In his autobiography titled Sunny Days, India’s master batsman Sunil Gavaskar has related an interesting incident about the day he was born on July 10th, 1949. Sunil has written that he may never have become a cricketer if an eagle-eyed relative, whom he refers to as Nan Kaka, had not come into his life that day.
The gentleman visited the newborn baby a few hours after he was born and noticed that the baby had a hole in the left ear lobe. The next day he dropped in again to see the mother and baby and to his horror, he found that the baby did not have a hole in the ear lobe. The baby was not the same one.
He raised a hue and cry and a search was launched for the original baby. Finally, the hospital staff located him sleeping peacefully on a nearby bed beside a fisherwoman. Due to a mistake by the nurses, the two babies had been exchanged. The original baby was returned to the Gavaskar family with full apologies.
The baby with a hole in his ear lobe, grew up to become one of the world’s greatest batsmen. After a long period of dismal performances by India, he restored pride in Indian cricket with his wonderful batting. Today that baby, who was named Sunil, is 75 years old. He still retains the enthusiasm of a youngster, is physically fit, mentally alert, and is considered a role model by many of today’s aspiring cricketers.
Experiences in Hyderabad
In the same book, Sunil Gavaskar has written about his experiences while playing in Hyderabad and his interaction with Hyderabad players of his days. When Sunil was a student he was selected to play for Bombay University in the inter-universities Rohinton Baria Trophy tournament.
Bombay University made good progress and then clashed with Osmania University in the final match. Osmania had in its ranks one of the most talented spin bowlers, Mumtaz Hussain, who later became one of Hyderabad’s most famous spin bowlers.
Mumtaz Hussain’s great skills
Gavaskar has written that Mumtaz was the most successful bowler of the entire tournament. He was an orthodox left-arm spinner but had a wide variety of deliveries including a deceptive and dangerous Chinaman ball which was very well disguised. No batsman could spot that Chinaman delivery and Gavaskar found it out when he was outwitted too.
While he was batting, he decided to play a psychological trick on Mumtaz. He called out to his partner at the other end whose name was Ramesh Nagdev. “Don’t worry Ramesh. I can understand when this boy is bowling the wrong one (doosra).” Gavaskar was hoping that the remark would discourage Mumtaz from bowling his deadly Chinaman.
Foxed by Mumtaz
But Mumtaz just smiled and walked away. The last ball from Mumtaz was pitched at a full length, enticing Gavaskar to hit it. Gavaskar danced out of his crease and swung his bat confidently but the ball turned in the other direction leaving Gavaskar swishing in thin air and miles outside the crease. The wicketkeeper had no difficulty in stumping him. As Gavaskar trudged back to the pavilion, Mumtaz was still smiling broadly.
Played for Moin-ud-Dowla Cup
Gavaskar participated in the Moin-ud-Dowla tournament in Hyderabad several times but regrets that he did not score a century even once. The tournament is now defunct but when Gavsakar used to play, it was one of the most important tournaments in India.
Writing more about the Moin-ud-Dowla tournament, Gavaskar has praised the Vazir Sultan Colts which used to include most of India’s promising juniors and was led by any available senior player. Gavaskar played for VST Colts when the team was led by Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.
Jaisimha was his hero
In the book, Gavaskar praised P.R. Man Singh and M.L. Jaisimha. The latter who was a legend in Hyderabad and India, was Gavaskar’s idol. He admired everything about Jaisimha – the upturned collar (which Azharuddin copied later), the easygoing attitude, the style of walking, and the beautiful strokeplay.
When he was a schoolboy, Gavaskar used to wait at the Brabourne stadium in Bombay for hours to see Jaisimha practicing and playing there. “To play alongside Jai in 1971 was an experience that I will never forget,” said Gavaskar many years later.
Although Gavaskar has been associated with cricket as a player and then as a commentator for several decades and has traveled the world over, his memories of Hyderabad, its hospitality, and its cricketers remain fresh in his mind. Here’s wishing him a happy 75th birthday and many more to come.
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