A true legend called Vinoobhai

Far too often in cricket discussions the word lsquogreatrsquo is used loosely while referring to merely good players Vinoo Mankad whose 96th birth anniversary will be commemorated tomorrow fits well in the lsquotruly greatrsquo category If Kapil Dev is by far Indiarsquos greatest allrounder Mankad cannot be far behind Of course Raj Singh Dungarpur that great romantic and true servant of Indian cricket put Mankad ahead of Kapil and made no secret that he voted for him in the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century polls which Kapil won in London 2002 Teaching right Mankad seen coaching children from England Mind you Dungarpur saw both players from close quarters He managed the 1983 World Cupwinning captain on several tours and played firstclass cricket with Mankad for Rajasthan What made Mankad so special ldquoA great bowler clearly the best of his type in postwar cricket and possibly as good as any in any period Certainly he is entitled to stand with Rhodes Verity and Parker in the line of classic slow leftarm bowlersrdquo wrote John Arlott the celebrated English cricket writer and broadcaster And as batsman His 1952 captain Vijay Hazare wrote in Cricket Replayed ldquoMankad was fearless and believed in going for the bowling Yet he never once hit recklesslyrdquo Probably the best possible tribute to Mankadrsquos batting comes in the form of an incident which occurred on Indiarsquos 194748 tour of Australia Mankad had problems coping with the oppositionrsquos spearhead Ray Lindwallrsquos yorkers The Queenslander had claimed Mankad four times in two Tests During a cocktail party after Day One of the third Test in Melbourne Mankad asked Lindwall where he was going wrong The Aussie turned generous and pointed to the fact that he was a touch late when it came to negotiating the yorker and suggested he reduces his back swing Although Lindwall got his man twice again in the series for ducks Mankad scored two hundreds Indian cricket in the main has to do more to honour a man whose contribution to their game went beyond runs wickets and catches Almost every successful Mumbai spinner of the 1960s and early 1970s profited from Mankadrsquos teachings Batsmen were benefactors too wicketkeepers as well Kiran Ashar the former Mumbai wicketkeeperbatsman said Mankad was ldquosomething unbelievablerdquo when he coached at the Tairsee nets at Hindu Gymkhana ldquoVinoobhai was willing to offer anyone help but he was very straightforward He once told a father of a trainee that his son was not cut out for cricket so he might as well focus on something else ldquoIf you were a poor fielder you could never get into any of Vinoobhairsquos teams and if you were playing Fellowship school whom his son Ashok played for you were given every possible advice on how to get him out early He made sure everyone worked hardrdquo recalled Ashar When he was a younger man ace statistician Sudhir Vaidya wrote a book on Mankad When he approached his hero to earn his cooperation Mankad was not interested He reckoned that his deeds were already well documented Vaidya then approached Vijay Merchant who convinced Modest Mankad that his contribution was vital The book got published in 1969 No piece on Mankad can be complete without mention of the 1952 Lordrsquos Test where he scored 72 and 184 besides claiming five in Englandrsquos first innings He was not in the original tour party because he wanted an assurance from the Indian cricket board that he would be part of the team because he was offered a lucrative contract by Haslingden in the Lancashire League The Board did not afford him that guarantee so he honoured his club commitment He was summoned for the first Test at Leeds but was not included in the XI and left the same day to play a League game He got his chance at Lordrsquos and although India lost the game came to be known as Mankadrsquos Test Even the Queen complimented him for his batting After the Test Berry Sarbadhikary the famous Indian writer and broadcaster was approached by an elderly English gentleman at a pub He wanted to have a drink with Sarbadhikary When the drinks arrived he raised his glass and said ldquoI have seen Ranji Duleep and Pataudi Sr But herersquos to Vinoo Mankadrdquo The Legends Club has aptly invited Mankadrsquos only surviving son Rahul to talk about the man and the player at the Cricket Club of India tomorrow His fatherrsquos great deeds will ensure Rahul is not short of storiesu00a0 Clayton Murzello is MiD DAY39s Group Sports Editor