CRICKETERS OF INDIA – MANSOOR ALI KHAN PATAUDI
INDIAN CRICKETER – M.A.K. PATAUDI (TIGER PATAUDI)
Mansoor Ali Khan or Mansur Ali Khan, sometimes M.A.K. Pataudi (5 January 1941, Bhopal – 22 September 2011, New Delhi), nicknamed Tiger Pataudi, was an Indian cricketer and former captain of the Indian cricket team. He was the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi until 1971, when India abolished royal entitlements through the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India. Mohamed Mansur Ali Khan was the son of Iftikhar Ali Khan, eighth Nawab of Pataudi and his wife Sajida Sultan, second daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal. He was born in Bhopal and educated at A.M.U Minto Circle School in Aligarh and then went to Welham Boys’ School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Lockers Park Prep School in Hertfordshire (where he was coached by Frank Woolley), and Winchester College. He read Arabic and French at Balliol College, Oxford.
Pataudi Jr., as Mansoor came to be known during his cricket career, was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. He played in 46 Test matches for India between 1961 and 1975, scoring had scored 2,793 runs at a Test batting average of 34.91, including 6 Test centuries. Mansoor was captain of the Indian cricket team in 40 of his 46 matches, only 9 of which resulted in victory for his team, with 19 defeats and 19 draws. His victories included India’s first ever Test match win overseas against New Zealand in 1968. He was an Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1962, and a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1968. He published an autobiography, Tiger’s Tale, in 1969. He was the manager of the India team in 1974-5, and referee for two Ashes Tests in 1993. He was later a member of the council of the Indian Premier League.
On 27 December 1969, Mansoor married actress Sharmila Tagore, great-grandniece of Rabindranath Tagore. They had three children : Saif Ali Khan, a Bollywood actor, born 16 August 1970, Soha Ali Khan, a Bollywood actress, born 4 October 1978 and Saba Ali Khan a jewellery designer. Pataudi was admitted to New Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on 22 September 2011 with an acute lung infection. The infection was caused by chronic interstitial lung disease which prevented his lungs from exchanging oxygen properly. The same day he died of respiratory failure. His was buried at Pataudi near Delhi on 23 September 2011. In 1964 he won Arjuna Award and in 1967 he was honored with Padma Shri.
