Bhagwat Chandrasekhar

 

He was something special. Rare vintage. Unique of flavour. Extraordinary of essence. Never in the long history of international cricket have we come across a player with such unusual characteristics.

 

Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar unwittingly came into the cricket scenario to show contempt at all the established norms. He rattled the conventional theories to smithereens. But he was not rude in his method. Rather he kept smiling his way into the hearts of the people as one pillar of orthodoxy after another tumbled.

 

Within 3 months of making his Ranji Trophy debut for Karnataka (then Mysore) he was selected at 18 to play the Mumbai Test against Mike Smith's England team in 1963-64.

 

Critics, who had sniggered that his non-rhythmic bowling run-up would tire him out early, vanished early enough themselves as he bowled 40 overs for just 67 runs! In between however, he confounded the ‘technically-correct’ English batters to claim 4 wickets.

 

Experts who claimed he bowled too quick to get sufficient spin gasped as he spun a web around Lawry and Simpson the following winter at Mumbai again, throttling the Australians to submission. His analysis in the two innings read: 26-10-50-4 and 30-11-73-4.

 

But the cynics were still not convinced. They said that against the fleet-footed West Indies Chandra would meet his match. Well, his first encounter with West Indies had men like Hunte, Kanhai, Sobers and Lloyd in their ranks. At Brabourne Stadium once again – his favourite haunt – he was a man inspired with figures of 61.5-17-157-7 and 31-7-78-4.

 

Now how do you describe a man who did everything that should not have been done according to the coaching manuals and yet emerge an international champion in his own right?

 

Yes, Chandra had too long a run-up for a spinner. Yes, Chandra did run in too quickly for a spinner. Yes, his run-up and action were ungainly and awkward. But then he was no believer of conventional theories or orthodox methods. I suspect that he purposely did everything the other way round just to tease the rigid, puerile establishment.

 

He was a free bird; not a caged pet. He acted spontaneously;

An eagle soaring into the skies. Actually I had grave doubts whether the genius himself knew what he would do with the ball in hand. Probably therein lay his greatest deception: since he himself was not certain which way the ball would turn, how could the hapless batter know? Of course, this was only an academic guess. The truth quite the opposite, surely.

 

Years ago at Chennai, 1973 perhaps, with some of my East Zone colleagues I went behind the South Zone net to try to decipher his spin from his action. Gopal Bose who had got runs against Chandra in an earlier encounter, whispered, "Raju, play him as an off-spinner. If the ball turns from the leg, even Sir Don would be beaten! "A remarkable tribute to one of the true legends of the game.

 

But, then another question arises: was he actually a spinner? At his pace, hardly a slow spinner in the conventional sense. He spun: Oh! Sure he certainly did, but at medium pace.

 

While playing for Bangalore University on the matting wickets of those days, he was nearly unplayable. The former Bengal and East Zone opener, Dev Mukherji –my elder brother – who had a successful duel against Chandra in a varsity match on matting, rationalized "The best way to play Chandra was to play him as a medium pacer who brought the ball in. In that way at least you were prepared for the pace and, more importantly, the added bounce that he generated."

 

Yes, that's it. The bounce that he could get out of his deliveries was astounding. No spinner could generate the bounce that he could extract with his whiplash action. Some of his deliveries would actually climb chest high. Many international batters still have nightmares about their dismissals. They had no clue then. They still have not been able to fathom how they succumbed.

 

But the arm-chair critics were still far from convinced. They were on the look-out for Chandra's weakness. They said that all his successes were achieved on Indian soil and so he would be exposed abroad. On the softer English wickets he would get no bounce, on the hard Australian wickets he would spin less and on the West Indian wickets their batsmen would not respect him as much as they did on Indian wickets.

 

On his first visit to England under Tiger Pataudi, Chandra took 16 wickets at 27.18 in only 3 Tests. Then in 1971 under Ajit Wadekar he took 13 in 3 Tests including 8 wickets at the Oval where India recorded her first Test and series victory on English soil.

 

At Oval in the final Test after England had taken a convincing lead of 71 in the first innings, Chandra in a magic spell 18.1-3-33-6 sent Edrich, D'Oliveira, Fletcher and company packing for just 101. No such blitz had England encountered since the days of Hitler's aerial attacks. This defeat ended England's record run        of 26 official Tests without a defeat.

 

His first tour of Australia in 1967-68 ended in a mishap as he had to return home because of injury. But on his second trip he made amends. He gave India under Bishan Singh Bedi two victories with 12 and 8 wickets at Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

 

To West Indies he went just once. But that enough for him to fetch India a historic win at Trinidad, where his figures were: 32.2-8-120-6 and 27-5-88-2. He tormented the mighty West Indies men like Richards, Kalicharan, Lloyd, Fredricks and Rowe with 21 wickets in the 4 Test series.

 

He served India like a real champion. Between 1963 and 1979 he played 58 Tests claiming 242 wickets at 29.74. Victim-wise his most successful series was against England in 1972-73 when he had 35 scalps for just 18.91. No opposition, no condition, no reputation overawed him.

 

 He had no fancy for any particular captain. He was as successful under Pataudi as he was under Ajit Wadekar and Bishen Singh Bedi. He had excellent close-in fielding support from Eknath Solkar, Abid Ali, Ajit Wadekar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. But then even without them he was just as penetrative. No other Indian cricketer has given us as many Test victories as he has. No less than 14 in his 58 Tests.

 

Yes, you read right. Chandra was involved in 14 victories in his 58 appearances. No Indian, however great, has ever matched that statistical percentage. This was his great gift to Indian cricket lovers. Of course, Chandra being Chandra never cared for any figures.

