Sachin Tendulkar may be the greatest batsman in the world, and Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid some of India’s greatest achievers in cricket, but there can be little argument about who has been Indian cricket’s most charismatic player and captain. The vote for that distinction easily goes to the late Mansur Ali Khan (Tiger) Pataudi, born on 5 January 1941 at the city of Bhopal.
Of Maharaja Ranjitsinghji, the Jamsaheb of Nawanagar, it was said that he was the prince of a small state but the king of a great game. The same might have applied to the erstwhile Nawab of Pataudi, who first captained India in 1962, nine years before the Indian government abolished the Privy Purse enjoyed by the heads of the country’s princely states. The son of Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, who scored a hundred on debut for England and later captained India, was so gifted that his Oxford University and Sussex peers expected him to develop into one of the greatest batsmen in the world. Unfortunately, that was not to be, as Pataudi Jr. lost vision in one eye in a car accident before he turned 21. By his own admission — in his autobiography Tiger’s Tale — he had to be content after that to be known as a good not great batsman.
That Tiger Pataudi at all played cricket after losing an eye was a miracle, but he went on not only to play international cricket again, but was India’s leading batsman for a number of years in the 1960s. Appointed vice-captain for the West Indies tour of 1962 with a view to grooming him for a future leadership role, he was pitchforked into captaincy when he had to take over from his grievously injured captain Nari Contractor. At 21, he was the youngest captain in Test history. With generous support and guidance from senior players in the side, he gradually grew in confidence, and earned a reputation as a positive, inspiring captain, though he was criticised early in his career as a defensive captain. He led by example and instilled in Indian cricketers national pride and self-confidence to a degree not known before. He made them believe that India could beat Englishmen and Australians at their own game.
After a very impressive series at home against Australia, Tiger faced his first challenge abroad in England in 1967. Though India lost the England series 3-0, they did put up a fight, with Tiger's 64 and 148 in the second Test earning him the sobriquet “His Excellence the Nawab of Headingley.” He showed his teammates that they could do battle with courage even in alien, hostile conditions. India again lost the next series in Australia 4-0, but each Test match was closely fought, with Pataudi playing many fighting innings despite a serious hamstring injury.
A tour of New Zealand followed, and Pataudi became the first Indian captain to lead the country to a series victory abroad. It was again a creditable performance by the team, as the weather was cold and the playing conditions were extremely tough.
Back in India, Pataudi’s men lost 1-3 a series which they had a good chance of levelling 2-2 for the major part of the fifth and final Test at Madras, with a dream spell of bowling by off-spinner EAS Prasanna raising Indian hopes, before he missed a chance or two and a typically gallant rearguard action by Australia resulted in victory for the tourists.
A poor series against the touring New Zealand team followed, leading to Pataudi falling out of favour with the selection committee and losing the captaincy. Though still a part of the selectors’ plans as a player, Pataudi declined the offer to tour West Indies under the leadership of new captain Ajit Wadekar. In fact, though he made a comeback to Test cricket again, he made himself unavailable for tours abroad.
Ajit Wadekar led India to its first victories over West Indies and England in those countries. Soon after India beat West Indies 1-0, it defeated England by the same margin.
Back in India, Wadekar, a protégé of Pataudi like many other players of outstanding talent, insisted on having his former captain back in the team, and Pataudi returned to the side and played a couple of very good innings against England in the 1972-73 home series.
Ironically, Wadekar was forced into retirement after India made a disastrous tour of England in 1974, and the captaincy went back to Pataudi. The home series against Clive Lloyd's West Indies was a thrilling one, with India fighting back to level the series after losing the first two Tests, and eventually losing 2-3 after the final Test at Bombay. Pataudi's captaincy, now experienced and mature, came in for a great deal of praise, but his batting form sank to an all-time low, with his impaired vision now deteriorating to such an alarming extent that he had trouble seeing the express deliveries of the fearsome West Indies fast bowlers. He too announced his retirement at the end of the series, confiding to his friends that he did not wish to get killed on a cricket ground. It was the end of a distinguished international cricket career during which the bouquets he earned far outnumbered the brickbats that came his way.
As a batsman, Pataudi never rose to the great heights he was expected as a young prodigy at Oxford, following in the footsteps of his illustrious father who died on Mansur’s fifth birthday in a polo accident. His considerable if not consistent batting exploits with one good eye however earned him the respect of his teammates and opponents worldwide. He was a brilliant fielder, setting high standards for his men, and motivating them into improving their showing in the department. As a captain, he was responsible for knitting the team together as one unit representing India, and ending the ills of regionalism that used to plague Indian cricket before his time. He was a great spotter of young talent responsible for the induction of many a good player earlier ignored by the selectors for reasons other than merit.
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi came to the south from Delhi after raising his voice against the maladministration of the cricket association there. Delhi’s loss was Hyderabad’s gain. Tiger’s sisters lived in the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad in the Deccan, and he transferred there in 1966 to play all his future first class cricket under the captaincy of his friend ML Jaisimha, a member of Pataudi’s India eleven on many an occasion. During the Pataudi era, some fine southern cricketers like Viswanath, Prasanna and Chandrasekhar, who otherwise might have been overlooked, became established in the Indian team and made it a strong outfit. The introduction of meritocracy was perhaps Pataudi’s greatest contribution to Indian cricket.
Greatly respected for his views on cricket after his playing days, Mansur Ali Khan succumbed to a lung ailment on 22 September 2011, survived by his film star wife Sharmila Tagore, and three children. His son Saif Ali Khan is a leading Hindi film actor and his daughter Soha too is a Hindi film actor, while another daughter Saba is a jewellery designer. His passing away was greatly mourned by the cricket world.