The Khan clan
Every now and then in cricket, you come across truly humble folk from a working class background, who are also outstanding cricketers, quite unaware of the awe they command from fellow players and cricket lovers. The Khan family of fast bowlers of Hyderabad are an example of such quiet achievers.
The elder Khan, the tall and rangy Ibrahim Khan, was Khan Saheb to all of us, a man we respected as an elder and veteran cricketer of the past. He had been a member of the Hyderabad team which won the Ranji Trophy in the 1937-38 season. He had played an important role in that historic victory achieved by winning a single match, thanks to a string of walkovers. He had taken wickets in both innings of Nawanagar.
The other Khan Saheb was his eldest son Habib Khan, who opened the bowling for Hyderabad and Railways in the Ranji Trophy. Back in the seventies, he was still quite a force to reckon with in the Hyderabad league, turning his arm over for South Central Railway. He bowled off a smooth runup, a simple, economical action and nice flowing follow through. He was a tall man and extracted plenty of bounce from most pitches. On matting wickets, he was quite deadly. He was a simple soul, extremely modest and always smiling and friendly. There was something slightly deferential in his manner, and old-fashioned Hyderabadi courtesy marked his every utterance and action.
I remember one of the last matches Habib Khan played in local cricket. It was at Fateh Maidan and though I remember we were pitted aginst each other, I cannot recall the occasion. I was not known for my batting prowess and in that match I contrived to hook a short-pitched delivery from Khan Saheb to the boundary. In the evening, after the game, Habib sauntered over to where I was sitting and said, "Bus, ab bahut ho gaya! It's time for me to hang up my boots, if batsmen like you can hook me," with just the hint of a smile lighting up his sad eyes.
Another sad occasion involving Habib Khan was when Hyderabad beat Railways in a three-day pre-quarter final match in the Ranji Trophy at that same venue. He was the manager of the Railways team, and when his team took a 220 run first innings lead, he beamingly told us he had made arrangements for them to travel to wherever they were scheduled to play the next match. Unfortunately for railways, we made an incredible recovery in the second innings and won the match. Khan Saheb was really crestfallen and my heart went out to him.
Habib's two younger brothers were also impressive quick bowlers. Majid Khan was quite pacy and a dangerous customer on matting. I was once out caught first ball in a junior match, the daredevil wicket keeper A A Asif standing up to Majid (only a madman would do that) but the umpire said not out. I am ashamed to say that I stood my ground. The next ball was another express delivery and the result was identical, the umpire once again saying not out. This time around, I walked.
Majid enjoyed considerable success at the junior level but did not progress much as he had a doubtful action, but the youngest brother Sardar Khan was probably the most successful of the siblings, as he played for Railways in the Ranji Trophy and Central Zone in the Duleep and Deodhar Trophies in the seventies. He had an action similar to that of the Sri Lankan bowler Malinga, very round arm. He was quite pacy too, and managed to extract considerable bounce. He picked up quite a handful of wickets in the Ranji Trophy as well as the zone matches for a couple of seasons before fading out of the scene, once he lost some of his pace and batsmen learnt to cope with his unusual release.
The Khans were a talented family of cricketers, two generations of honest, hard working fast bowlers, who toiled away on unresponsive wickets, enjoying precious little by way of recognition or reward. They were a fine bunch of sportsmen, well behaved, modest and always willing to give a hundred per cent. It was a pleasure to play cricket with them and interact with them.
The elder Khan, the tall and rangy Ibrahim Khan, was Khan Saheb to all of us, a man we respected as an elder and veteran cricketer of the past. He had been a member of the Hyderabad team which won the Ranji Trophy in the 1937-38 season. He had played an important role in that historic victory achieved by winning a single match, thanks to a string of walkovers. He had taken wickets in both innings of Nawanagar.
The other Khan Saheb was his eldest son Habib Khan, who opened the bowling for Hyderabad and Railways in the Ranji Trophy. Back in the seventies, he was still quite a force to reckon with in the Hyderabad league, turning his arm over for South Central Railway. He bowled off a smooth runup, a simple, economical action and nice flowing follow through. He was a tall man and extracted plenty of bounce from most pitches. On matting wickets, he was quite deadly. He was a simple soul, extremely modest and always smiling and friendly. There was something slightly deferential in his manner, and old-fashioned Hyderabadi courtesy marked his every utterance and action.
I remember one of the last matches Habib Khan played in local cricket. It was at Fateh Maidan and though I remember we were pitted aginst each other, I cannot recall the occasion. I was not known for my batting prowess and in that match I contrived to hook a short-pitched delivery from Khan Saheb to the boundary. In the evening, after the game, Habib sauntered over to where I was sitting and said, "Bus, ab bahut ho gaya! It's time for me to hang up my boots, if batsmen like you can hook me," with just the hint of a smile lighting up his sad eyes.
Another sad occasion involving Habib Khan was when Hyderabad beat Railways in a three-day pre-quarter final match in the Ranji Trophy at that same venue. He was the manager of the Railways team, and when his team took a 220 run first innings lead, he beamingly told us he had made arrangements for them to travel to wherever they were scheduled to play the next match. Unfortunately for railways, we made an incredible recovery in the second innings and won the match. Khan Saheb was really crestfallen and my heart went out to him.
Habib's two younger brothers were also impressive quick bowlers. Majid Khan was quite pacy and a dangerous customer on matting. I was once out caught first ball in a junior match, the daredevil wicket keeper A A Asif standing up to Majid (only a madman would do that) but the umpire said not out. I am ashamed to say that I stood my ground. The next ball was another express delivery and the result was identical, the umpire once again saying not out. This time around, I walked.
Majid enjoyed considerable success at the junior level but did not progress much as he had a doubtful action, but the youngest brother Sardar Khan was probably the most successful of the siblings, as he played for Railways in the Ranji Trophy and Central Zone in the Duleep and Deodhar Trophies in the seventies. He had an action similar to that of the Sri Lankan bowler Malinga, very round arm. He was quite pacy too, and managed to extract considerable bounce. He picked up quite a handful of wickets in the Ranji Trophy as well as the zone matches for a couple of seasons before fading out of the scene, once he lost some of his pace and batsmen learnt to cope with his unusual release.
The Khans were a talented family of cricketers, two generations of honest, hard working fast bowlers, who toiled away on unresponsive wickets, enjoying precious little by way of recognition or reward. They were a fine bunch of sportsmen, well behaved, modest and always willing to give a hundred per cent. It was a pleasure to play cricket with them and interact with them.
posted by Ramnarayan at 5:47 AM
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