With Kailash Gattani and Ramnath Parker at the world's most popular photo studio

Kailash Gattani: a pioneer mentor of cricketers

His name is not in the record books. His name did not make the headlines. He did not fish around for compliments. He never stayed close to power-centres. Never received any official awards or accolades. Our Kailash, like Mount Kailash, forever retained a dignified presence.

Again just as the holy mountain has the Manasarovar for celestial company, our Kailash is surrounded by innumerable cricketers who consider him to be their rightful guru. Just as Mount Kailash is a spiritual symbol of Sanatan Dharma far removed from petty rivalries, so is our Kailash the man who stayed all alone in the background to steer the cricket careers of young Indian talents.

Kailash Gattani was destined to remain behind the screen and guide others to stardom. Now in retirement, in his heydays too the man was a primal force to help others achieve and fulfil their dreams. Even as a student of St Xavier’s College in Mumbai, he was a much sought-after peer. Colleagues and newcomers found in their cricket captain a refuge. He had the kind of character, personality, integrity and tact that made people relaxed and confident in his presence. He could easily have authored a book on man-management even while at the university.

First saw him bowl in a Duleep Trophy tie in 1964 at Eden Gardens when my elder brother Deb was representing the east zone side for the first time. Gattani, a strappy lad in his late teens, enjoyed the moist conditions and the greenish tinge on the pitch. His enthusiasm knew no bounds. He bowled long spells with remarkable accuracy. His impressive, steady bowling accounted for 4 wickets and at the same time allowed Salim Durani the liberty to go for an all-out attack.

Consistent in his performance at the first-class level, the young medium pacer earned his kudos from distinguished critics. Many thought that he would become an international cricketer. But their hopes went haywire. No call ever came to Gattani from the national selectors.

He stayed on course for the better part of nearly two decades in the service of his home State of Rajasthan and consequently central zone. Despite consistent performances his name never quite made the list of the national selectors. While many would have left any association with the game in sheer frustration, the social worker in Kailash brought his misfortune to a positive end. He stayed on with his favourite passion and served cricket with full sincerity and integrity.

He conceived of a plan to help young Indian cricketers to thrive and prosper. He did not vouch for coaching camps. Nor did he think of organizing tournaments. He realized that there were many others doing wonderful work in these essential spheres. Kailash decided that he would give exposure in foreign lands to unknown, young Indian cricket talents by taking them abroad. He himself was a beneficiary when he had led the Indian Schoolboys team to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1963-64 under BCCI’s junior tours programme.

During the off-season in India, Kailash Gattani would often go to UK to take part in the club-cricket leagues. He also was a regular with Kent CCC in their 2^nd XI. His friendly nature made wide and important contacts. He made sure that these contacts would help his Star CC – full of young teenagers from India – to arrive and play matches around the British Isles in the decades ahead.

As decided, he meticulously organized the trips for more than a decade giving rare opportunities to young talents from all over the sub-continent. Star CC would play a whole lot of matches up and down the British Isles in about 25 days at top-quality venues against strong oppositions. Many of the promising players graduated to international cricket and almost all of them achieved first-class status at cricket.

The idea of private teams touring abroad was first conceived in India by the maharaja of Patiala Bhupindrasingh in 1911 when he sponsored and led an all-India team to visit UK. Later in the 1930s Calcutta-based sports journalist Berry Sarbadhikari – financially assisted by his friend Jagaddipendra Narayan, the maharaja of Coochbehar –  had his University Occasionals touring the country and beyond to Ceylon.

So did the team of the great patron of Indian cricket, maharajkumar of Vizianagram, Vijaya Anand, popularly known as Vizzy. Vizzy’s team played around the country and even went to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in the 1930s. Legendary cricketers like Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe accompanied the team as playing members. In the 1960s, ‘cricket-crazy’ Maan Singh – the manager of the Kapil Dev’s world cup-winning team of 1983 – would take his cricket team Hyderabad Blues to South-East Asia regularly.

All these private cricket teams had established players with a sprinkling of youngsters. But with Kailash Gattani the teams were exclusively for under-19 year olds. This novel concept gave Indian cricket a most distinguished service. The example of Sachin Tendulkar is a case in point. Even before Tendulkar embarked on his international career, he already had the experience of overseas exposure. All this was because of one man’s ingenuity.

 In 1988-89 while involved with veterans’ matches against Majid Jahangir’s Pakistan, Kailash and I shared hotel rooms. One day he casually asked me if I would suggest a few names from among the under-19 east zone talents. That year all-rounder Sourav Ganguly and wicket-keeper Sanjoy Das had done exceptionally well in the under-19 national championship. Accordingly I mentioned their names.

 Next day he had the invitation papers for the two boys ready and requested me to hand it over to them personally at Calcutta on my return. I was indeed pleasantly surprised by his efficiency and his positive spirit. He had not seen them but he selected them without any hesitation entirely on my suggestion. That’s the kind of confidence he reposed in me. There and then I realized that he was a selfless soul without the slightest of silly pretensions.

 Our close companionship began from that day itself. Sourav’s and Sanjoy’s parents profusely thanked me for the opportunity that Kailash had given their respective sons at just 17. Kailash Gattani is the man who started the cricketing journey of the former India captain and current BCCI president more than three decades ago.

