Test stalwart Mohinder Amarnath recalls the 1978 tour in new memoir
NEW DELHI: Indian cricketers received a tumultuous welcome when they arrived in Pakistan for a Test series in 1978. But the players were taken aback when a foreign-educated Pakistani cricketer referred to them as “kafirs”, a pejorative term for those who don’t adhere to Islam.
“An unnecessary remark by a Cambridge-educated cricketer gave us a bit of a shock,” writes Mohinder Amarnath in his newly-released memoirs, Fearless, penned with brother Rajender. The player who made the remark is not named.
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The incident occurred after a game in Rawalpindi. “After the match, we were a bit casual boarding the bus. Gratuitously, this cricketer said, “Bithao, bithao, in kafiron ko jaldi bithao (Board these nonbelievers quickly),” writes Amarnath, further adding, “What was the use of a good education if it could not change their negative attitude towards others?”
In contrast, the cricketers received a wildly joyous reception at the Karachi airport. About 40,000-50,000 turned up to welcome the visiting team. The crowd was double the number, but many had left beforehand because the flight was delayed.
“The distance from the airport to the hotel normally took 20 minutes, but for us, it took four hours; people had occupied every inch of space on the pavement and the road, and they refused to leave unless and until they caught a glimpse of the Indian cricketers or shaken hands with us. They were warm and hospitable,” says Amarnath, who played 69 Tests, scored 4,378 runs, hit 11 tons, took 32 wickets, was also Man of the Match in India’s 1983 ODI World Cup final triumph.
However, some Pakistani players behaved differently. The memoir says, “… this artificial bubble burst quicker than anticipated and hostility emerged from an expected quarter. Apparently, certain Pakistani players acted on the advice of seniors and kept their distance. If we spoke to them, their tone and tenor was aggressive. At least two of them, Javed Miandad and Sarfraz Nawaz, and to a lesser degree Mudassar Nazar, took the advice a little too seriously. I don’t think either Javed or Sarfraz ever kept quiet on the field.”
The cricketer, known to be one of the finest players of pace bowling, recalls an incident in the Karachi Test involving Nawaz and Sunil Gavaskar, who hit centuries in both innings (111 and 137) in the game.
“Whenever he bowled a bouncer, Gavaskar allowed it to sail over his head. When the same bowler pitched the ball up to him, it was dispatched to the fence. This annoyed Sarfraz and he vented his frustration in crass Punjabi words, which Gavaskar couldn’t understand. After the over, he came to me and asked, “Why is Sarfraz calling me pant coat?’ I laughed at his ignorance and whispered, “He meant p…c…!” Those who still cannot follow should recall the ‘Ben Stokes’ memes on social media.
In the late 1970s, exceptions aside, alcohol was banned in Pakistan. Fateh Singh Rao Gaekwad, who was the manager of the team, hosted the players at his Bombay residence before the tour and, “on a lighter note” asked the players “fond of drinks” to carry their quota.
“Many were taken aback by the suggestion, knowing the restrictions on alcohol in Pakistan. The next morning, crates of two-litre Johnnie Walker Red Label whisky arrived and was distributed among the players,” the memoir says.