A Prince among cricketers
The tributes paid to him when he passed away three years ago today (July 6) were notable for their warmth and sincerity
Partab Ramachand
05-Jul-2002
The tributes paid to him when he passed away three years ago
today (July 6) were notable for their warmth and sincerity. "He
had style, elegance and grace not only as a batsman but also as a
man," said the then president of the Board of Control for Cricket
in India Raj Singh Dungarpur. Former Indian captain Lala Amarnath
called him "a gem of a person." Throughout the length and breadth
of India, the tributes poured in from those whose lives he had
influenced. And Motganhalli Laxminarasu Jaisimha did touch
numerous lives in India and abroad even though he was only 60
when he breathed his last following a long fight against lung
cancer.
On and off the field, Jaisimha was the personification of elegance and charm. He could not do a mean thing or play a mean stroke even if he tried. Grace came naturally to him. There was something about him that made Jaisimha the darling of the masses. His slim figure, which he maintained till his last day, the boyish good looks, the inimitable gait, the trademark silk shirt and scarf, the sleeves buttoned at the wrist or the collar turned up - all these attracted immediate attention. |
On and off the field, Jaisimha was the personification of
elegance and charm. He could not do a mean thing or play a mean
stroke even if he tried. Grace came naturally to him. There was
something about him that made Jaisimha the darling of the masses.
His slim figure, which he maintained till his last day, the
boyish good looks, the inimitable gait, the trademark silk shirt
and scarf, the sleeves buttoned at the wrist or the collar turned
up - all these attracted immediate attention. Indeed, he made
cricket seem chic and his style and approach had a tremendous
impact on the teenage cricketers of his era, among them the young
Sunil Gavaskar, for whom `Jai' was a boyhood idol.
When Jaisimha reached the crease, the attention then turned to
his wristy strokes, the manner in which he caressed the ball to
the boundary and the way he leapt out to play the lofted drive or
pull. Off the field, he was an extrovert. Gregarious by nature,
he was the life and soul of any party and enlivened the
proceedings with in-jokes or naughty stories, always told within
the realms of decency and in his impeccable English and
inimitable style, complete with a good laugh at himself, if it
was a merry-Andrew situation.
He brought all these extrovert qualities into his cricket and
thus there was never a dull moment when he was around.
Conservative thinking officials and selectors considered him to
be `flashy' and he was frequently dropped down the order. But he
achieved success at both positions and it is worth recalling that
two of his three centuries in Tests were made as an opening
batsman.
In truth, Jaisimha would have made good at the top or in the
middle-order for inside that extrovert lay a shrewd cricketing
brain. Tactically he was considered the best captain of his time
in the country and it is well known that Pataudi and Ajit Wadekar
consulted him on matters of strategy while leading the country.
As a batsman and captain, Jaisimha occupies an honoured place in
Indian cricket. In 39 Tests from 1959 to 1971, he scored 2056
runs at an average of 30.69. His name is associated with such
storybook feats like being the first to bat on all five days of a
Test match - while scoring 74 in 390 minutes in a famous
rearguard action against Australia at Calcutta in 1959-60 - and
hitting 74 and 101 in a Brisbane Test eight years later after
arriving two days before in Australia as a replacement.
As a leader, he captained Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy for 16
consecutive seasons and South Zone in the Duleep Trophy for
almost a decade. His profound knowledge of pitches and the manner
in which he out-thought the opposing skipper made him the
connoisseur's delight.
After his playing days were over, Jaisimha kept in close touch
with the game he had adorned for so long. From 1977-78 to
1980-81, he served four terms on the national selection
committee. He was a popular TV commentator who regaled audiences
with succinct comments and analyses. He managed the Indian team
to Sri Lanka in 1985. He was prominent among those who
encouraged the game at the schools level and was the cricketing
ambassador of many leading companies who sponsored such
programmes. A couple of years before he died he became the state
coach and handled the job with the same shrewdness and enthusiasm
that he showed during his playing career.
Above all, Jaisimha will be remembered fondly for his qualities
as a person. When he died, there was a sense of shock and a pall
of gloom not only in Hyderabad but also among the cricketing
fraternity all around the country. For many, it was a personal
loss, for `Jai', as he was popularly known, had touched numerous
lives with his warmth and sincerity. This was reflected in the
tributes that said it all on behalf of those who came in touch
with Jaisimha.