Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives. In the mortal innings of Tiger Pataudi – aka Mansur Ali Khan – there is much to celebrate and yet even more that shall forever remain in the realm of fantasy. Indeed, he belongs to that rare breed for whom the measure of cruel numbers serves not to reveal but conceal the infinite possibilities extending beyond documented achievement.
For one who is arguably the greatest ever captain in Indian cricket history, the reins of leadership being entrusted to him at the innocent age of 21, scant months after a car accident had rendered visionless his right eye, such details as nine victories in 40 of the 46 Tests he served as leader and a batting average of 34.91 do little to infuse into his tale the romance of what could have been. In the unforgiving fields of international sport, where even the fittest struggle to survive, had fate not impeded Tiger’s eyesight, statistics would perforce have showered more favour on this fighter.
His is the story of a man denied binocular vision and therefore faced with the mirage of two balls seven inches apart when at the crease, was, the task of identifying the right red cherry to strike being left to the split-second reflexes of his mind and body; a man who had to necessarily reinvent his batting stance; a man with six Test centuries, including a double ton, and 16 fifties carved out against stifling adversity. Typifying Tiger’s spirit is a knock of 75 against Australia in Melbourne in 1967-68, scored not only with one eye but also one leg, a hamstring injury furthering the odds against him.
And his is as much the story of a man who never saw himself as a victim. Everybody has a challenge in life and irreparable damage to his optical faculties was his. And he rose to the challenge to emerge as a captivatingly heroic cricketer in the 1960-70s, his much-storied love affair and marriage with actress Sharmila Tagore adding to Tiger’s legend as a prince among men.
Where the word ‘Tiger’ represents an attitude as much as a name, descriptions of adventurous, fearless and regal are connatural accompaniments to the man that he was.
Audacious as batsman, daring as fielder and at once innovative and inspirational as leader, Tiger infused in his team-mates a trait that Indian cricket had till then denied itself. Self-belief. During an era when defeatism defined the collective mindset, Tiger rose above the rubble to break new ground, commandeering Team India to its first overseas Test, and series, triumph -- against New Zealand in 1967-68.
In that he defied the conservative norms of Indian batsmanship, using the lofted drive as a weapon of choice, and pioneered the strategy of attacking the opposition with three spinners, Tiger was a tactician ahead of his time. Paradoxically, as the youngest ever in international cricket to have assumed the responsibility of captaincy – a feat subsequently improved upon by Zimbabwean Tatenda Taibu in 2004 – Tiger was never groomed for the position, compulsion rather than choice forcing his elevation in Barbados in 1962 after designated skipper Nari Contractor was sentenced to hospital by a Charlie Griffith-inflicted head injury and senior members of the squad displayed reluctance to assume charge. If he succeeded in such demanding circumstances where few others would have, it is because Tiger lived by the mantra of exploiting strengths rather than protecting weaknesses and leading from the front. And to such a manner he was born.
As the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi, the successor of Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, who captained India in 1946 after having represented England earlier, Tiger – skipper of Sussex and Oxford University in his younger days – formed a rare combination Occidental gentility and Oriental flair. While the Pataudi Trophy acknowledges the contribution of his family to two nations with a colonial connection, it is unfortunate that Tiger, reduced to a silent spectator, was subjected to a never-ending wait on the podium at the post-match presentation after the Oval Test even as the ECB deemed it appropriate that Andrew Strauss and his men should first receive the Npower (sponsor) Trophy for the series win against India.
Much as he remained a voice of authority despite never casting himself in an active administrative role, cricket would appear to have not accorded to Tiger his due. That the lung infection that eventually consumed him assumed menacing proportions subsequent to his return from England is a dimension that accentuates this irony.
And yet, few can claim to have served the game with greater dignity in the post-retirement chapter of their lives. Subsequent to his last hurrah – against the visiting Caribbean team in 1975 – this visionary assumed the varied avatars of editor (of the now defunct Sportsworld), TV commentator, match referee (1993-96), BCCI consultant and IPL governing council member – a role he relinquished in October 2010, bowing out as the only member of the panel to accept his failure in being more questioning of decisions taken.
As we face our own mortality, let’s pause and think of Tiger Pataudi and the legacy he has left behind.Farewell, fighter.