Jimmy Amarnath, the comeback specialist

By Rajadhyax

Surprise, surprise! The powers that be of Indian cricket have bestowed on Mohinder Amarnath the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest award that can be given to a former cricketer. He will receive the award later this month in a glittering ceremony. The award consists of Rs.15 Lacs and citation. This comes as a pleasant shock since the same Board and its veritable selectors of his time had treated the great man so badly that it had prompted him to call them “a bunch of jokers”. No matter how accurate he may have been in describing them, the comment made him so unpopular with the Board that it cost him his remaining career. He was also off-limits for nearly all the official programmes and made a few people uneasy when he selected a TV commentary assignment (what if he spoke the unspoken, they worried!).

Of course, on a positive note one can say that perhaps the ‘powers’ have decided to bury the proverbial hatchet and grant him the honour that he richly deserves. Considered by Imran Khan, Malcolm Marshall and Sunny Gavaskar as easily the “most courageous batsman” to master fierce pace bowling, Mohinder Amarnath (fondly named Jimmy), son of former Test captain Lala Amarnath, was a talented batsman who could bowl his slow medium pacers with deadly effect at times. One of the fittest guys in the team, he was held to be a complete team man who feared no bowler even early in his career when helmets were yet to enter cricket.

Jimmy Amarnath played Ranji Trophy for Delhi and later also captained the team. It was his astute captaincy that won Delhi the Ranji Trophy in 1982-83 against Karnataka. He also scored a remarkable 185 in a high scoring game that saw Delhi overtake the mammoth Karnataka score of over 700. A lot of Delhi players of his time will vouch that their love of fitness exercises and knowledge of cricket came from one man, their captain Jimmy Amarnath.

He made his Test debut against Australia at Chennai (Madras at that time) in 1969. In all he played 69 Test matches for India scoring a total of 4378 runs at an average of 42.50 runs an inning. In this course of time he scored 11 centuries and 24 half centuries and also picked up 32 wickets as a slow, second-string bowler. He also played 85 One Day Internationals for India and made 1924 runs at an average of 30.54, picking up 46 wickets at a miserly average of 4.38 per over. Kindly note that he made these stats at a time when scoring runs was far more difficult: bowler friendly wickets were common and fierce pace bowlers complimented legendary spinners in every alternate team.

In the Prudential World Cup semi finals and finals in 1983, he was the Man of the Match and his contribution made it possible for Kapil Dev to hold aloft the Trophy at the famed Lords cricket ground. He fielded well, bowled at his miserly best and batted daringly, making the campaign so successful. And who can ever forget his 85 at Trinidad when India secured a historic win chasing 405 against the mighty West Indies with their pace battery. One also remembers the story related by Ravi Shastri. Once in West Indies India was trying to save a Test match and Jimmy got hit on the head while hooking and had to be taken away to a hospital. Next morning the first wicket fell quickly and to Shastri’s horror in walked Jimmy Amarnath all bandaged up. Immediately Michael Holding and co was pressed into service. Instantly they started bowling bouncers to the man and he hooked them to glory. That’s bravery for you! And this is just one of the many stories of his heroics.

The man was obsessed with physical fitness. At 35 he could out run the 25 year-olds in the team. I remember an instance when the Indian team preparatory camp was held at Poona Club. We, young cricketers, were watching from the sidelines. Jimmy arrived at the ground nearly an hour before others. He ran a few rounds of the ground, exercised and then did the nets with others. He then did the fitness regimen given to the team by the physio. At the end when all the players boarded the bus and went back to the hotel rooms, he and Kapil Dev stayed back. They ran about 5 to 7 rounds, did a lot of stretching exercises and then did some catching practice before being dropped back to the hotel.

But this terrific cricketer was dropped from the side several times for little rhyme or reason. For far graver crimes and poorer performances, others stuck to their position in the Indian playing eleven. Every time he would plunder runs in the domestic circuit and compel the selectors to allow him a comeback. Always a gentleman, he hardly criticised the selectors or the association and never spoke to the media about it. Probably he accepted it as his destiny. The last time they dropped him after good performances in Bangladesh, it provoked the great man to make the infamous “bunch of jokers” comment.

So it is only fitting that he should be chosen for this prestigious award. After all the injustice done to him some could argue that this is far too little and far too late. But one can always say better late than never. Hopefully there will be no more cases of injustice equal to this man for one is not sure if others will be able to endure what he did. Jimmy, your performances live right in our hearts. Those fortunate enough to see you bat ‘live’ doff their hats to you on getting this prestigious award. Finally!