In 1992 Kailash asked me to accompany his team the Star Cricket Club as coach. I did and learnt the ropes first-hand which enabled me to organize regular England tours on behalf of The Sunil Gavaskar Cricket Foundation, based at Calcutta. He happens to be my mentor in organizing cricket tours.

As a medium-pace bowler he had impeccable credentials. Could swing the ball, use the seam to deviate, sharply twist his wrist for cutters. Very sensibly, he hardly ever used the bumper.

 I believe as a youngster he was very hot-headed and bowled bumpers quite often. With maturity his intelligence told him that at his pace, bowling of bumpers made little sense. Rather try to model oneself on Alec Bedser and Fazal Mahmood, two of the greatest medium-pacers in the post-war period. That is exactly what this intelligent man set about to achieve.

Kailash’s main forte was his never-say-die spirit. Docile pitches, dropped catches or unkind weather made no difference to this lion-hearted bowler. He could bowl long spells because of his smooth action and his positive attitude. He would willingly play second fiddle at one end so that his captain could attack from the other. Very few bowlers have the mental capacity to do so.

 He was in effect a captain’s bowler. Apart from Samar Chakrabarty of Services and Bengal, I have not seen any pace bowler as selfless as Kailash Gattani was. The Rajasthan skippers – primarily Raj Singh and Hanumant Singh – were indeed fortunate to have had a man like him in their teams. Both, obviously enough, held him in high esteem.

He was an ideal team-man. Even opened the batting in times of need. No wonder he was such an excellent mentor to a host of cricketers who toured UK with him: Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Sourav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja, Amol Muzumder, Shridharan Shriram, Sairaj Bahutule, Manoj Joglekar among others. Many east zone players owe him a debt of gratitude for giving them the initial exposure to the varying conditions available in the British Isles: Ranjib Biswal (Orissa), Gautam  Dutta (Assam), Safi Ahmed and Jayanta Ghosh Dastidar (both Bengal) – all went on to become first-class cricketers – to name a few.

In 1992 at Cambridge University the Star CC tam was invited by the hosts to a sit-down dinner in the company of some of the faculty professors. At the end of the meal, various speakers gave enlightened but short speeches. When our turn came, manager Gattani highlighted very well the need for cultural exchanges through sports. Everything went off well.

Suddenly Kailash said, “Our coach Mr Raju Mukherji will now address you.” Not expecting to speak, I was stunned but thankfully settled down soon enough. I realized that every topic that needed to be covered was adequately covered. After expressing the usual ‘thank-you’ sentences, I just said, “There is so much of food lying waste on the table! In our country we were taught that not a morsel should be wasted. I would request all diners to pick up the fruits, the chocolates, the biscuits and the cheese for consumption later. Let us not waste food, please.”  You should have seen Kailash’s eyes. If possible he would have eaten me alive there and then!

Luckily the next speaker, a distinguished-looking Cambridge professor stood up, applauded and said, “During the War, we too were taught not to waste food. Thanks for reminding us.” Not many of our boys dared to pick up the fruits and the biscuits from the table but the youngest Shridharan Shriram (then just 14 plus) and I did. On the way back and at our residence not a word was exchanged between the manager and the coach with the coach maintaining a discreet distance. Kailash’s look had the daggers drawn!

Around 10pm Shriram and I were chatting in my room and enjoying the chocolates when we heard a knock on the door. The manager sheepishly stepped in, “Raju, dying of hunger. Do you have any food left?” A hearty laughter and a full tummy completed the day.

After the tour was over, I stayed back to do a short course on sports psychology at Leicester University. When I mentioned this to Kailash, his parting shot to me was, “Thank Heavens. You are not returning to India with us!” Whether he really meant it or not, I am still not too sure!

Kailash played his cricket with his head held high. He bent his back only at the delivery stride and never, never off the field.  With his backbone straight, the impressive personality of Kailash Gattani served cricket selflessly by providing opportunities to others.

Kailash never stooped to authority to ‘curry’ favours. Never bothered about media publicity. Cricket enthusiasts came forward on their own to help his team with funds. Even modest amounts and help-in-kind for the young were welcomed by Kailash. I happen to know two of them, Pranay Mondkar and Saktibrata Dutta. Both deserve my salutes for helping young cricketers through Kailash Gattani’s Star Cricket Club.

Always impeccably dressed, Kailash preferred to be seen in British formal wear with tie and jacket. The outfit suited his strong, tall, broad physique. He had acquired the typical dry British humour. Knew well enough how to use it and when. Never over-used his subtle wit to show-off. 

He was in the best sense of the term ‘a pucca brown-sahib’. He brought the best of cultures together in his own self and helped to propagate to others through his manner and actions. Kailash has achieved far more than most diplomats in the area of international relations through cultural exchanges.

 He remains a magnificent example of a man who can turn his own misfortunes to help others fulfil their dreams. A rare individual in any sphere of life. I am proud to call him my friend.

Kailash Gattani is one of the great contributors to Indian cricket. A mentor of many; a role model for many more. May his spirit of selfless service survive in Indian cricket.