Test No. 1

Exactly 75 years ago, 11 Indians strode onto a cricket field and ended up making a statement. Passion and history combined to create a sense of nationhood; India's enduring romance with cricket took off. Sunday Times rewinds to the country's unforgettable debut Test
When India played its first official Test match, Independence was still 15 years away.But the backroom intrigues that are so much a part of Indian cricket now were very much around — if not greater — then. Well before the Indian team left for England in April 1932, there was intense jockeying for who would sponsor the team. The frontrunner was a minor prince — the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, better known as Vizzy to the cricketing fraternity.
In end-1931, Vizzy offered to pay Rs 50,000 to the cricket board, of which Rs 40,000 would be for the England tour. He, however, had a formidable opponent in the Maharaja of Patiala, who in November 1931 announced his intention to sponsor the trials for the Indian team as well as take care of the touring party's expense for a whole month. Patiala's offer won the day.
It was no secret that both the princes were also eyeing the captaincy of the Indian team. Such was the feverish speculation on the captain that letters regularly appeared in The Times of India declaring support for either of the two. The Parsi veteran, M E Pavri, for instance, wrote a letter to the editor in favour of Patiala saying he would be the "most appropriate skipper." There were, however, two candidates far better qualified to lead the Indian team: Duleepsinhji, the nephew of Ranji, and the Nawab of Pataudi, father of M A K Pataudi. But both these excellent cricketers were unwilling to jeopardise their chances of playing for England.
When the team was announced on February 4, 1932, the Maharaja of Patiala was appointed captain, prince Ghanshyamsinhji of Limbdi deputy captain and Vizzy curiously named as deputy vice-captain. The team selection was a fine balancing act on religion and community. There were 7 Hindus, 4 Muslims, 4 Parsees and 3 Sikhs chosen to represent India. Not surprisingly Vizzy withdrew from the team. Soon after Patiala too stepped down, and the Maharaja of Porbandar was appointed skipper.
The star of the team was, by a long stretch, the 37-year-old C K Nayudu. Though he began badly with scores of 3 and 2, his brilliance soon shone through in the gloom of the early English summer. In a match against the MCC in late May, Nayudu cracked a spectacular 118 not out.
When it was time for the first Test, Porbandar — who had scores of 0, 0 and 2 in the three innings he had played — had restricted his role to giving speeches. The joke went that he was the only first-class player to have more Rolls Royces than runs. Limbdi was also out with a back injury. The mantle of captaincy thus fell on Nayudu. Though his playing abilities were undisputed, not everybody was happy with the decision. At 4 am on the morning of the Test match, some players knocked on the door of Porbandar and said they wouldn't play under Nayudu. The matter was resolved only after the Maharaja of Patiala sent a message to the team.
Though the players accepted Nayudu as captain, the bitterness would continue after the Test match. Mahomed Nissar and Amar Singh virtually stopped talking to Nayudu. In the last few matches of the tour, the Indians were clearly not playing as a side. On the journey back to India, a member of the team, S M H Colah, threatened to throw Nayudu overboard. The internal friction that has plagued Indian teams in recent times pales in comparison.
ronojoy.sen@timesgroup.com