The Curious Case of Tiger Pataudi

THERE HAS BEEN much talk about MAK Pataudi and his legacy of late. The name of the Pataudi Trophy, awarded to the winners of the India-England series, is being changed to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, sparking a lot of debate across the cricketing world. Pataudi, however, was involved in another serious controversy ahead of India’s tour to England in 1971, one that has not been forgotten.

To this, we now turn.

Ahead of the 1971 tour to England, it was known that Pataudi and chairman of selectors Vijay Merchant did not get along and there was no option available to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to get the two of them to sit together and iron out differences. Based on Pataudi’s withdrawal from the West Indies touring team, several questions were asked during the rounds and in the absence of any real clarification coming from his end, the complications had grown in the days leading up to the team selection for England.

The Nawab, who enjoyed a cult following in the country, needed to come out and clarify if his decision to not tour the West Indies was prompted by the desire to save himself the embarrassment of having to play under Wadekar.

Was it because he had been removed from captaincy that he had decided to opt-out of the tour? Whether his decision to contest the Lok Sabha elections was a way to mask the real reasons for refusing to tour? Was he interested in politics or was it just an option to overcome the immediate scrutiny he was subjected to? Did Pataudi congratulate Wadekar on the series win and had he spoken to the players in the aftermath of the West Indies’ success? Was it not fitting for a former captain to do so and inspire the players ahead of a crucial English summer?

Finally, did he inform the selection committee of his unavailability for the West Indies series in advance, or did he wait for the captaincy announcement to make up his mind? Pataudi, who had very limited interaction with the press, had not provided answers to any of these questions. In hindsight, it can be said that his media strategy was wrong and his awkwardness in dealing with the press had added to the confusion. As former captain of India and as one with a huge following in the country, Pataudi could and should have handled the situation better and offered an explanation, which could have gone a long way to ending speculation.

With the pressure growing on him, he decided to address a press conference on June 2, 1971. While many expected he would make himself available for the England tour, what transpired was unexpected and shocking. In the press conference, Pataudi announced his decision to never again be part of an overseas tour for India citing paucity of time. While he would continue to play domestic cricket and turn up for Hyderabad, he was not available to tour England or any other country in future. Finally, in an interview with Sportsweek given two days after this stunning revelation, he explained his side of the story in detail. When asked if “paucity of time” was the real reason behind making himself unavailable, he said, “Business and domestic considerations, as I announced in the press conference the other day, are indeed behind my decision. I’m going into something new and just will not be able to find enough time for cricket abroad…Would it be enough for your readers if I were to say that I’m going into business in South India with my brother in law who is now in the US? Or that I may myself have to proceed to the UK shortly for a brief visit in that connection.”

When asked if the possibility of him not getting selected had influenced his decision-making, Pataudi was diplomatic. He said, “On the contrary, from all reports I thought I had an excellent chance of being included.” He went on to clarify that he did not mind playing under any captain and in domestic cricket he had played under Jaisimha, Venkataraghavan and Rajinder Pal and had given his best in every game. He was even willing to give in writing to BCCI and the selection committee but said that he would do so “at a proper time.”

Pataudi also clarified that he had sent a congratulatory cable to Wadekar at the end of the Trinidad Test match and had wished every The Curious Case of Tiger Pataudi How the Nawab’s refusal to play overseas stumped BCCI player he had met since the team’s return from the Caribbean. Because he was away in Bhopal for most of the time, he had not met all of them and this was something he was looking forward to doing sooner than later. That it was gradually getting to a situation where it could be projected as becoming Pataudi versus BCCI was evident when he was asked if he was disrespectful of some BCCI officials as had been alleged. To this question, his answer was both aggressive and dismissive. “I am not in the habit of addressing people, barring a few exceptions, as ‘Sir’ just because they happen to be in a position of influence. I don’t think that should indicate disrespect. Nor should it if I don’t jump to attention [as some people do] if I happen to be sitting after a hard knock either at nets or at a match. It’s all a matter of time, place and how you define ‘respect’ or rather ‘disrespect’. Besides respect has to be earned, not demanded.”

The Tiger Pataudi press conference, which deprived India of the services of one of its best players, did solve a major headache for BCCI and for Vijay Merchant. His withdrawal meant Merchant and his committee would not have to consider Pataudi’s name when they met to pick the Indian team for England. In fact, had he not clarified his position and had Merchant and Co not picked him for the team, there could have been a wave of criticism directed against the committee on charges of partisanship and discrimination. At no point after the press meet did Merchant or any of the committee members mull the option of requesting him to reconsider, yet again drawing attention to the growing divide between Pataudi and the members of the selection committee.

What is disturbing is the very little reportage on the Pataudi press conference. The Times of India, for example, published just one report on the issue in the first week of June leading to the selection committee meeting. Most other newspapers carried a solitary report of the press conference and no more. No one questioned why he was not asked to reconsider his decision and not one journalist argued that he had been pushed to a corner by the goings-on in the Board.

While it is difficult to understand the real reason behind the lack of coverage, it can be surmised that Pataudi’s lack of media engagement may have contributed to his loss of favour in the media. Yet again, the ultimate loser in this whole saga was Indian cricket.

circa 1967Cricket tourIndian cricketLord’sMansoor Ali Khan PataudiWeb Exclusive