Wadekar wants BCCI to celebrate 40th annivarsary of 1971 Test triumph

(EXCLUSIVE)

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

New Delhi: In the euphoria that engulfed the country after the memorable World Cup triumph and the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) soon after that in April, millions of Indian cricket fans forgot about the 40^th anniversary of the national team’s momentous first Test series win abroad.

Others could miss April 19, 1971 -- the day India sealed a 1-0 series win over the formidable West Indies in the Caribbean -- but not Ajit Wadekar, captain of the team that included Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Sardesai, Srinivas Vekataraghavan, and Bishan Singh Bedi among other stalwarts.

With the 40^th anniversary approaching, Wadekar wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to organise a felicitation function with two purposes in mind. Apart from seeking recognition for his team, his other idea was that youngsters in the Indian team should know about their illustrious seniors who walked the same path years ago.

“Basically, the idea was for recognition and nothing else... no one is asking for donation or financial help etc. It was for felicitation of the team, so that people know at least about that historic series,” Wadekar, 70, told Mail Today.

“Today’s youngsters don’t seem to have time because they are playing so much of cricket. Most of those, who are playing for India now, were not even born then. So, if the 1971 team is felicitated they would have an idea about that team and the series. It just occurred to me... But I never got any response from them (BCCI),” the left-handed batsman said.

Just for the comparison, sports ministers MS Gill and Ajay Maken felicitated the football teams of the 1956 Olympics and 1960 Olympics respectively.

Wadekar had written to the board president Shashank Manohar soon after the World Cup win on April 2 in Mumbai.

But the BCCI, which on Tuesday organised a function in Mumbai to felicitate Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s world champions, has still not replied to Wadekar. When contacted on Thursday, the top board officials’ response was lukewarm.

“I haven’t thought about it. I will have to talk to my colleagues. Maybe, we will discuss this at a working committee meeting,” Manohar told Mail Today.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said he had no idea about the proposal. “I haven’t seen the letter. I will have to check up,” he said.

Wadekar said he will not write to the board again. “I don’t think I will be writing to him (Manohar) again to remind him,” he said.

The man who played 37 Tests, however, pointed out the three successive Test series triumphs under his leadership. Soon after the win in the five-Test series in the West Indies, India registered a historic series victory over in England in 1971 and then a 2-1 verdict in a five-Test series against England in India in 1972-73.

The success in the West Indies, which had the likes of captain Gary Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai and David Holford, simply stood out. For India, the main performers were Gavaksar (774 at 154.80), who was playing his maiden series, late Sardesai (642 at 80.25), Vekataraghavan (41 wickets) and Bedi (33 wickets).

Similarly, the 1-0 win in the three-Test series against Ray Illingworth’s English side was no less creditable, points out Wadekar.

“I think that was a momentous chapter in the Indian cricket history. At that time there were no ratings, but England was considered the number one team. They were really the champions. On their own soil they were supposed to be difficult to beat,” he emphasised.

The architects of India’s win were late Eknath Solkar (210 runs), Wadekar (204), Venkataraghavan (13 wickets), BS Chandrasekhar (13) and Bedi (11).

Wadekar says the win was the greatest source of happiness for him. “Of course, it was the biggest thrill that I got in my career. That was the best moment of my life. My players also feel the same,” he said.

(This story was first published in Mail Today newspaper on June 3, 2011)

Bhandari’s each wicket is worth Rs.1,000, says DDCA

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

New Delhi: The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has decided to present former India pacer Amit Bhandari a cheque of Rs.3.14 lakh for taking 314 wickets in first-class matches while representing Delhi and other teams.

This figure has been calculated at the rate of Rs 1,000 per wicket that Bhandari has captured for Delhi, India A, the Board President’s XI and North Zone between 1997-98 and 2007-08. The 32-year-old bowler, who played two One-day Internationals, announced his retirement on Monday.

“We took the decision to honour Bhandari at an executive committee meeting on Tuesday,” DDCA general secretary SP Bansal told Mail Today.

“We will also honour the four Delhi players who were part of the Indian team that won the World Cup recently,” he said.

The Delhi government has already announced Rs 1 crore each for Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, and Virat Kohli as well as Rs 2 crore for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

It is learnt that the association would most likely honour the four players, and also a few top women players of the city, at its annual function in July at the conclusion of the DDCA league and the hot weather tournament.

