Contractor. 8220;He was a great fielder,better than any one else in the current Indian team. Whatever he did,he did well till he was thrown out by the casting vote of selection panel chairman Vijay Merchant. He was a gutsy cricketer. He did well as captain,batsman and fielder,8221; he summed up.

8220;It8217;s really sad this Pataudi8217;s death happened at his age,8221; Contractor concluded.

Former captain Ajit Wadekar,who made his debut under Pataudi against the West Indies in 1966-67 in Mumbai. 8220;It8217;s very sad. It8217;s too early to go. He was the greatest captain and a great batsman. He supported me when Madhav Mantri proposed my name to be in the Indian team against the West Indies led by Garfield Sobers. He trusted me. We became good friends,8221; said Wadekar.

Wadekar had benefited when Pataudi was stripped of his captaincy by chairman Merchant8217;s casting vote when the skipper was named for the 1971 West Indies tour.

Story continues below this ad

Wadekar also recalled the hours before he was named as the captain when he and Pataudi had a conversation to support each other8217;s names for inclusion in the team if one of them became the captain. 8220;I jocularly told him during nets at the Cricket Club of India to see that I am in the team if he was named the captain. I never thought I was in the running as I thought the fight was between him and Chandu Borde,8221; said Wadekar.

8220;He also asked me to support his inclusion in the team if I was made the captain. Afterwards he agreed to play under me when I was named the skipper. But the next morning he called me and said he was dropping out of the tour as he wanted to concentrate on his entry into politics for 2-3 years,8221; Wadekar said.

8220;He was a great batsman with one eye only to guide him. The way he batted was great. I still remember his innings at Melbourne and how he belted McEnzie on that wet wicket with a hamstring injury. I was his runner,8221; he said.