5 successful cricketers who braved illnesses and disabilities

#3 Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi

Visual Impairment – It is also known as vision impairment or vision loss, is a decreased ability to see to a degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was probably one of the most charismatic captains India ever had, who led India to its first overseas Test series win in New Zealand back in 1968. Seven years prior to that in 1961, he was part of a car accident and a shard of glass went into his right eye and affected his vision.

He played cricket the rest of his career with the usage of a single eye which was indeed quite remarkable. To score a double-century with such complexities against a team like England is even more laudable. The ‘Tiger’ was a class apart from the others, and was burdened with the role of captaincy on his shoulders at a tender age of 21; he was the captain of India in 40 Tests out of the 46 he played in his career.

It was under him that the Indian cricket team was infused with an added self-belief that they could win against the toughest opponents. The bilateral Test series between India and England was named after the Legend a few years ago. The former ‘Nawab’ is still considered as ‘India’s greatest captain ever’.