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Actor Saif Ali Khan comes from a lineage of great cricketers. Although the famous Bollywood actor did not follow the same path, his father and former Indian captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. But not many people know that his grandfather, Nawab Mohammad Iftikhar Ali Khan Siddiqui Pataudi, sometimes IAK Pataudi was the 8th Nawab of Pataudi and also the captain of the India national cricket team for the tour to England in 1946.
IAK Pataudi has a special record to his name — he has also played Test cricket for the England team in 1932 and 1934, making him one of the few cricketers to have played Test cricket for two countries and the only Test cricketer to have played for both India and England. He played in six Tests in all, three as captain of India and three for England.
IAK Pataudi was named the Indian Cricketer of the Year in 1946/47. He planned a return to play for Worcestershire for the 1952 county cricket season but died in India before he could come back.
Iftikhar is considered one of the most talented batsmen who played cricket during the 1930s and 40s. Sadly, the present generation has hardly heard about Iftikhar.
His life
Iftikhar was born on May 16, 1910, in Pataudi, Punjab, British India. The Nawab, sometimes also known as IAK Pataudi, was the 8th Nawab of Pataudi. Today, however, the erstwhile and small princely state of Pataudi lies in the present-day state of Haryana.
During his schooling in India, Iftikhar learnt the basics of cricket from MG Slater, an Oxford University cricketer. Much later and during his early stay in England, Frank Woolley coached the promising lad. In Lahore, Iftikhar went to Chiefs’ College, which was later renamed Aitchison College.
Following this, he bagged a place in the England Test team for the now infamous Bodyline 1932–33 Ashes series Down Under. The same year, Iftikhar was named the Wisden Cricketer of the Year. On his Test debut in Sydney, Iftikhar smashed a century (102) helping England win the Test by 10 wickets.
However, Iftikhar rubbed his captain Douglas Jardine on the wrong side by objecting to his bodyline tactics and refused to move to his place in the leg-side field. Seeing this, Jardine is believed to have said 'His Highness' is a conscientious objector.
The clash between Iftikhar and Jardine
A peeved Jardine dropped the Nawab of Pataudi Sr. after the second Test in Melbourne on the pretext that he scored 15 and 5. Iftikhar never played in that series again. Some time by the end of the Bodyline tour, Iftikhar said of Jardine, “I am told he has his good points. In three months I have yet to see them.”
The year 1933 can be considered as the year of Iftikhar as it was the only full season of county cricket for him. In that year, batting spectacularly, Iftikhar plundered Tich Freeman at Worcester and smashed his way to two 200s. That year, he scored 1,749 runs and his average was 49.
In the same year, Iftikhar’s health broke down. He then managed to play just 10 games and recorded his career-best batting average of 91.33.
