During a function in India, Mark Taylor noticed a man walking from one cricketer to another to collect autographs for his niece. Taylor recognised him: "Sir, my name is Mark Taylor. I am here to receive an award on behalf of my team. Can I request to shake the hand of the man who led India to their first win over us?"
Not something we should be proud of. Probably.
There have been greater cricketers, but few as brave and intense. At Lord's in 1952 (Mankad's Test), Ramchand took on Trueman, who would torment India throughout the series. He lofted Trueman twice over his head during his 42.
Raju Bharatan once wrote that Ramchand "should have tried his hand at doing a Western; he would have been an instant cowboy hit as one unfailingly firing from the hip."
Polly Umrigar: "An asset to any side, Ramchand was an all-rounder and a gutsy and tough cricketer. He was a brilliant close-in fielder and he had no gear to protect him, which just goes to show how brave he was."
Few cricketers have been as outrageously counterattacking. On his maiden tour, in 1952, Ramchand took on Cuan McCarthy (who bowled very fast albeit with a suspect action) in the match against Cambridge.
He hit 21 fours in his 134. At least two of his fours came back more than 20 yards after hitting the fence.
Later in his career he scored a 109 against Ray Lindwall and Pat Crawford.
In 1954-55, he took 6/49 on a dead Karachi track. Of Indians, only Kapil Dev has better figures on Pakistan soil.
He scored hundreds in four consecutive Ranji Trophy finals, between 1959-60 and 1962-63, all of which Bombay won.
And he was the outstanding short-leg fielder of the era. He got a pair on debut, but he took three one-handed catches off Ghulam Ahmed to send back Hutton, Simpson, and Compton.
And as Taylor pointed out, he was the first Indian captain to win a Test against Australia.
Chandu Borde: "... always giving us the self-belief that we could beat them."
Nari Contractor: "As a captain he was never arrogant and always had that we-can-do-it kind of attitude and that was on display when he was the skipper when we won against the Australians at Kanpur."
How did we treat him? Ramchand used to work for Air India, where he had to compromise on salary because he had to take days off to lead India.
In 2002 he was hassled for a car-park pass by the MCA during India's Test match against West Indies. An annoyed Ramchand retorted in public "we are being treated like sh*t."
He fell ill next year. He had three heart attacks in two months. His family could not afford ICU bills at Hinduja Hospitals. BCCI granted two lakh rupees following severe criticism, mostly from an 88-year-old Mushtaq Ali.
The money arrived too late.
(from twitter)
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