8 / 10 Which of these influential figures in history also had the honour of playing for both England and India?
Answers
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi had the honour of playing cricket for both England and India.
He played 3 test matches for England cricket team from 1932 to 1934.
Then he came to India and played 3 test matches during India's tour to England in the year 1946.
He was the Indian captain during that tour.
Nawab Mohammad Iftikhar Ali Khan Siddiqui Pataudi, also known as I.A.K. Pataudi, was the individual who had the honour of playing cricket for two nations at the international level. He played for both India and England.
Pataudi took cricket seriously during his younger days and took cricket coaching while he was in India. Later he went to Oxford University for further studies. There too, he took cricket coaching. He was part of the university cricket team. He shot into limelight when he scored well and even made a record of 203 runs. The record remained unbeaten from 1931 to 2005!
Pataudi was inducted into the English cricket team. However, he disagreed with the then captain Douglas Jardine and came back to India after playing only 2 test matches. Though he was later called for a third one, which he played from England’s side, he decided to shift back to India for good. Of the six test matches that he played, 3 were from the British side and 3 as part of the Indian team. Additionally, he captained the Indian team for some time as well.
His son Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (the father of Saif Ali Khan) went on to become an eminent cricketer as well.