Hyderabad cricket has been synonymous with talent and flair

April 15, 2017 03:15 pm | Updated April 16, 2017 08:09 am IST

The High Court, accepting the results of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) elections, has appointed two administrators to the association. While this news seems dry on the surface, it comes during a critical phase in State’s cricket administration.

The HCA can potentially use the court ruling as a springboard to prioritise efficient administration and again make Hyderabad a pool of unique talent that brings its own flair to Indian cricket. Will it happen? The reason for this apprehension is the recent decision of the new committee. When it met in early April, the committee terminated the services of all the coaching and support staff.

Having watched and covered cricket matches for several decades, I can firmly say that no cricket association has produced as many players with talent and flair as Hyderabad has. From M.L. Jaisimha, Pataudi , Abbas Ali Baig, Abid Ali to Mohammad Azharuddin and V.V.S. Laxman, all were top performers.

From Pataudi, who brought his own swagger to the role of Indian captaincy, to Laxman, whose lazy elegance brought India some memorable Test wins, Hyderabad has been a big contributor to Indian cricket. A big part of this in Hyderabad cricket was Jaisimha. Through his experience and mentoring, he laid the foundation for the careers of many talented Hyderabadi cricketers.

Jaisimha during his playing days was a shrewd leader. During the 1971 tour to West Indies under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar, Jaisimha significantly contributed to the strategy of the team and helped make Wadekar more effective.

A more telling fact of the strength of Hyderabad cricket during the 1971 tours to West Indies and England was that though players from Mumbai flooded the National side, there five Hyderabad players in the dressing room.

Many top talents from Hyderabad cricket have been unfortunate to miss out on representing India. Medium-pacer Govindraj was part of the above tours but didn’t get a chance to play a Test. Another lanky pacer Habib Khan, who could move the ball both ways, was also unfortunate not to play for India.

In the spin department, Ghulam Ahmed was one of the best. Bowling with Vinoo Mankad and Subhash Gupte, he excelled in international matches. Left-armers Mumtaz Hussain and Venkatapathy Raju were outstanding examples.

Mumtaz Hussain, with subtle variations of chinaman and googly (in 69 FC matches he took 213 wickets at an average of 19.59), mesmerised top quality batsmen but couldn’t break into a South Zone team that had Chandrashekhar, Prasanna and Venkataraghavan.

The most impressive of the lot was Shivlal Yadav. As a teenager in the 1976 BCCI Hemu Adhikari camp, at the Brabourne Stadium, he looked very impressive though another off-spinner Kanwaljit Singh was equally good. Arshad Ayub, preferred by India captain Dilip Vengsarkar for his fast off-breaks, did a decent job too.

There were two other off-spinners — Noshir Mehta and V. Ramnarayan — who too did well for Hyderabad.

Also, a 17-year-old opening batsman Saad Bin Jung comes to mind. He scored a century for South Zone against a West Indian attack comprising the raw pace of Malcolm Marshall and Vanburn Holder. He hooked and pulled the fast bowlers with disdain without wearing a helmet. Health issues forced him to fade away. Another opener Kenia Jayantilal, a prolific scorer in domestic cricket, played a solitary Test. At 69, he still plays for Bombay Gymkhana in Mumbai.

Who can forget the sensational entry of Azharuddin against England in 1984? The breathtaking stroke-play he exhibited when scoring three consecutive centuries was never seen before. His unpredictable ball placement made it difficult for the opposing captain to set a field.

When an 18-year-old Laxman arrived on the scene in 1994, he reminded everyone of Azharuddin. The then India U-19 coach Sandeep Patil predicted India had a match-winner in Laxman.

Laxman wasn’t a slave to technique. He played with fluency and fortitude, a style of play that allowed him to hit Shane Warne through midwicket against the turn during his epic 281 at Kolkata in 2001.

There were two brilliant wicket-keepers in P. Krishnamurthy, who played for India, and A.A. Asif whose swift gathering standing upto pacers was outstanding. He was a good batsman too.

This trip down memory lane is a reminder of not only the contributions of Hyderabad cricketers but also of the fact that without cricketers of stature like Jaisimha, this would not have been possible.

When Sharad Pawar was elected the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association for the first time, he formed a Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) comprising renowned ex-Mumbai cricketers. All the cricketing decisions were left to the committee and the managing committee was asked to only implement the decisions of the CIC.

In Hyderabad, on the one hand there are no tournaments named after ex-cricketers like Jaisimha or Pataudi, this while the tournament structure is collapsing. On the other, not involving reputed ex-players of integrity in the administration has contributed to this collapse and derailed the lives of many talented teenagers.

It remains to be seen if the new HCA committee will use the election results to return to its glory days? If it has worked for Mumbai, surely it can work for Hyderabad.

Meanwhile each apathetic day spent is another injustice done to the next young Jaisimha or Laxman. There is little redemption for playing with the lives of young cricketers in the name of politics.

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