DILAWAR HUSSAIN, the neglected and heralded scholar, activist, Test cricketer.

One person whose name never appears in writing or in speech on Indian cricket is that of Dilawar Hussain. The Lahore-born gentleman happened to be academically the most highly qualified of all Indian Test cricketers. He left the scene with a Test batting average of 40 plus, far more than most Test batsmen who have played for India. This intellectual, social activist was neglected even in his prime by his peers, by the administrators as well as by the media!

The heavily-built, rugged wicket-keeper made his Test debut at Eden Gardens on a chilly winter morn in January 1934 against bodyline-famed skipper Douglas Jardine’s MCC team. In both the innings the debutant was the highest scorer for India with scores of 59 and 57. Perhaps an all-time record for any Test cricket debutant around the world.

His first appearance in Test cricket coincided with the first-ever official Test match played on the lush green turf of Eden Gardens. This Test followed that at Bombay Gymkhana ground, where the first official Test on Indian soil was played in December 1933.

In the first innings at Eden, while opening the batting Dilawar Hussain received a nasty hit on the head from a bumper of Morris Nicholls when he was on 11. It was a very serious injury and he had to retire to receive medical attention. The gutsy man returned from the hospital and continued to face the pace of Nobby Clark and Nicholls as well as the variety of Hedley Verity’s spin. His dogged 59 was the highest score of the innings.

My father, then just about 14, witnessed the Test match at Eden Gardens sitting on the temporary wooden stand beyond the periphery. For the teenage spectator the lasting impression was the courage of the batsman, “You should have seen the guts and the tenacity of the man. Blood dripping, forehead in bandage, team in tatters, stern captain Jardine giving no quarters. But our man stood up like a real freedom fighter. He took the deliveries on his body. Did not flinch even once. Showed exemplary bravery and patience to hold fort. A genuine patriot. That’s the real spirit of sports.” Those days the Indians took pride in speaking in terms of struggles against the colonial masters.

In the mid 1960s there could no better way to inspire his teenage son. Dad’s words motivated me to research on this inspiring, brave hero. But try as I might, I found very little reference to the courageous man in any of our cricket books! Very few seemed to have even heard of him. Hardly any photographs of his were to be found. Ultimately the walking encyclopaedia of Indian cricket – Subroto Rana Sirkar – came to my rescue with a portrait of Dilawar Hussain.

 Something told me to carry on with the search for the actual person behind this missing name. What attracted me most were my dad’s inspiring words to describe the man’s sheer valour in the face of high odds. As I delved into Dilawar Hussain’s life, I could only marvel at the magnificent all-round personality and his immense contribution to society.

With Jardine enforcing the follow-on, the brave man – head now swathed in bandage – came out to bat with India reeling at 129 for 5. Batting alongside the descending order, Dilawar was the last man to be dismissed at 237. Out of the 108 runs added by the last 5wickets, the grievously injured man’s contribution was 57. Yet again he was the highest scorer of the innings. Wonder if any debutant anywhere has achieved this superlative feat of being the highest scorer in either innings. Instead of creating a lasting impression, this achievement was never highlighted by anybody.

Even the deadly spinner Hedley Verity – who had troubled Bradman in his prime – along with the hostile pace duo of Clarke and Nicholls could not dent Dilawar’s impregnable defence and his insurmountable patience. His brave effort also helped India to prolong the second innings and save his country from a certain defeat. With his head bandaged and his body black and blue, he was indeed the lone warrior battling it out against the colonial masters on the cricket arena. This was no less than a political statement to the foreign rulers in the pre-independence movements of the 1930s.

Within weeks in the following Test at Chepauk, Dilawar again volunteered to open the innings against the lively pace attack of Jardine’s men, Clarke and Nicholls. No one thought of rest and recuperation in those glorious days. Dilawar’s opening partner Naoomal Jeoomal received a nasty crack on the head from Clarke and had to retire from the match. Far from being bogged down, Dilawar played two tenacious innings of 13 and 36 but could not save India from a massive defeat.

In 1936 he was an obvious choice for the England tour under Vizzy. But the whimsical selection policy left the team rudderless. Debutant Hindlekar ‘kept’ in the first Test while another debutant wicket-keeper Meherhomji came in for the 2^nd Test. By the 3^rd Test both the stumpers were on the injured list. Suddenly someone remembered that Dilawar was also in England.

Yes, he was in England at the time. Studying at Cambridge University, no less. His was not a ‘royal’ entry into the hallowed precincts. No, he got admitted to Cambridge University on his own merit as an serious student. This by itself was a huge departure from the existing norms where Indian royal family members gained easy, automatic entry into these famous institutions despite below average academic results.

An invitation was sent to Dilawar by BCCI to join the squad. He took permission from his college tutors and joined the team. He was the most consistent scorer in the last 9 matches that he played coming down from Cambridge. He was second in the tour average list having scored 620 runs at     44.28. Not too bad for a player originally overlooked!

In the final Test at Oval, yet again he was his determined, patient self with scores of 35 and 54. In England’s imposing total of 471, he gave not a single bye. For all his courage, determination, effort and contribution, the magnificent Dilawar Hussain was never heard of again as a Test cricketer for India! Omitted just after 3 Tests without a single failure.

Was he a distinct victim of racism at Cambridge University in the mid 1930s as well? I am sure he was. Although a very successful Test cricketer for India (Test batting average as high as 42 plus), he was never chosen to represent Cambridge University at cricket! Unfortunately these issues have never been highlighted by our cricket pundits.

