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http://sport.independent.co.uk/cricket/article2838590.ece

Lala Amarnath - Life and Times: The Making of a Legend

by Rajender Amarnath

Reviewed by David Llewellyn

Published: 06 August 2007



Cricket politics on the subcontinent are involved at best and Gordian at worst. Plots, perfidy, powerplays and pusillanimity – with the emphasis on the animosity – all feature.

For evidence of this you just have to read this book. It is of course an "affectionate" study of Lala Amarnath, one of India's more charismatic players and the first captain of independent India at home and abroad, by one of his three sons.

Rajender Amarnath unravels the tangled skein of politics which seemed to cloak his father's cricketing life from playing field to boardroom table.

He rubbed shoulders with politicians, among them Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, who was himself a cricket lover; and clashed heads with the political figures in the national game.

There is a fascinating insight into the feud between Amarnath and Anthony de Mello, the autocratic president of the Board of Control for Indian Cricket.

De Mello was determined to finish Amarnath as a player and went so far as to announce the player's suspension following the 1-0 defeat in the 1948-49 series at home to the West Indies.

In announcing Amarnath's suspension, De Mello presented a copy of 26 charges of "misbehaviour and misconduct" to the gathered press.

The charges ranged from "Your late arrival for watching the zonal tournament, contrary to your promise" to "Your arrogant and rude behaviour to me in your room."

There were a further nine complaints and half a dozen allegations about Amarnath's conduct, which individually seemed innocuous, but collectively could have been seen to be damning. Yet Amarnath not only survived but eventually overcame his adversary.

His own political ambitions were thwarted, but Amarnath was also a family man. Two of his sons, Surender (Tom) and Mohinder (Jimmy) followed him into Test cricket and all three played first-class cricket.

Their father was determined that they should succeed in the game. He made the eight-year-old Surender switch from being a right-handed to a left-handed batsman.

This is a well-told tale, even if the use of English at times has the reader momentarily puzzled by its quirkiness, but ultimately it all adds to the exotic personality of someone for whom cricket was his life. A great read.