Bansal said that an 11-member ad hoc has been constituted, as per instructions from a lower court, to conduct the rest of the DDCA league and handle other cricketing-related issues.

“This ad hoc committee will not conduct just the league but all cricket, in consultation with the Cricket Improvement Committee [comprising five eminent former Test players]. We haven’t named anyone to head the ad hoc panel, but we would do it soon,” said Bansal.

The need of an ad hoc panel arose after a Tis Hazari lower court on May 13 restrained the Sports Working Committee (SWC) from performing all its duties till steps were taken to hold the long over-due election to the committee.

The last election to the SWC was held on August 20, 2009, and its one-year tenure expired last year, but the same set of people continued without election being held. The 110-plus clubs vote to elect the SWC.

Bansal said an independent yet-to-be-named retired judge would identify the real voters representing the clubs and prepare a list for the election. “There’s no time frame for this as it depends on the number of objections that are raised while finalising the list. But we would like to go through the election process as soon as possible,” he pointed out.

The court, which empowered the DDCA executive to carry out the duties of the SWC under Article 47 and 48 of the Association until election is held, told the DDCA to write back to it by July 4 about the steps taken for holding the election.

The executive also ratified a nine-member finance committee.

(This story first appeared in Mail Today newspaper on June 2, 2011)

Durrani receives CK Nayudu Award for lifetime achievement

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

New Delhi: SALIM Aziz Durrani’s selection for the CK Nayudu Award, the highest cricketing accolade of India, has made him nostalgic and brought back memories of his childhood.

As a child, he was attached to the man after whom the award is named — also India’s first Test captain — and used to respectfully call him nana abba ( maternal grandfather). Both families had a close bonding and it continued on Tuesday when Nayudu’s daughter Chandra met up with Durrani.

So, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) selected the former swashbuckling Test batsman for the 2010 awards last week, Durrani, 76, was simply thrilled as it brought him twin joy.

“The biggest thing for me is that our families had very close ties. My father, Abdul Aziz, played two unofficial ‘ Test’ matches under Nayudu,” Durrani told Mail Today hours before he received the trophy and the ` 15 lakh prize money on Tuesday at the BCCI’s annual awards function in Mumbai.

“I was very young when he [ Nayudu] used to visit us in Jamnagar and I used to call him ‘nana abba’. Some of his family members are still based in Indore and we often meet to continue our family ties,” said the hard- hitting batsman known for hitting sixes on demand of spectators.

Durrani, who played 29 Tests between 1960 and 1973, was the original heartthrob of the masses and he executed those big hits with bats, especially those made in India, that were not of a high quality.

But the Kabul- born batsman tried to play down his achievement. “Everything comes into play — new bats and new talent. In the present team, Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli, for instance, are very talented. We did not have high quality bats produced in India. At times, we used to get bats from England. The bat does make a difference. I played my first Test with a bat made by Mehtab Sports, which used to supply sports equipment to my school,” he recalled.

Times have changed and third generation Durrani, his grandson Yaseen, now wields bats made with the latest technology.

“He is more interested in academics and is also very good at cricket. Education is very important. If you see, all members of the Indian team are graduates. I have been guiding him and he’s now 18. Hope he also makes a name for himself,” Durrani added. “But it will be his individual decision. I will never impose my choice on him.” Yaseen, son of his Durrani’s niece Fouzia, is a second year Bachelor of Arts student at Ferguson College in Pune.

“He ( Durrani) hopes that Yaseen does something in cricket. My goal is also the same for him, along with excelling in academies,” said Fouzia, who teaches at St. Ann’s Convent in Jamnagar.

Fouzia who, along with Yaseen, attended the function, was thrilled at her uncle getting the award. “It’s nostalgic. It’s a great feeling when a player in his 70s once again comes into the limelight. His grandchild is also attending the function. It’s a wonderful feeling,” she said.

Durrani is living a retired life to the fullest and is content too. He is based in Jamnagar and travels as and when required. He is on the advisory committee of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, which he represented besides Saurashtra and Gujarat in Ranji Trophy.

Bishan Singh Bedi recalled his long association with his senior as well as Indian team rival as both bowled left- arm spin. “ He was quite a genius and I admire his cricketing ability. I always call him uncle and he treated me like his nephew,” he said. “ I met his father in Pakistan when toured in 1978- 79. We called him ‘ masterji’; he opted for Pakistan and coached Javed Miandad.”

(This story first appeared in Mail Today newspaper, New Delhi, on June 1, 2011)