When Dilawar made his first-class debut for the Muslims in the Quadrangular tournament in 1925 he was merely 18 but possessed a strong, broad, bulky physique. He wore loose-fitting trousers which resembled the wide Pathani pyjamas, very popular in the north-west of our sub-continent. Invariably his shirt would hang out of his trousers and had to be regularly tucked in! At 6feet 2 inches, his bulk and his bald pate gave him an imposing presence!

Dilawar came from an academically-oriented, stable, financially sound family. An excellent student in school, to him cricket was only a pleasant, welcome diversion. Being of a sensitive nature he became involved with socio-political activities while at college in the culturally inclined city of Lahore. Later with the nationalistic movement gaining ground in the country, his concentration towards cricket receded.

Dilawar Hussain was an inveterate talker. Very well-read, the learned man from Lahore could speak on any topic, from philosophy, politics to raw slang! Even on the ground his constant chatter not only disturbed the opposition batters but his own mates as well!

The awesome bulk gave every indication that he loved his food and gave extra attention to his appetite. The “Professor”, as he was called, was a master chef himself and was known to guide the best of cooks about masalas and measures!

At the crease, however, he had a most uncouth batting-stance. Knees bent low, his ample body would be so crouched so as to have his head in line with the bails! He never wore a cap or the sola-topee that most Indian players in those days would wear. The super confident academic-cricketer did not feel it necessary to hide his bald dome, as is the modern trend among celebrities.

Little did he care about his personal image or in creating any impression.  He had no concern for aesthetics. Wasted no time or effort to please others. He had awesome determination coupled with insurmountable patience as well as a solid defensive technique to see him through, both behind and ahead of the stumps.  Confidence personified, he was quite a ‘character’. A most lovable personality to all in general, but not to his jealous India team-mates.

Dilawar was a victim of jealousy of his peers. Intellectually far superior, he was too scholarly for them. Statistically far more successful as a batter than most. He aligned neither with the provincial groups nor with the communal-minded characters. He was nobody’s crony. Hence he always remained out of the periphery of the disjointed XI that represented India in Tests in the 1930s. It appears that even the media personnel were overwhelmed by his individuality!

He played in the Quadrangular for the Muslims from 1925 to 1929 and again when it resumed in 1934-35. His last appearance in the Quadrangular was in 1940 when he came down from Cambridge to help Mushtaq Ali (110) and Wazir Ali (59) to defeat The Rest in the final. At the time Dilawar was more into academics and social activism, hardly played cricket. Now a doctorate, nevertheless Dilawar’s amazing consistency (54) continued.

Between 1930 and 1934 no Quadrangular matches were held as the nation was totally immersed in the Civil Disobedience movement against the British rulers. Just goes to show that political movements and sports have always helped each other. Sports and politics in the right sense of its broad term have always been very closely related. Both are egalitarian, broad-based and secular.

Dilawar Hussain was probably the first Test cricketer of the sub-continent to become an important functionary in cricket administration. He became a very active founder-member of the Pakistan cricket administration after the partition of the sub-continent. He served as Pakistan’s national selector as well.

This bright visionary was the man who gave Pakistan cricket its firm foundation from the first day. He allowed Pakistani players to develop their individual technique and approach, a trait which even now is apparent among the Pakistani cricketers. They are ‘naturals’ who display no adherence to ‘copy-book’ technicalities. Thanks largely to the largesse of Prof Dilawar Hussain.

Dilawar Hussain happened to be academically the most highly qualified of all the Indian Test cricketers. He was an undergraduate at Cambridge University when he assisted India in 1936.

Later completed his doctorate and according to the research of my wife Seema – a student of history – became the principal of the highly distinguished Muslim Anglo Oriental (MAO) College in Lahore. He also acquired a professional degree in Law and went on to do ‘double MA’! Wonder how many of our academicians can match the academic accomplishments of this amazing Test cricketer? Yet, we in India have totally forgotten the superlative intellectual.

The successful cricketer was involved with cricket, yet not quite into it. The brilliant activist was involved with serious politics, but stayed away from its corruptible influences. The esteemed academician was a friend of his students, not a pedagogue. An ideal persona of an educated, non-ambitious gentleman. Without intending to be so, he was actually a karma yogi of the highest esteem. A role-model whom we have ignored continuously and totally!

Unfortunately we have totally neglected a gentleman who had served pre-independent India as a cricketer and as an activist with all bravado and glory in those difficult days of colonial rule. Dilawar Hussain was a freedom fighter who helped undivided India fight for self-respect on the sports battle-field. His contribution to society was no less in the academic arena.

Another Indian Test cricketer with a doctorate from Cambridge University was Jahangir Khan, father of Majid Jahangir Khan the Pakistan captain. Jahangir Khan played 4 Tests for India, all in England, in 1932 and 1936. He was also a ‘Blue’ having represented Cambridge University for 4 successive years.

Dilawar Hussain’s career as well as that of Jahangir Khan’s went on to erase many false notions of  Indian society. They proved to the world that even highly qualified Indian academic scholars can be successful in international cricket and vice versa. They proved to the world that not every sportsman is an academic dullard…

Shall we ever see such brilliant doctorate-international cricketers again? I doubt it. I don’t mean those ‘honorary doctorates’ that are ‘arranged’, as is the present trend.

The exemplary professor – Dr Dilawar Hussain – should always remain an immortal role-model for all forward-thinking, self-respecting Indians.