‘Hero worship of cricketers began with Salim Durani saab’: Karsan Ghavri

I spent nearly 12-13 years playing against each other in Mumbai local cricket. When I came to Mumbai in 1970 to play for ACC, Times Shield used to be a prime tournament. And that time Salim bhai already enjoyed a cult status thanks to his performance in Kanga League and various tournaments. Fans used to chase him on and off the field jut to have a glimpse of him and what stood out was, he didn’t have an air about him that he was a big star. He could make friends within minutes..be it a groundsman, or a managing director of a corporate, he would treat everyone the same. He was one of a kind as in it is hard to search for a great cricketer and a human being like him. There was something genuine about Salim Saab. His popularity would remain unmatched forever.

Ahmedabad. Durani passed away Sunday morning at his Jamnagar house due to age-related ailments. (PTI Photo)

One particular innings I remember of him is the Test against Tony Lewis’ England in 1972 at the Brabourne Stadium. Even before the match began there was plenty of drama as Salim Saab was not named in the original 14-member India squad. And one week before the Test, there were protests in Bombay and Indian cricket has seen nothing like it before or after. Thousands of fans joined the protests and the mood was if Salim Saab is not there in the team, we will not let the Test happen in Bombay. Fans were threatening to lock up the stadium and the BCCI office.

I still remember, there were headlines on the front page of newspapers that screamed, “No Durani, No Test Match in Bombay.” Then BCCI eventually had to give in to the protest and Salim Saab was included as the 15th man. You thought this would diffuse the tension, but the Bombay’s cricketing public were adamant Salim Saab should play and he was included in the XI. He ended up scoring a brilliant 73 runs against that England side that had Deren Underwood. I still remember the event of the day as if it is yesterday. I was in the north stand and when even someone chanted ‘we want six’ Salim Saab would oblige. Whichever direction the chant came from, Salim Saab would respond with a six or a boundary.

This is what made Salim Saab a truly special figure and his admiration crossed borders. In 1977, during a tour of Australia, some of us had the opportunity to spend time with Sir Gary Sobers. And he spent a good amount of time talking about Salim Saab and passed on his wishes to him through us. And the message was this: “Greeting from a good player to a great player.” Where could you find such compliments?

Former cricketer Salim Durani is seen with Anil Kumble at an award function in Mumbai. (PTI File)

He was Indian cricket’s first Debonair, glamorous man. Alongside, Tiger Pataudi, ML Jaisimha, Abbas Ali Baig, Salim Saab was the biggest crowd puller. People used to come and watch just to see them play. Yes, we had some great players like Chandu Borde, Ajit Wadekar, Polly Umrigar, Bapu Nadkarni, but those four were the crowd pullers and the most sought after.

They had the spotlight on them all the time, but they never let it get into their head. Not everyone can handle the attention, but they did it so easily. And Salim Saab was the one who stood out even among the four. Just like how MS Dhoni was able to stand alone in a team that had Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Salim Saab was similar.

Given all the stuff he did, after retirement, Salim Saab was totally the opposite, choosing to remain in the background. He was in Mumbai for sometime after retirement, but after he moved to Jamnagar, where he lived in his ancestral place, that was it.

Today, when I think of all these memories of him, I can say for 100 per cent that India won’t see a cricketer like Salim Saab. Kapil Dev is probably the only one who could come close to him, but there is no comparison between the two. If we start numbering the great players India have produced, No 1 to 10 will be Salim Saab and at No 11 you can slot Kapil Dev followed by the rest. That was his class, on and off the field, match winner all the way. Nobody single-handedly win matches for you.

Take for instance, how well he played the Fab Four spinners — Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, S Venkataraghavan, Bagwan Chandrasekhar. He could play four-five shots for a particular ball. Today, batsmen have a better range thanks to T20 cricket, but Salim Saab had that range even before whiteball cricket came around. He could hit a delivery over extra-cover or mid-wicket or behind the square. He had so much time and often he would wait till the last moment and pick the place to hit and the bowlers’ reputation didn’t matter at all. Even the Fab Four were not spared in domestic cricket.

(Karsan Ghavri is a former Test cricketer, he spoke to Venkata Krishna B)