June 25 an indelible date in the history of Cricket in India

June 25 an indelible date in the history of Cricket in India

This day, the 25th of June, remains eternally etched in the annals of Indian Cricket. It was on this day, way back in 1932 that India was baptised in to the International Cricket playing its inaugural Test match against the English team and on this very day, in 1983, Kapil Dev’s Devils rewrote history by winning the Prudential World Cup beating the invincible West Indies to lift the coveted World Cup. I am confining this post only to India’s baptism into international cricket since most Indians are aware of India’s World Cup victory in 1983.

Although the origin of Cricket in India dates back to as early as 1721 - yet - it was not until another 200 plus years (1932) that India was baptised in to the International Cricketing arena. The team selection for India’s maiden test debut tour to England was shrouded in controversy and mystery. Despite all the intrigue over captaincy and team selection, a young Indian side made giant strides by undertaking their first official foreign tour in 1932 to England amidst political tension brewing in India. Mahatma Gandhi was making his defiant journey - famously called the Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, an act of nonviolent civil disobedience - to produce salt from the sea water in the coastal village of Dandi. Under these circumstances of nationalistic fervour the Bombay Quadrangular was suspended, so it was not possible to gauge performances in this influential tournament to select players for the inaugural test series.

Some of the prominent players, that included LP Jai, VM Merchant and Champak Mehta, were unavailable because of the Hindu Gymkhana's opposition to the tour in protest against the jailing of Indian political leaders. KS Duleepsinhji, in whose honour the Duleep Trophy is played in India, was prevented by his uncle Ranjitsinhji, who was the chairman of selectors, from participating in the tour. The Nawab of Pataudi (senior) had also made himself unavailable for the tour, citing short notice although the actual reason was because he had not been offered a position of responsibility. It was therefore suggested that an Englishman playing in India either AL Hosie, CP Johnstone or RB Lagden, should skipper the side, to mollify the inevitable factions within the tour party. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) quickly resolved that the captain would be an Indian.

The Maharaja of Patiala, one of the richest patrons of Indian cricket, was first named captain, with Prince Ganshyamsinhji of Limbdi as vice-captain, while the Maharaj Kumar of Vizianagram, was made deputy vice-captain. The tour party was announced on February 4, 1932. Two weeks before the tour, the Maharaja of Patiala withdrew for reasons of fitness, and Vizianagram also withdrew from the team citing poor health and lack of form. On March 15, the choice of captain fell upon the Maharaja of Porbandar, while Jahangir Khan was drafted into the party as a player in place of Vizianagram. He too eventually stepped down in favour of C.K. Nayudu, who captained the team at the only Test at Lord’s on June 25, 1932.

The All-India cricket team that was finally selected to travel to England for the inaugural test match was an extraordinary microcosm of the diversity that constitutes India. Soon after the Indian team arrived in England, on April 13, 1932, the Evening Standard commented on the socio-political significance of the tour: “No politics, no caste, just cricket. This is the unofficial slogan of the cricket team that has come from India after a lapse of 21 years.... There has never been such a team of contrasts meeting on the common footing of cricket. The 18 players speak eight to ten languages among them (and belong to) four or five different castes.” The team contained six Hindus, five Mohammedans, four Parsees and two Sikhs. The Mohammedans forswear alcohol by religion and most of the others did so by choice. The Sikhs, who would play cricket in turbans, are similarly denied smoking. The Hindus do not eat beef, and the Mohammedans avoid pork and ham.

The Indians played 38 matches in all, including 26 first-class fixtures. The team won 9 first-class matches, drew 9 and lost 8. The team's outstanding batsman was the right-handed CK Nayudu, who played in all the first-class matches, scoring 1,618 runs at an average of 40.45. The team also had a fine pair of opening bowlers in Amar Singh (111 wickets in first-class matches at 20.37) and Mohammad Nissar (71 wickets at 18.09).

The Indian team played its first official three day Test against England at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground during 25-28 June 1932. England won the toss and elected to bat. The Indians shocked the English in the first half-hour itself. The MCC was reduced to a dismal 19-3 by some excellent Indian bowling and fielding. It was an extraordinary start to the match. The Birmingham Post summed up the excellent start that the Indian’s made in their debut match “The All India cricket team has administered a few shocks to the dignity and confidence of England today. If there were among the 24,000 spectators at Lord’s some who imagined that the granting of a Test match by the MCC to the tourists from the Indian empire was merely an amiable concession, then they had a very rude awakening before the close of play....”. England came out of the initial shock and recovered to beat India in the inaugural test by 158 runs. Notwithstanding the defeat, June 25, 1932, will forever go down in India’s cricket history as a red letter day and 51 years later this very day in 1983, India lifted the World Cup and made this day an indelible day in the history of Indian Cricket.