Lala Amarnath passes away

Free India's first cricket captain, Nanik Bhardwaj Amarnath -- popularly known as Lala Amarnath -- passed away in New Delhi on Saturday morning.

Family sources said he died in his sleep, around 5 in the morning.

Earlier this year, he had undergone surgery on his hipbone, necessitated by a fall. He was reasonably healthy since then. Three weeks back, he had gone in for a private, thorough check-up, without any alarming symptoms being detected.

General weakness, however, meant that Amarnath, who would have been 88 next month, was confined for the most part to bed, on a predominantly liquid diet, for the past month.

He is survived by three sons, Surinder, Mohinder and Rajinder, and a daughter. Surinder and Mohinder represented India in Tests while Rajinder played domestic first-class cricket.

Lala Amarnath made his debut in 1933 against England and played 24 Tests for India. His career extended from 1933-34 to 1952-53, but he played few Tests because of the intervening Second World War and also his frequent clashes with officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

A fiery, outspoken personality, the Lala never fought shy of crossing swords with the board for better conditions for his players, a trait sorely lacking in many of his successors. His son Mohinder too made as much a name for his determination and success on the field as for his legendary spats with officialdom.

Using a three-pace run-up and bowling off the wrong foot, the Lala emerged India's most dangerous strike bowler in the 1946 series in England.

The feisty Lala became captain for the first time on the 1947-48 tour of Australia against one of the best teams ever captained by none other than Sir Don Bradman when four top Indian players, including Vijay Merchant, opted out. His last series as captain was against Pakistan at the age of 41. That was the first series between the two countries after the trauma of Partition.

Lala Amarnath later became a Test selector. And throughout, he remained one of the most loved players to have represented the country.

Factfile

Mail Cricket Editor