Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi: The one-eyed 'Tiger'

A few days back when I was speaking to my cricket fanatic grandfather, I mentioned that Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was not well and was admitted to the hospital. My grandfather, though little concerned at first, immediately said “Don’t worry , Tiger will fight it out“. He was confident that he will be fine, for he had followed closely the career of the man who was one of India’s most courageous cricketers. When I heard the news of the great man’s passing, I felt that some kind of void was created in me. I felt like I had lost someone close, someone I had known for years, and for a few hours I was completely saddened and in a state where I could not interact with anyone. I never saw Tiger Pataudi play, nor have I met him in person. But I grew up listening to vivid accounts of him from my grandfather who always said that if not for Tiger, Indian cricket would never be as successful as it is now. Even today, he maintains that Tiger Pataudi was the greatest captain the nation has ever seen. On the sad occasion of his passing, here is my tribute to a man who was one of the first superstars of Indian cricket and a true prince on and off the field.

Born in a Royal family in 1941, the Nawab of Pataudi lost his father at very young age of 11, and did his schooling in England. He started playing cricket at a young age and was marked down as one of the most talented cricketers in the world during his time at Oxford. But before he could make his mark at the highest level, he met with an unfortunate accident which left him with double vision. Due to the serious injuries he suffered during the accident, many expected him to not play cricket ever again, but the courageous man that Pataudi was, he arose and followed his passion and astonishingly made his debut for India a few months later. He later in an interview said,

“I lost sight in an eye but didn’t lose sight of my ambition.”

At the age of 21, Pataudi became the Indian team captain when Nari Contractor was felled by a Charlie Griffith bouncer and sent to the hospital while no one amongst the seniors were ready to take up the mantle against the mighty West Indies. India lost the series 5-0, but the era of Pataudi had begun.Pataudi believed that the team should play to its strength, so instead of trying to find am opening bowler, he fielded spinners in his team, and hence came to prominence the famous spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkatraghavan who were immensely successful under the progressive captain . His theory of captaincy was interesting and simple. According to him, captaincy was either pulling from the front or pushing from behind. He considered himself to be a pusher, someone who got the best out of his team, even though he was not the best amongst them. Citing examples such as Don Bradman , Gary Sobers who were pullers and led the team from the front, Tiger believed that people like Mike Brearley and Illingworth were pushers, who were not the best players in their teams but still excellent captains.

Pataudi believed in playing the game the right way. Once in a match, Bapu Nadkarni was adjudged leg before but the batsman adamantly stood his ground, refusing to leave the crease. The fair man that Tiger was, he became furious and screamed at Nadkarni from the pavilion “Come on that’s Enough”. This respect for the right way of playing the game won him many admirers, most notable of whom was in his own team, Bishan Singh Bedi, who said that he was lucky to have a captain who believed in playing the game right.

He led India to its first victory on foreign soil against New Zealand, winning the series 3-1. Even though his overall record of captaincy was not great, the way he captained the side is something people talk about even today. His style was to always attack and look to win the game even in situations when playing for a draw was the best viable option.

Tiger Pataudi driving through the covers was a treat to the eyes.

Pataudi the batsman, from what his records suggest, was not the best in the business. Due to his accident, he had problems with his vision. He may have scored a lot of runs if not for his troubled eyes, thus goes the popular belief amongst those who saw him play. Once when he was asked by a journalist about how he played with one eye, Pataudi replied, “I see two balls. I hit the one on the inside.”. Even with his impaired vision, he played some wonderful knocks. In one famous innings at the MCG, he played with one eye and one leg, for he had suffered a hamstring pull, but he still attacked the Australians courageously on a grassy wicket which prompted the former player Lindsay Hassett to say “That’s the way Bradman used to attack the bowling.”.

He scored 203 at Delhi against England, and his knock of 148 at Headingly against an English side which had the likes of John Snow, Ken Higgs, Robin Hobbs and Ray Illingworth in the ranks, is considered to be one of his finest knocks. Seeing him carve such innings of such character often prompted people to wonder how well Tiger Pataudi would have fared as a batsman had he not been visually impaired.

A man who didn’t personally like being called ‘Tiger’, the name so widely associated with him, Pataudi was a unique character. He was well educated and believed that cricketers should know the history of the game and respect it. He was humorous and was known to play pranks on his fellow team mates. He had a charm about him which was lacking in his fellow players of that generation. The way he walked, the way he talked; all displayed a man of immense self-confidence. Tiger treated all men as equals and always picked players to his side on pure merit. A man who had zero tolerance for excuses, he was also a gentleman who accepted victory and defeat with equal grace.

Pataudi considered himself lucky to be born in a royal family, but he earned the respect of the world through his game and and well-mannered nature. He was a visionary, who wanted to build a team for the future as a captain. We will never have another Nawab of Pataudi, most probably will never have a captain at the age of 21 . This wonderful human being named Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi will be remembered for his great contributions in taking Indian cricket forward through his progressive tactics. He will be remembered as the Tiger who played with one eye.

Edited by Zico