CricInfo: Mushtaq's views on one day cricket:
Mushtaq Ali: I don't feel very happy when I see [the current players] clothes in One day
matches...As if they are going to fight Mahabharath!
[Video | Audio]
CI: Do you remember another famous incident when you were left out of the Calcutta Test against the Australian Services side in 1945? The big crowd which turned up to watch the match shouted 'no Mushtaq, no Test'?
MA: What happened was a misunderstanding between me and the Board. I wrote a letter to the Board saying that I was available but the Board said that they did not receive it. On those grounds they dropped me. Just before this match, I had scored a hundred against East Zone and when the crowd came to know that I was dropped they got excited. They gheraoed the chairman of the selection committee Duleepsinhji and shouted no Mushtaq no match. I rushed forward and helped Duleepsinhji away from the crowd. Later I was picked in the side and made some runs.
[Video | Audio]
[Duleepsinghji]
[Salim Durani]
CI: What is your memory of your second last series against the West Indies in 1948-49?
MA: They dropped me for the first two Tests and I was selected for the Calcutta Test. I scored 54 and 106, but people said that my 54 was better than my hundred. It was a fine bowling side and their fast bowlers were very good.
[Video | Audio]
[Everton Weekes | Frank Worrell]
CI: Do you recall anything about Everton Weekes who was a great performer?
MA: Everton Weekes was indeed a great performer. He scored five consecutive Test centuries if I'm not mistaken. I have many heroes like India's CK Nayudu, England's Dennis Compton and West Indies' Frank Worrell. I don't mind going 10 miles... barefoot [to see them play]. They were fine cricketers. Well dressed and easy going cricketers.
[Video | Audio]
[
CK Nayudu |
Keith Miller |
Denis Compton |
Frank Worrell
]
CI: I also would like to ask you about CK Nayudu since you were closely associated to him. How was he as a player and as a person?
MA: "Col. CK Nayudu was the Shahen Shah [Emperor] of cricket.
We Test cricketers whether it is Sachin Tendulkar or Azharuddin
should be very grateful [to people like] Col. CK Nayudu and Prof.
Deodarsahib. The reason being that if they had not played so well
the Britishers would never have given us the Test status
[Video | Audio]
[
CK Nayudu |
DB Deodhar
]
CI: In fact CK Nayudu had a very long first class career for he played his last match when he was 61.
MA: When he was in his best form there was no Test cricket...Test
[cricket] came very late [to India] just when [he] was slowing
down...If he had played Test cricket he would scored many, many
runs.
[Video | Audio]
[CK Nayudu]
