 Amarnath batting at Lord's in 1936 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1911-09-11)11 September 1911 Kapurthala,Punjab,British India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 August 2000(2000-08-05) (aged 88) New Delhi, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Test debut (cap 12) | 15 December 1933 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 13 December 1955 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Lala Amarnath,12 May 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lala Amarnath Bhardwaj (11 September 1911 – 5 August 2000) was an Indian cricketer. He is considered to be the father figure of Indian cricket. He scored the first ever century for India in Test Cricket in 1933.[1] He was independent India's first cricket captain and captained India in their first Test series winagainst Pakistan in 1952.[2]
He played only three Test Matches beforeWorld War II (India played no official Test matches during the war). During this time he amassed around 10,000 runs with 30 hundreds in first-class cricket which included teams from Australia and England. After the war, he played another 21 Test Matches for India. He later became the chairman of the Senior Selection Committee,BCCI and was also a commentator and expert. His proteges includeChandu Borde,M.L. Jaisimha, andJasu Patel who played for India. His sonsSurinder andMohinder Amarnath also became Test players for India. His grandson Digvijay is also a current first-class player. TheGovernment of India awarded him the civilian honour of thePadma Bhushan in 1991.[3] Amarnath received the inauguralC. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award[4]
Amarnath was born in an impoverishedPunjabi-speakingBrahmin family[5][6][7] ofKapurthala, Punjab. Recognizing his talent inLahore, againstMuslimclub in which famous Hanif Muhammad family played, he got a chance to play in Bombay.[8] He played his debut matchagainst England in 1933 on theBombay Gymkhana grounds inSouth Bombay. Amarnath also played for the Hindus in theBombay Quadrangular. Aside from being a batsman, Lala Amarnath was also abowler, the only one to dismissDonald Bradmanhit wicket.
In1933's England's tour of India, Lala Amarnath was leading run-scorer. In the series he created history by scoring first ever Test 100 by an Indian batsman at Bombay.[9]
Amarnath was controversially sent back from the1936 tour of England by the captain, theMaharajkumar of Vizianagram, for "indiscipline".[10] Amarnath and others allege it was due to politics. Vizzy, the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, was named the captain forIndian cricket team for the 1936 tour ofEngland, a post that he secured after lobbying and manipulation. Some of the senior players in the squad, including Lala Amarnath,C. K. Nayudu andVijay Merchant, were critical of Vizzy's playing abilities and captaincy, and the team was split between those who supported and criticised the captain. During India's match against Minor Counties atLord's Lala Amarnath had been nursing a back injury during the game. Vizzy had Amarnath's pad up but did not put him in to bat as a succession of other batsmen were sent in ahead of him, which prevented Amarnath from resting his injury. Amarnath was finally put in to bat at the end of the day. Visibly angry after returning to the dressing room, he threw his kit into his bag and muttered in Punjabi, "I know what is transpiring". Vizzy took this as an affront and conspired with team manager Major Jack Brittain-Jones to have Lala Amarnath sent back from the tour without playing the first test match.[11] It is also alleged that in the first test against theEngland, Vizzy offeredMushtaq Ali a gold watch to run outVijay Merchant.[11]
Lala Amarnath was thecaptain of the Indian team that touredAustralia in 1947-1948. When thePartition of India took place in August 1947, Amarnath and his family had to flee the city to escape a Muslim mob. He lived inPatiala in theIndian state of Punjab till 1957, when he moved to the capital,Delhi. Lala Amarnath had received his education atAligarh Muslim University.[12] Amarnath is widely respected for reaching out to bridge the divide between players and fans of India and Pakistan, caused by political tensions between the two countries.[13] Under his leadership, India won its first-ever Test againstPakistan inDelhi in 1952 and went on to win the series 2–1. Amarnath also managed the team when it touredPakistan in 1954-55.
His sonsMohinder andSurinder also played cricket for India and another sonRajinder playedfirst-class cricket while his grandson Digvijay is also a first-class player. Throughout his twilight years, Amarnath was considered a living legend of Indian cricket.[14]
Mohinder played the role of his father in the 2021 sports drama83, while Mohinder himself was portrayed bySaqib Saleem. Both of them had previously shared screen space in the 2016 action comedyDishoom.
| Preceded by | Indian National Test Cricket Captain 1947/48-1948/49 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Indian National Test Cricket Captain 1952/3 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Nelson Cricket Club Professional 1938–1939 | Succeeded by |
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