An unhealthy early retirement

Nothing should surprise anyone about decisions made by cricket administrators yet this one is startlingmdashthe matter of retiring the Pataudi TrophyIndia and England have been playing for the Pataudi Trophy since 2007 the year that marked 75 years of India v England Test cricketBoth teams traditionally played for the Anthony de Mello Trophy when the contest is held in India but the trophy named after the BCCIrsquos first Secretary doesnrsquot get mentioned in BCCI promotions and press releasesFrom all indications the sponsorsrsquo trophy is all that matters to the establishment That said the De Mello Trophy was up for grabs in the home series against New Zealand in 197677 and Pakistan in 198687 when Imran Khan clinched the fifth and final Test at BangaloreA recent report in Cricbuzz mentioned that the England and Wales Cricket Board are tightlipped about the buzz And a source said ldquoApparently trophies are retired after some timerdquo Retired Yes we know England and West Indies no longer play for the Wisden Trophy BothamRichards silverware now but Wisden is a firm whereas the Pataudi Trophy was instituted to honour IAK Pataudi and his son MAK lsquoTigerrsquo PataudiTalking about Wisden trivia alert IAK and MAK Pataudi were the first father and son to be Wisden Cricketers of the Year 1932 and 1968In fact the latter presented the trophy to Rahul Dravid at the Oval in 2007 Cricket boards retire a trophy Will the Ashes urn too be retired somedayEven though this move could have the blessings of the BCCI if not initiated by D Road headquarters the ECB will be in the firing line from fans of history The rulers of the game are not only throwing history into a dump yard but also deciding to relieve themselves of their sense of historyHave the people in Old Blighty forgotten that Pataudi Sr also played for England before he led India on the 1946 tour of that country Probably They also might be proving that they are suffering from amnesia when it comes to remembering that it was Pataudi Sr who said he would have no role to play in encouraging Douglas Jardinersquos leg theory in the Bodyline series of 193233 Is this how they perpetuate the memory of a man who upheld the spirit of the game a term so commonly used today Pataudi made his England debut in the opening Test of the 193233 Ashes in Sydney scored a hundred reportedly objected to captain Jardinersquos Bodyline attack and was dropped after scoring 15 and 5 in Melbourne His last Test in an England cap was against Australia at Nottingham in 1934 before figuring in three Tests as captain on Indiarsquos 1946 tour of EnglandThe late India and Bombay batsman Rusi Modi provides another version about why Jardine dropped Pataudi Sr in Australia In the book Some Indian Cricketers published by the National Book Trust India in 1972 Modi wrote ldquoPataudi invariably referred to the following anecdote as the reason for his not being selected During the Bodyline series it seems that Jardine had instructed his players never to flinch or show any sign of fear whilst fielding close to the wicket whenever a batsman hooked or played a forcing stroke However momentarily forgetting his own instructions Jardine was seen to flinch quite visibly on one occasion Pataudi witty as he was could not help gleefully remarking to his captain lsquoSkipper you seem to have forgotten your own instructionsrsquo thereby incurring according to Pataudi the latterrsquos displeasurerdquoOf course Jardine is believed to have said when Pataudi didnrsquot agree with his Bodyline tactic ldquoI see his highness is a conscientious objectorrdquoPataudi Jr led India in 40 Tests from 1962 to 1970 then an Indian captaincy record losing the captaincy after the 13 series loss to the visiting Australians He returned as captain in 197475 to lead against Clive Lloydrsquos West Indies in a series that was arguably the most exciting for Indian fans before the 2001 contest against Australia Two Tests down Pataudirsquos team bounced back to win the next two before losing the decider in MumbaiNever should we lose sight of the fact that it was Pataudi Jr who led India to their first overseas series winmdash31 in New Zealand 196768Pataudi Jr was a fine batsman too Who can forget his 75 and 85 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 196768 as one Australian writer put it ldquoon one leg and eyerdquoHis 64 and 148 at Leeds in 1967 also went in vain Journalist Dicky Rutnagur in the 1968 Wisden Cricketersrsquo Almanack described the 148 as ldquoan epic innings which lifted India out of the dark pit of despair India lost in spite of his courageous effort but in defeat they took away as much honour as the winnersrdquoNever was Pataudi made a selector but he did serve on the governing council of the Indian Premier LeagueHe spoke his mind even if his was an antiestablishment view He once said ldquoThe ICC may well be the voice of cricket the BCCI is an invoice We would like to see a more proactive more eloquent and a more constructive BCCI in world mattersrdquoIf the retiring of the Pataudi Trophy eventuates it will be tantamount to disrespecting the contribution of the Pataudis to Indian cricket Our cricketing greats ought to speak out against the move and it wonrsquot mean disrespecting the new cricketers who the trophy will be named after There are so many Indian Test players who played under Tiger Pataudi and earned his support Letrsquos hope we hear them in the coming days taking exception to the trophy being retiredYes the Pataudi Trophy was only for India v England Test battles in England but India stand to lose more because it involves two of their captains as against one England playerWill the BCCI figure that outmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper