SALIM DURANI: the genius

 

Most Indians feel that the turning point of Indian cricket was in 1983. Yes, India won the ODI world cup in UK. India’s first-ever silver-ware in international cricket. And ‘big money’ began to flow into cricket. With it came bribery, betting, match fixing, dacoits masquerading as officials, sponsors and agents. Yes, it was the turning point in Indian cricket off-the-field.

 

But if the genuine cricket follower cares to put his hand on his heart, his conscience will reveal the truth: the most significant year of Indian cricket on-the-field was 1971. India defeated West Indies and England in successive Test series within months on their own backyards.

 

Never again would India repeat such major victories abroad within such a short span. As England had just registered a victory over Australia in 1970-71, India was justifiably the number one cricketing nation at a time when ‘rankings’ were unheard of.

 

The man who took India to the top of the cricketing world way back in 1971 happened to be a man born in Afghanistan. The ‘Kabuliwala’ who was christened ‘Prince Salim’ by his innumerable fans around the country was the chief architect of that splendid victory in West Indies and laid the foundation for Chandrasekhar’s inspired spell at the Oval within months. Let all genuine cricket lovers have the courage to admit this essential truth.

 

Salim Durani was a free soul without a care for the morrow. Had no inhibition; had no ego. He borrowed money and bought beer and coke to share with the ‘creditor’! Next day in the most subtle manner possible, he left the exact amount into the man’s shirt pocket! I can vouch for the incident because the person happened to be me. At Hyderabad during the Moin-ud-Dowla Trophy way back in 1976.

 

In a career that spanned nearly 15 years, the magnificent all-rounder played in only 29 Tests. He went on only two tours abroad – both to the Caribbean ten years apart – where he showed the world his true greatness.

 

The national selectors, in all their wisdom, realized that Durani would be a ‘passenger’ on tours to England, Australia and New Zealand between 1959 and 1974! The man who was helping India to win series after series at home, was omitted from tours abroad!

 

Once I asked him the reason for being was omitted from the Indian team to England in 1967. The disarming smile softly uttered with all the sweetness of a Urdu couplet, “The selectors thought England would be too cold for me.” Why not to Australia and New Zealand the following year? A charming, subtle wink elaborated, “May be too hot for me.”

 

Handsome is as the handsome does, so goes the cliché. Absolutely true in Durani’s case. The greenish-blue eyes looked at the world from a tall, handsome frame. He was all elegance and style.

 

Even the glamorous world of Bollywood had to relent by offering him a hero’s role opposite Parveen Babi in BR Ishara’s Charitra. This also happens to be another ‘first’ of his among Indian Test cricketers.

 

In 1962 when no one quite wanted to face the fiery Wesley Hall and Chester Watson on those lightning fast, hard West Indies pitches of the time, it was this man who volunteered to bat at number 3! So very typical of this man. For good measure, the left-handed all-rounder scored a magnificent century against a world-class attack comprising Sobers, Gibbs and Hall.

 

Surely he did not mean to offend anyone, but the graceful century-innings did embarrass the prima donna batters no end. Not that it mattered to him. He was just doing something that came naturally to him.

 

Salim Durani was born on a train heading towards Kabul in 1934 at a time when his father, Abdul Aziz, was keeping wickets for the Nawanagar State team in pre-independent India. After India’s independence in 1947, Aziz and his family settled down in the newly formed State of Gujarat.

 

Destiny had decreed that Durani would be Afghan by birth but Indian by nationality, as was the case with millions of others affected by the partition of the sub-continent.

 

He was as much the people’s man as he was of the connoisseurs. A hero to millions. At Calcutta people still – now nearly 50 years since he last played for India – go crazy when they see him. When my book on the 150^th year of Eden Gardens in 2014 was in print, a cricket addict said, “I shall buy the book only if Durani’s photo is on the cover. No one ever was more popular than he at Eden.” Absolutely correct the gentleman was.

 

He always seemed to keep his best for the Eden Gardens crowd. In 1965 in one over of magic weave he had three Aussies in hypnosis. Unfortunately his wonderful spell did not get the acknowledgement as the match was curtailed owing to unseasonal rain.

 

“Yes, I enjoyed the support of the crowd at Eden. To be honest, I enjoy only if the spectators enjoy wherever that be. Otherwise what is the purpose of sports?” How true. Only a genuine artist like Prince Salim can say so – exactly like Mushtaq Ali of yesteryear – in such an easy, relaxed manner.

 

His charm was captivating. Once in a Duleep Trophy tie, the bowler Durani actually applauded a cover-driven boundary of mine! I was too stunned to react. It took me moments to realize the fathomless magnanimity of the man.

 

His simplicity, his modesty, his love for life and his love for companionship are lessons to learn from. At Eden during my book inaugural session he told a packed audience, “…I always wanted to be a railway engine driver…Never thought I had any talent for cricket…Life has been good to me…No regrets at all…”

 

Only a man of Salim Aziz Durani’s class can say so despite all the injustices that he had to bear over the decades. So casual and unconcerned was the man about his own well-being that he even would not go to collect the honorarium one benefactor in Bombay had decided to give him on a monthly basis!

 

Never once has anyone heard him criticize another person. Not even a harsh word passed through his lips. That was quite beyond him.

 

He believed in enjoyment. He enjoyed his life, his cricket. And in return he gave far more enjoyment to others, whether they were spectators or friends. Doubt if he ever had a foe. A man of few words, when he spoke his soft, chaste voice was all music. He was the Prince Charming of Indian cricket.

 

Great cricketers would be born again and again. But there will never be another to match this nonchalant, selfless genius.

 

 

Genius is a cliched term. Misunderstood and misused, misquoted and misconstrued. Only a handful can lay claim to the combination of originality, creativity, natural skills that are inherent in the nature of a real genius.

 

Salim Durani combined extraordinary innovativeness with extreme ease of execution to walk into this exclusive elite group of cricketers. In the post-war scenario apart from Keith Miller and Gary Sobers, Salim Durani was probably the only one who could transform the tide of a tie in a matter of moments.

 

Lissome and handsome, the elegant left-hander left an imprint on every ground he trod on. The languid gait was enough to draw attention. The effortless approach of gay abandon drew spontaneous applause. His skills were varied and of pristine pure quality. People adored him for they knew that he was far far beyond the accepted patterns of orthodoxy. His unpredictability gave him an aura of vulnerability and for that reason his adventurous ways made him so very appealing.

 

 No respecter of icons or ideologies, he took delight in puncturing reputations on the field. But there would be no violence, no mockery, no sadism. Made it appear the simplest of activities: nonchalance in the extreme.

 

And like all geniuses he also had his powerful detractors. Former Test cricketers masquerading as national selectors never could fathom the nugget of gold cast before them. They knew not his worth to the game or his value to the team. Consequently India suffered.

 

In the 1960s Indian cricket was studded with excellent performers, but without the presence of the one and only genius the team hardly ever played to its real potential. If Durani was unpredictable, the selectors were no less. To be honest, the man was at a wrong place at a wrong time.

 

His first-class career began as a batsman at 18 with Saurashtra in 1953 for whom he scored a century on debut. Then after spending two years with Gujarat, he finally transferred loyalties to Rajasthan, where under the care of Raj Singh Dungarpur his latent talent flowered.

 

Consistent batting performances earned him his Test debut at Bombay against Benaud's team in 1959. But an injured finger relegated him to no. 10, where an innings of 18 relegated him to oblivion.

 

 With Vinoo Mankad and Chandu Joshi around, Durani was hardly required to bowl for Rajasthan but then the young man was so involved with all the facets of the game that he began to pick up the tricks of the bowling art just by watching the mastery of Mankad. Such was the versatility of Salim Durani that in 1958-59 he even kept wickets for Rajasthan regularly!

 

After the inauspicious Test debut he kept himself involved

in the most unusual way imaginable. Instead of just concentrating on batting, as almost every batsman would have done, Salim concentrated on batting, wicket-keeping and, when opportunities offered, on bowling. Prodigious turn of his strong fingers and supple wrists made the ball spin appreciably on all wickets and its best results came when he had 8 for 99 against Bombay in the Ranji final of 1960-61.

 

Next year he was recalled against Dexter's team. Now the neglected batsman was regarded as the principal bowler! In conjunction with Chandu Borde, with whom he was to climb many a peak together, Salim (71) added 142 runs for the 5th wicket and each of them claimed 3 wickets to cement their positions in the side.

 

The following two Tests were drawn and then at Calcutta the magnificent pair brought about a stunning victory through their prolific contributions. Durani with 63 and 5 and 3 wickets and his mate Borde with 68 and 61 and 3 wickets were the toast of the crowd.  The duo continued their act in the next Test at Madras. Borde with 5 wickets and Durani with 10 wickets brought about India's first ever series victory over England.

 

To West Indies Durani went in 1962 as our premier all-rounder. On hard, pacy wickets where no spinner on either side made any dent, his guile and genius accounted for 17 wickets in just 7 innings against men of the calibre of Frank Worrel, Rohan Kanhai , Garfield Sobers, Conrad Hunte and company.

 

However what marked him out as special was the courage and class that he displayed in his batting. By the 4th Test the Indians were battered and bruised by the fury of Wes Hall, Charlie Stayers and Chester Watson. It was at this hour that his Pathan blood boiled. No longer could he restrain himself to be on the receiving end.

 

Volunteering to go at No. 3 he proceeded to take the attack to the enemy camp. His bat was a rapier as he lunged into the fearsome attack without a care for the morrow. Gutsy Vijay Mehra gave him solid support as he raced to his century and later the grand old man Polly Umrigar came up with a heroic unbeaten 172. In the Caribbean Salim Durani was not only the major bowler but also took upon himself the role of the saviour. When the top batsmen 'back-pedalled’, he emerged to offer sanctuary and security to his supposed superiors.

 

This saviour's role he was to play time and again for the cause of his mates and country. One moment he was expected to grit his teeth in attrition and at the very next to plunge the dagger in. To play just one role is beyond most, but to be outstanding in both called for something special. It was this rare quality that marked him out as a genius.

 

 He loved adversity; relished challenges. Against weaker teams and under easy conditions he was invariably below his best, but when the going got tough, he would get hold of the rudder and inspire others through personal example. Simpson's Australians on the way back after their triumphs in England shuddered to 174 all out at Eden as Durani taunted them with 6 for 73 off 28 but then had the mortification to see the late Calcutta monsoon ruin the last two days' play.

 

 Again against Sobers’ men when the Indians were feeling the heat of battle and succumbed at Wankhade, the only semblance of resistance came from Prince Salim's aggressive half century where he countered Hall and Griffith thrust for thrust, glare for glare. But sure enough he was omitted for the rest of the series!

 

It appears that the mediocrity around him in the form of officials, team managers and selectors did not want his genius to be exhibited. Of course we have to thank the sagacity of our Test selectors – mostly former Test cricketers – who decided that Salim, then India's premier all-rounder, was not good enough to tour England in 1967, 1971 and 1974 as well as to Australia and New Zealand in 1968.

 

He was done in by vindictive comments of mediocre contemporaries and also by cliquish, narrow-minded selectors. Durani even during his playing days had little time for nodding at powers-that-be. One can only wonder to what heights his penetrative left-arm spin bowling would have reached on the softish English conditions and what his flashing stroke-play would have achieved on the hard Australian wickets.

 

Nine years after his first visit to West Indies, he went back again. This time under Wadekar, a tour memorable for India winning her first-ever series overseas against West Indies. Very deservingly the Indian batters got their due praise, but the man who made the reality possible was a forgotten man within days! Yes, he was Salim Durani, who else?

 

It was his golden arm that first deceived Lloyd and rattled Sobers’ stumps first ball at Sabina Park. So rattled were the West Indies that they collapsed and could not regain their posture throughout the series. Durani with the two most important wickets for just 21 runs off 17 overs was the chief architect of India's first Test and series victory in West Indies. However, true to expectations, he was dropped from the playing XI just after one further Test!

 

However, this was not the end of his Test career. By now he had become a phoenix, perpetually rising from the ashes, as it were. After the euphoria of victories over West Indies and England abroad, India returned to promptly lose to Tony Lewis’ England side in the first Test.

 

 Immediately the panic buttons requisitioned for Durani. Now at the fag end of his career, Durani was to serve the country as a batsman! Durani began as a batter, then a spinner, later an all-rounder and finally back to square one as a batter! Amazing are the ways of our national selectors.

 

What an exhibition he had laid in store for his fans. To a thunderous ovation he walked in at the Gardens and into familiar surroundings: underprepared wicket, India in trouble, opposition literally baying for blood. Just the occasion he relished to have his adrenaline flowing.

 

He swatted a fly and it ricocheted back from the fence to his toe nails in the form of a cricket ball. Sheer magic it was. Edens erupted. We knew we were in the presence of an extraordinary individual, a genius. A man, a real man. A man of adventure and heroic proportions. A genius at the top of the world.

 

As he unusually calmly met a few deliveries without even moving his feet, we knew not the strain in the thigh. A runner was allowed later when the pain was too obvious and he was not even able to use his feet for basic foot-work, far less to run singles.

 

With his favourite Gavaskar to scurry about, the genius played an innings of rare gem. No cavalier was he this time; No frills, nothing fancy. Now he had his head down, chin up, elbow straight, body behind the ball. He steeled himself as he proceeded to play an innings of character that would bring victory to his country and draw parity in the series. He scored 55 out of 157 and helped his captain and mates to go on a victory lap.

 

In the following Test at Madras, once again he was in the thick of action at a time when India was wilting under pressure. And once again he was the main contributor to India's victory in the Test and consequently, as it transpired, in the series as well.

 

And once again he was dropped from the next Test at Kanpur. It was said he was omitted on grounds of fitness. I can only ask, is it not better to take such unfit men who can win matches for the country rather than fitter men who are of no benefit to the team?

 

The insult to injury had the Bombay crowd up in arms in unison. They made placards proclaiming 'No Durani, no Test' and demanded his return. The Board and the selectors remembered Calcutta in 1945 when national selector Duleepsinghji was heckled with similar posters for excluding Mushtaq Ali and so wasted no time in recalling Salim to the playing XI.

 

The genial genius responded to the spontaneous ovation by playing two superlative knocks of 73 and 37 and signed off his magnificent deeds in Test cricket for good.

 

In the history of Test cricket never before or since has a man been omitted immediately after he had directly contributed to national victories. He won 3 Tests out of his last 5 for India, and altogether 6 out of 29 Tests and saved as many.

 

There are numerous Test cricketers — with statistics far superior to Durani’s — who have neither won nor saved a single match for their country. The very same people over the years are earning in crores for passing a whole lot of inane comments on television.

 

They tortured you, Salim bhai, but they could not take away your achievements. They may crucify you to death, Salim bhai, but none can take away the genius that God has blessed you with. You will remain my idol till I die and beyond.