VINOO MANKAD, the one and only : India's greatest ever all-rounder

 To have seen him at cricket was to see a master craftsman in motion. A Michaelangelo at work. Some cricketers rise above their contemporaries by the sheer weight of their performance and then there are others who achieve fame through the image they create on the minds of men.

 Vinod Mankad, christened Mulvantrai Himmatlal way back at Jamnagar in 1917, belonged to both the groups. If his phenomenal performance graph evoked admiration, the image of the short, strong man carrying all on his broad shoulders etched an impression that would last a lifetime and more.

 From mid-1930s to mid-1950s his career spanned. At that time not many Indian cricketers had the spirit or the means to spend every moment at cricket. They would concentrate hard during the short season and then be forced to rust away in search of pecuniary gains in other walks of life.

 But Vinoo Mankad was a non-conformist in this respect. His burning ambition to be the best in the world was fuelled by Nawanagar State’s princely patronage and by the coaching of Albert Wensley of Sussex.He relentlessly pursued the goal without the slightest hint of deviation. He played cricket round the year. He knew no other career; nor was he interested.

From Nawanagar to Gujarat to Bombay to Bengal to Lancashire to Rajasthan wherever he went he tucked his bat and his bowling skills in those powerful palms of his. During the Indian summers he would be playing as a professional for Haslingden in the Lancashire League in UK. He was certainly the first of the true professionals that India has had.

 Beginning from his debut season in Ranji Trophy in 1936-37 as well as against his first international opposition – Tennyson's MCC team in 1937-38 – he made a lasting impression. Then came the World War II and with it some vital years of his salad days were lost. However not one to be discomfited by misfortunes, Mankad actually used the period to hone his undoubted talents still further.

The 1946 tour of England was to mark his debut on the official Test scene. He took the opportunity with a bear-hug. Wherever in the batting order he was asked to bat at, however much the bowling he was asked to do, Mankad thrived with his customary tenacity.

From the very beginning his sound cricketing brain convinced him that he would be both the war-head as well as the work-horse. It was the ideal situation that this man of unbounded courage, phenomenal skill and unfaltering stamina yearned for. He would have laughed at the modern nonsensical idea of ‘taking rest’ during one’s short prime span of youth.

 Mankad wasted no time on frills; none whatsoever on frivolities. If cricket was to be his life he would love to be a part of it every minute of his existence. So it was to be for him. He must have batted in every position from number 1 to number 11 for India. And in bowling whether India was defending or attacking he was sure to be in the thick of action.

 In England in 1946 he achieved the 'double' (1000 runs and 100 wickets), a dream for any all-rounder. The magnificence of the debutant would be best understood when we find that since Learie Constantine in 1928 no other overseas all-rounder had achieved the enviable piece of statistic. Even the cynical English critics had little alternative but to praise the new star as the English batsmen wended their way to doom. Former England captain Arthur Gilligan rated Vinoo Mankad at par with the legendary left-arm spinners Wilfred Rhodes, Colin Blythe and Headley Verity. Wisden acknowledged his greatness by naming him as one of the ‘Cricketers of the Year’ in 1947.

 Mankad did not make the cricket pundits gape at his action. No, no, he was not bothered by artistry. His arm came round; not in the classically straight mould. His curve was not of whispers and gossips; his trajectory was of business. It was clinically clean, surgically pin-pointed in the accuracy. Little wonder that even at a time when close-catching was not India's forte, this marvel of a left-arm orthodox spinner had the subtlety to take no less than 162 Test Match wickets in only 44 Tests spanning over 12 years. At a time when Bradman, Harvey, Barnes, Hammond, Hutton, Compton, Weekes, Worrel, Hanif and Sutcliffe and other greats were at the other end.

 Not one to relax and ruminate over his effective bowling, Mankad's batting flowered simultaneously. A rarity again: most all-rounders – except of course Keith Miller and Garfield Sobers – first make their mark in one discipline before they embark on a broader horizon. Not so Mankad. To him both batting and bowling received equal importance because he wanted no rest!

 In the following tour of Australia in 1947-48, he scored two Test centuries against Bradman's all-conquering Australian attack which comprised Miller, Lindwall, Johnston, Toshack and McCool. Here in Australia he was promoted to open to confront the world’s best fast bowling attack of Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall whereas in England he was usually way down the order.

 Such was his application and willingness to learn that he did not bat an eye-lid as his skills with the bat opened the eyes of his onlookers, wide in admiration and awe. One moment he was lifting the fast bowlers and at the next moment he would be stoutly defending against the spinners, as the situation warranted. Batting right-handed, Mankad was an exemplary cutter of the ball and would play the lifted shots with measured precision.

 In only 23 Tests he reached his 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Test cricket. The quickest to reach the 'double' among the premier all-rounders in Test cricket till Ian Botham was to surpass him much later in 21 Tests. Most certainly Mankad was one of the greatest of all-rounders that the game has ever known.

 India recorded her first Test victory against England (then MCC) at Chepauk in 1951-52 under Vijay Hazare. Roy and Umrigar scored centuries and laid the foundation. But still, obviously enough, to win a Test match the team had to get the opposition out twice. Here again it was none but Mankad who made the task easy for India by dismissing 7 batters. Mankad was always at the centre of every battle.

