Lala Amarnath would have hit a century today had he been alive, having been born on 9/11, 1911. Alas, I see very little acknowledgment of this anywhere.
As people, we have a very poor sense of history and preserving our legacy in almost every walk of life. But this really is no excuse for failing to remember a player who, all things considered, is as much of a titan in cricket as Dr W.G. Grace. I can’t imagine the latter’s birth centenary being bypassed without any fanfare.
Interestingly, their Test career performances are fairly similar: Grace with slightly better stats as a batsman but Lala nudging ahead as a bowler. Both were strong influences nonetheless in their respective eras, largely because of their persona.
Unlike Grace, who looked like a Biblical patriarch which made him the game’s major draw in his time, Lala had a modest physical presence, but was no less a star. He was as irascible and colourful as the good doctor, and several of his achievements — on and off the field — are now part of Indian cricket lore.
Lala was the first Indian to make a Test century on debut; indeed, he was the country’s first centurion. When he made 118 in the second innings of the first Test of the 1933-34 series against Douglas Jardine’s team at the Bombay Gymkhana, it is reported that the spectators went delirious and many women yanked off their mangalsutras to present it to the 21-year-old hero.
In 1936, however, just when he was reaching full bloom as an all-rounder, Lala was controversially sent back home from England by captain Maharaja of Vizianagram on disciplinary grounds. This rankled him throughout his life and needless to say cost India dear on that tour.
In 1947-48, Lala also became the first captain of independent India when he led a team Down Under to play Bradman’s Invincibles. The Don, impressed by his attacking attitude, called Lala a great ambassador of the game. But without Vijay Merchant, Pataudi Sr, Rusi Modi — and other stars like A.H. Kardar, Wazir Mohamed and Fazal Mahmood who now belonged to Pakistan — the Indians were no match for Australia.
Lala’s Test career extended into his 40s and in 1952-53 he captained (at the recommendation of Vizzy!) against Pakistan before going on to become selector, administrator, curator and commentator — controversy dogging him in every role. He was a blunt, impetuous man known to speak his mind without forethought.
This often put him on the wrong side of the establishment in his later years and — he believed — that this told on the careers of his three sons, Mohinder, Surinder and Rajinder. That is obviously contentious, but Lala could be as stubborn in his beliefs as he was steadfast in his support of Indian cricket. He surely made many mistakes, but he also did several good things — like for instance insisting on playing Jasu Patel at Kanpur in 1959-60 where the off-spinner humbled the mighty Australians.
When I got to know Lala, he was in his 70s and part of the media troupe. In this role too he was not short of controversy, yet hugely popular for his shoot-from-the-lip approach. In Pakistan particularly he was a cult figure and there were several occasions when I was the beneficiary of `freebie’ meals just because I was his companion.
My most abiding memory of Lala, however, is nothing to do with cricket. On the 1984-85 tour of Pakistan, the late Rajan Bala (who also wrote for this paper) was informed of the death of his parent. He was understandably distraught, and with no immediate flight back home available, Lala volunteered to sleep with us in our room. “I am your father and mother,” he told Bala.
I must confess to being in awe, somewhat scared of Lala when I first met him in 1981, but over the next two decades, he became a warm friend — without ever quite compromising on heated debates on cricketing matters. And he always believed he was right!
Lala was a fascinating, towering personality, one of the pillars on which the edifice of Indian cricket history is constructed. True, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is currently pre-occupied with several issues — combating criticism for the debacle in England, fighting the sports ministry to preserve its independence, readying for a new set of office-bearers — but none of this should be in conflict to building legacy value.
If the BCCI has done anything commemorate this day I plead guilty of ignorance. If not, it’s kinda sad; very sad.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/sites/default/files/The Asian Age/Ayaz memon_5.jpg
