He scored six hundreds and seventeen fifties, always in precarious circumstances because pretty much all of India’s circumstances at the time seemed that way. He fielded either in the covers or the gully, taking 27 catches over the course of his career and that counts as fine an achievement as any. The Nawab led India to nine test match victories without a frontline pace bowler. Prasanna, Chandrashekhar, Bedi and Venkatraghvan were called upon and used expertly to work over any side in pretty much any condition. More importantly, he galvanized the team by employing tactics designed to attack instead of defending. This style of leadership lead India to overseas glory, most notably a Test series win in New Zealand in 1968. India went from a team trying to avoid defeat to a team trying to win.
The Nawab brought professionalism to India’s cricketing set up. Fielding, till then regarded as an optional extra among other skills on the ground, developed leaps and bounds under his stewardship. He employed the services of translators in the dressing room to ensure adequate communication amongst all the players. This was a particularly challenging issue since about 250 languages were spoken in India at the time. His blatant disregard for anybody whose claim to a place in the team was royalty and not merit was a refreshing change. And no the irony was most definitely not lost on him.
The Nawab had his indulgences. He wore a silk shirt on to the field of play, rebuffing the traditional flannels, at a time when such an act would have invoked disciplinary action against any other man. But which brave soul might dare step in the way of the man with such an exalted and boisterous vision for Indian cricket? He toured the world accompanied by two aides-de-camp, dispatching aghast contemporaries in his wake at a time when his team mates were allegedly caught shoplifting. His courtship of a noted movie star involved regular flights across continents at a time when frequent flyer miles didn’t lead to discounts.
The man we remember is the lanky yet robust one-eyed captain who led India to monumental performances and occasional victories. He overcame his own demons and then those of his team. He brought ingenuity and innovation to the lackluster domestic set up and inspired a generation. He might not be the best cricketer to have ever played, but he certainly is the bravest.
I can say this on behalf of myself and my erstwhile colleagues that without Tiger Pataudi at the helm, we might not have realised our true potential. – Bishan Singh Bedi
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