 Vinoo Mankad is one of the few cricketers who can claim to have had a Test Match named after them. At Lord's in 1952 he opened India's batting and scored 72 and then bowled a marathon spell of 73 overs taking 5 wickets for 136 runs. As if this was not enough to whet his appetite for cricket, he went back to the crease to smack an innings of 184 glorious runs. Then when England batted for an 8-wicket victory he still found the stamina and the spirit to bowl another 24 overs! Most certainly the best individual performance for a losing side.

 Today when one hears of players of inconsequential effort feeling tired, one is best left to smirk. This particular Test has gone down in the annals of Test cricket as the 'Mankad Test' to perpetuate the memory of a man who knew no fatigue, no frills, no frustrations. To him cricket was motivation enough and playing for the honour of the motherland was the breath of life itself.

 Lest we forget he also happened to hold the world Test record for the 1st wicket for more than 50 years. In association with Pankaj Roy against New Zealand this premier all-rounder achieved the fabulous partnership landmark of 413 runs. Mankad’s contribution was 231.

  In an eventful Test career, Vinoo Mankad scored 2109 runs with 5 centuries, including two double, at an average of 31.47. His first class career spanned from 1935 to 1963 resulting in 11,544 runs at 34.87 and 776 wickets at 24.60.

 Knowledgeable, he used his intelligence and applied himself accordingly. He asked even the opposition for guidance! He knew the art of application. His cricket was built on the rock solid foundation of basics. No diversion seeped in to weaken the firm edifice. With this attitude he won the hearts of hardened men; the plaudits of cynical critics; the respect of his mates and opponents.

 Vinoo Mankad was a cricketer’s cricketer. A perfectionist in every department of the game. He was the man who pioneered the voodoo associated with Indian spinners along with the advent of Ghulam Ahmed and Subhash Gupte.

 Mankad has always been associated with strange happenings on and off the field. On the tour of Australia in 1947-48 Mankad was at the nucleus of a major storm. In the Sydney Test match Aussie opener Bill Brown was repeatedly leaving the non-striker’s crease before the ball was delivered. Bowler Mankad noticed the misdemeanor, did not waste time and calmly removed the bails before delivering the ball. The umpire had no hesitation in raising his finger.

 Although there was widespread criticism, Sir Don, the Aussie captain, defended Mankad as the latter had warned Brown earlier in the Australian XI match and more so because Mankad’s action was as per the laws of cricket. Ever since then this way of dismissal has been unofficially hailed as “Mankaded’.

 The ‘Mankad Test’ at Lord’s in 1952 has been mentioned. What needs to be mentioned now is the scene behind that great feat. India had a disastrous start to the series in the first Test at Headingley where they lost 4 wickets for zero runs on the board. Seeing this Pankaj Gupta, the manager, was fuming because the petty-minded national selectors had omitted Mankad from the touring team! At the time Mankad was the best all-rounder in the world. India’s national selectors at the time were CK Nayudu, HN Contractor and M Dutta Ray.

 Gupta, as the manager of the Indian cricket team to England in 1952, sent a telegram to the BCCI as a formality and without waiting for their reply selected Vinoo Mankad, who at the time was playing in the Lancashire League to play the 2^nd Test at Lord’s! Mankad went on to display one of the greatest-ever individual all-round performances in the history of cricket.

 Without the intervention of the mercurial manager Pankaj Gupta, Vinoo Mankad – among the greatest all-rounders in the world – would not have played the Test and it is highly doubtful whether he would ever have played for India again.

 The incident requires further elaboration. Mankad had just helped India to gain her first-ever Test match victory at Chepauk in early 1952 and then left for Lancashire to fulfil his professional commitment. In the meantime in India the national selectors were to meet to select the India team to tour UK in April 1952. The selectors suddenly decided that a trial match would be held and that every probable player would have to play to be eligible for selection.

 Vinoo Mankad , the premier all-rounder in the world, informed the selectors that he was already in UK and might kindly be permitted to miss the trial match for otherwise he would have to pay his to and fro air-passage from his own pocket. His request was turned down! The trio including CK Nayudu gave the impression that the team would be chosen on the basis of that match only! Unfortunately CK Nayudu’s ego decided that the world’s best all-rounder would have to prove his merit in that particular ‘trial’ match!

 Pankaj Gupta , the ebullient manager of India teams, especially of hockey, had no time for petty jealousies based on provincialism, communalism and egoism that was apparent in the logic of the national selectors. Gupta had handled Dhyan Chand’s men to three Olympic ‘golds’, where he encouraged Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, agnostics and atheists to consider themselves as ‘Indians first, Indians last’. He had no time for petty-minded men and their media supporters. It was only because of Pankaj Gupta that Vinoo Mankad got his rightful place in the India team.

 The best all-rounder in the world had to fight the petty-mindedness of former Indian cricketers throughout his life. So very ahead was he than most of his peers that invariably he became a lonely soul in the national side. On and off the field, Vinoo Mankad received very little support from his own mates. He remained a singular man in a plural game.

 His iconic stature has finally been rewarded by ICC by naming him in the very exclusive ‘Hall of Fame’.