 

Though his figures are extraordinary, there is always a fear that his real capability might be submerged by mere statistics. He was all magic. No opposition ever had any respite from him. His tentacles were always on their necks. None before or since has ever been a match-winner like him.

 

Very early in life an attack of polio severely affected his stronger arm, the right arm. Never was he able to use it for the powerful throw-ins from the deep. Not to be outdone by such a grave handicap, Chandra began to throw with his weaker left arm.

 

 Such was his determination that the weaker left arm developed adequate strength and control and he actually used it for the flat throws from the boundary. I wonder if any other cricketer has ever used his weaker arm for the long throws from the deep. He could use his right arm for the short distance throws and thus was quite an ambidextrous thrower.

 

These issues appear to be minor, but if one thinks deep one would realize that the extraordinary performer’s dedication and determination were exemplary. The wonderful persona was ever-smiling, ever-accessible and ever-relaxed.  Never before or since has the cricket world seen a man as unique as he was.

 

Never craved for power or publicity. Never bothered about acclaim or awards. Never stooped to gain. He was a champion in his own right. He bore no comparison to anybody past or present. He defied description. He was truly extraordinary. Unique were his style and manner. He perpetually stands on a pinnacle all on his own.

 

The polio-affected right arm he utilized to send down those highly-charged googlies, top spinners and leg breaks. How he managed to overcome a physical handicap as debilitating as his was and yet become world beater is one of the mysteries of international sports. Many believe that it was because of his withered arm that he was so very effective, but the truth remains that the brave man disregarded a distinct handicap through the sheer strength of spirit.

 

He was indeed fortunate that he had the most understanding of captains in the early part of his phenomenal career: Subramanian (Karnataka), Jaisimha (South Zone), Borde (Board President's XI) and Pataudi (India). They made no effort to change the natural, unorthodox style of the youngster and for that every Indian cricket lover should be highly indebted to them. Respected coach Hemu Adhikari was another person who always kept his faith in Chandra as a match-winner.

 

But even a man of Chandra's extraordinary talents and universal popularity had powerful detractors. The national selectors and their petty prejudices kept him on the sidelines time and again for no apparent reasons.

 

 Even Vijay Merchant, one of our greatest cricketers, just could not reconcile to the fact that Chandra was a world-class player with unique qualities of his own. Merchant, for all his marvellous qualities, had a distinct apathy for anything unorthodox. Accordingly Chandra faced the axe when the selection committee chairman Merchant announced the India team to tour West Indies under Wadekar in early1971.

 

Chandra defies description. The sheer unpredictability of the man was unimaginable. He not only detested batsmen, he also detested batting. He is credited with the maximum number of zeroes to his name!

 

Never showed any urge to concentrate on improving his batting. However, once, to silence the know-alls he added 50 with Bapu Nadkarni in the Calcutta Test of l963-64 in his debut season.

 

A fascinating aspect of Chandra was that whereas he should have been used as a shock bowler, he gladly volunteered to take the load of a stock bowler as well. And yet managed not to suffer from over exposure as had happened to Sonny Ramadhin of West Indies.

 

Every time Chandra turned his arm round there was a hush of expectation in the stands. Perpetually on the attack, once in 1974 he brought India a magnificent victory at Eden Gardens against Lloyd's team, from the brink of a certain defeat. Pataudi kept his faith in Chandra knowing very well that if anyone could win the match it would be Chandra. 

 

It is indeed surprising that for a man of such outstanding credentials, he was so very humble, so very modest. Even when he had top quality batters in abject surrender, he would not go into a wild war dance. He would merely hum one of his favourite Mukesh tunes!

 

Once I had the good fortune to share a writing desk with him at Eden Gardens. Sports editor Rajan Bala, Chandra and I were covering the Test for the evening edition of Deccan Herald. It was a very non-conventional journalistic experience. Full of stories, plenty of humour, less of actual reporting! An experience of a lifetime. Thanks to India’s all-time champion.

 

Rajan Bala jokingly asked him, “ Chandra, care to bowl in this match?” Chandra nodded assent. Rajanda continued, “Which end, Chandra?” Chandra smiled. “From this end, of course. So that after every delivery as I walked back, I would raise my head and get your guidance!” You should have heard Rajan Bala’s laughter.

 

He was a real champion of the old school. No unnecessary bravado; no false hang-ups. Modesty at its height. Never a false word against anyone. I doubt if he ever thought that he had done anything out of the ordinary.

 

The modesty of the man was beyond compare. Once in the mid 1970s when Ambar Roy was playing the innings of his life at Eden Gardens against Prasanna and Chandra on the crumbling 4^th day pitch chasing 490 odd, Chandra muttered, “Ambar, I am so lucky that I do not meet you in Test matches!” Can you imagine the modesty of the world’s leading match-winning spinner? I do not think the most unlucky cricketer Ambar Roy ever got any higher acclaim.

 

However his peers always joked about the singular moment when Chandra actually lost his cool. Once in New Zealand he was routinely being deprived of leg-before decisions. It appeared that the ‘home’ umpires could not read his googlies as did the batters! They went on negating his appeals.

 

 Then finally when he got the batter bowled middle-stump, bowler Chandra turned towards the umpire and let out a vociferous appeal. The umpire said, “Don’t appeal. He is bowled.” Chandra replied, “I know he is bowled but is he out!” That’s Chandra, bright and sharp but a total introvert. No wonder everybody loved him. They still do.

 

To him every word and action appeared to be a spontaneous expression of life in full flow. Chandrasekhar was a cricketing sage, in the most appropriate term of the word.

 

 He was like the sage Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who taught the world that there was no one single established theory to reach God and that every person should have the freedom of choice to reach his own goal: Joto moth, toto poth.

 

Likewise Chandra proved that the coaching manuals are only for reference. A real champion will find his own method, his own path, his own style, his own unique way.