THE DEATH has taken place of Indian cricket legend Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. He was 70.
Mr. Pataudi, who was known as the Tiger, became his country’s youngest-ever cricket captain when he took over the team at the age of 21.
He had been thrust into the job during the 1962 tour of the West Indies when the then captain, Nari Contractor, suffered a serious head injury during a match.
Mr. Pataudi, who was regarded as flamboyant batsman and an agile fielder, went on to captain the side for 8 years, during which time he oversaw his side’s first overseas Test victory against New Zealand in 1967.
During 46 tests with India Mr. Pataudi scored 2,793 runs, with an average of 34.91, including 6 test centuries.
His record was made all the more remarkable by the fact that he only had one good eye, having suffered a serious injury to his right eye in a road accident the year before he became captain.
Mr. Pataudi came from an aristocratic background. He had been the last Nawab of Pataudi [a position similar to a governor] before such ancient entitlements were abolished by the Indian state in 1971.
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