The Rediff Cricket Interview/ Raj Singh Dungarpur
'Which cricketer but Tendulkar has won matches single-handedly for India?'
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India president Raj Singh Dungarpur is not one to mince words. He was the manager of the victorious 1986 team in England when India last won a Test series abroad. That team, he maintains, was the best Indian squad ever to travel overseas, even better than the team now touring England.
Dungarpur was among the invitees at the Wisden awards function in London late last month. Unlike most politically correct Indian cricketers and cricket officials, he differed on its choice of the Indian Cricketer of the Century when he spoke to Faisal Shariff in Mumbai on Tuesday.
You were manager of the Indian squad on the England tour in 1986. How would you compare that team with the current team in England?
The current team does not have 11 talented players as compared to the 1986 squad. In my association with Indian cricket for the last 30 years, I would say the 1986 squad was the strongest I have ever seen.
Of course, the side did not have Sachin Tendulkar, the most attractive batsman since C K Nayudu. But cricket is a team game, and however outstanding an individual may be in the team, he cannot single-handedly win a game.
The balance of that side was near perfect. It had one outstanding all-rounder in Kapil Dev, and a fine all-rounder in Ravi Shastri. Roger Binny and wicket-keeper Kiran More made contributions with the bat. Mohinder Amarnath could bowl half-a-dozen overs in every session.
Is Indian cricket headed in the right direction?
Indian cricket is on the up, certainly in the one-day format of the game. This side is the best Indian fielding side ever, but if you compare it with the 1983 World Cup team, it lacks all-rounders.
It is heartening the selectors have finally realised that one-day cricket is a young man's game. Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh have electrified the fielding and the virus has spread to the seniors. But we can't say the same for the Test performances, what with India losing the first Test at Lord's.
Ever since 1932, when India played its first Test at Lord's, to the last Test, 70 years later, we have managed to win only three Tests. We just have a dismal record on that ground. The fact remains we have only one world-class bowler in Anil Kumble. Harbhajan Singh is young and has to learn a lot about Test cricket. Zaheer Khan is learning really fast, but Nehra seems to have gone off track a bit. We will have to play well above form and ability to draw level and then go ahead in the four-Test series. It is a challenging task, which is difficult but not impossible. Needless to say, Sachin Tendulkar will be the main difference in this fight.
Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman and Virender Sehwag are all top-class players, but Sachin has the extraordinary ability to score a quick 100, 150 to give the bowlers enough time to get the 20 wickets. Only Sir Don Bradman had that ability. Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Vinoo Mankad got huge hundreds, but took too long to get there.
Gavaskar scored 34 hundreds, and I don't want to take anything away from his monumental achievements, but barely one or two centuries turned into victories. And if you look closely, most of his hundreds have come in the second innings when the wicket was more docile. Scoring hundreds in the first innings, when the ball is wobbling around, is the trademark of greatness. Sachin Tendulkar has that.
Gavaskar recently questioned Tendulkar’s dismal overseas and one-day final record. Do you think Tendulkar buckles under pressure?
I don't wish to comment on that, but I would say it was very unfair to publicly rebuke Tendulkar. Instead of making a public statement, he could have spoken with him in private. And let me assure you, he [Tendulkar] has not taken it very well.
You recently attended the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century awards in London to honour the legends of Indian cricket. How was the experience?
For a first effort, it was a decent show with its rough and smooth edges. But the insistence on wearing a black tie for an Indian function smacked off British imperialism. The methodology of deciding the winner was a contradiction in itself. If the popular vote decided the winner, then what remains to be announced.
Was Kapil Dev your choice for the Indian Cricketer of the Century award?
No, not Kapil Dev. My choice was Vinoo Mankad. I was on the jury and had little hesitation in picking Mankad for the award. I am a great admirer of Kapil Dev -- the only athlete ever to play cricket for India. But Kapil could have never made it into the team only for his batting; Mankad could. He played bowlers of the calibre of Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Alec Bedser and Fred Trueman; lost 10 years to the War and then returned to cricket and got a hundred. That is professionalism!
But you mentioned Sachin Tendulkar, who won the popular award for the Indian cricketer of the century, should have won the award...
Yes, I did. But Tendulkar is only halfway through with his exploits. He is marked for bigger things. He has won matches single-handedly for India. Which other Indian cricketer has done that?
In a defeat, I would want Gavaskar to bat for me, but if we are chasing victory it has to be Tendulkar.
If I want someone to stand there for two days and save a game, I will pick Gavaskar. Tendulkar can’t bat for two days, but he can win a game in a matter of hours.
When the Australians came here in 1998, Tendulkar scored 200 runs in five hours! Australia lost by 10 wickets to Mumbai in that game. Gavaskar could not make 200 runs in five hours against any attack.
Why did you pick Vinoo Mankad?
He was the only professional cricketer India ever had. Few people know he didn’t ever have a job. He was taken care of by Vijay Merchant. He was a very good student of the game despite the fact that he was a hopeless captain. He had a lot of pride in him and he died a sad man, because his sons Atul and Ashok failed to make their mark on Indian cricket.
In 1952, at Lord’s, he opened the innings, scored 72, bowled 75 overs and took 5 wickets for 196 runs. He opened again in India's second innings and got 184. Then bowled 24 overs with 12 maidens in the second innings. Let someone better that.
You have always supported Mohammad Azharuddin, even after he was banned...
We all owe Azharuddin an apology. He was invited to the Wisden show and then asked to stay away for fear of being lynched by the media. How unfair and rude can one get?
I believe Azhar has been executed without a trial. I speak to him regularly and it saddens me that we failed to express solidarity to a man who brought India some great wins. I think the Indian team also owes him an apology.
Interviews
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