Indian cricket icons and former skippers have described the demise of former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as a “terrible loss to cricketing world” which would be hard to fill.
Ajit Wadekar: It's very sad. (It's) too early to go. He was the greatest captain and a great batsman. He supported me when Madhav Mantri proposed my name to be in the Indian team against the West Indies (led by Garfield Sobers). He trusted me. We became good friends.
Sunil Gavaskar: This is very sad news indeed. Only a few weeks ago we saw him in England at the presentation of the Pataudi Trophy and he looked his usual self. Therefore to get this news is a shock.
Tiger Pataudi was the most charismatic cricketer of his generation. To bat with almost zero vision in one eye and still to score nearly 3000 runs and half a dozen centuries in Test cricket tells you what a genius he was.
He will be terribly missed and it's a huge loss to the game of cricket.
Gundappa Viswanath: This is terrible news, he brought me up and guided me. I can't even express myself, it is one of my saddest days. He was a great human being, a great cricketer, a great fielder, shrewd captain, it is really sad.
Dilip Vengsarkar: He was an “innovative” captain who had won many matches for the country.
He was a great player, fantastic captain and an outstanding fielder. We are going to miss him.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth: It is a great loss for Indian cricket. He played an aggressive brand of cricket. He was very friendly and a fun-loving person, he had a very subtle and good sense of humour.
His greatest quality was the way he hit those sixes. He was called Tiger because of his extraordinary fielding at covers. He lost one eye but still went on to score so many runs.
One thing I like to inculcate from him is his determination and aggressiveness.
Sachin Tendulkar: It's a terrible loss to the cricketing world. I had the privilege of meeting him on a few occasions.
World cricket will miss a hero like him. I really respected him.
Sourav Ganguly: I am extremely saddened hearing the news about Pataudi passing away. My heartfelt condolence to his family and may his soul rest in peace. I had known him personally and even met him a few times. There was lot of class and dignity about the man.
The most positive thing about him was that he was very honest and always had the good of Indian cricket at heart.
Rahul Dravid: It is a sad day for Indian cricket, he was an inspiration for us. I never had the chance of seeing him play but I always heard how big an impact he made on the game. I had the chance of interacting with him on various issues.
He was extremely knowledgeable, he deeply cared about the Indian team. It is such a loss not only for his family and friends but also for Indian cricket.
Anil Kumble: It's a very sad day for Indian cricket. I knew him personally and I also knew his family. We used to communicate on and off. He was veryclose to the players especially when we started the players' union.
Keywords: tiger Pataudi, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Pataudi death
It is a great loss to Indian Cricket.It is also unfortunate that BCCI could not use his talent and vast cricket experience properly. If they tried, we could have seen another 'Tiger'in Indian Cricket.
NONE can replace the loss,TIGER was one and only one of its kind.The best captain and fielder and had the privilege of being compared to Bradman,which itself speaks volumes of his batting prowess.He had his say even in the selection and gave Indian team players like Solkar,Vishy, Mohinder and the spin quartet.He was a true leader,was not limited by the state boundaries like some of his predecessors.His forth right attitude was a hallmark of his selfless nature.A true champion is no more, but will always be missed and cherished.
Like the cricketing board, even the press is boycotting Kapil Dev is it? Did you even bother to contact the man?
Cricketers and fans all over the world will miss Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. I have always enjoyed and admired his fielding capabilities. Pataudi's death is a great loss to Indian cricket. My condolenses to his family specially his wife Sharmila Tagore.
It is a big loss to Indian Cricket. I recall watching Pataudi make 147 in Pune in an Irani trophy match. What stood out was his 11 sixers , some really towering into the stands. His fielding in the covers. I think he was a trend setter in terms of charisma , fielding and attacking batting. He would have been an ideal ODI player in the modern game.
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