Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, also known as Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and popularly called "Tiger" Pataudi, was an Indian cricketer who captained the Indian national cricket team. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential captains in Indian cricket history and is credited with instilling a sense of self-belief and aggression in the Indian side during the 1960s. He was the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi until the abolition of princely titles by the Government of India in 1971.
| Full name | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 January 1941, Bhopal, British India |
| Died | 22 September 2011, New Delhi, India |
| Nickname | Tiger |
| Title | 9th Nawab of Pataudi (until 1971) |
| Father | Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi |
| Mother | Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal |
| Spouse | Sharmila Tagore (m. 1969) |
| Children | Saif Ali Khan, Saba Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan |
| Education | Winchester College; Balliol College, Oxford |
| Role | Right-hand batsman; occasional right-arm medium pace |
| Test career | 1961–1975 |
| Tests played | 46 |
| Test runs | 2,793 (avg. 34.91) |
| Test centuries | 6 |
| Tests as captain | 40 |
| Honours | Arjuna Award (1964); Padma Shri (1967) |
Mansoor Ali Khan was born on 5 January 1941 in Bhopal to Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the eighth Nawab of Pataudi and a Test cricketer who played for both England and India, and Sajida Sultan, daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal. He inherited the title of Nawab of Pataudi at the age of eleven, following his father's death in 1952. The princely state of Pataudi was located in present-day Haryana.
He was educated at Lockers Park preparatory school in Hertfordshire, Winchester College, and Balliol College, Oxford. At Winchester, he broke the school batting records previously held by Douglas Jardine. He represented Oxford University in first-class cricket and captained the side in 1961, becoming the first Indian to captain Oxford at cricket.
In July 1961, while playing for Oxford, Pataudi was involved in a car accident in Hove, Sussex, in which he lost the sight in his right eye. The injury permanently affected his depth perception. Despite this, he resumed competitive cricket within months and made his Test debut for India later the same year.
Pataudi made his Test debut against England at Delhi in December 1961. In March 1962, at the age of 21, he was appointed captain of India for the fourth Test against the West Indies in Bridgetown, after Nari Contractor was struck on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith. This made him the youngest Test captain in the history of cricket at the time, a record he held for several decades.
His finest individual performance came in February 1964 at Madras, where he scored 203 not out against England. He led India to its first overseas Test series victory, against New Zealand in 1967–68, winning the four-match series 3–1. He also led India to a notable home series win against Garfield Sobers' West Indies in 1966–67, which was however a losing series for India.
Pataudi was credited with developing a strong spin-bowling attack featuring Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar and S. Venkataraghavan—the famed Indian spin quartet. He emphasised attacking field placements and improved fielding standards. He was replaced as captain by Ajit Wadekar before the 1971 tour of the West Indies, but returned briefly to lead India during the 1974–75 home series against Clive Lloyd's West Indies. He played his final Test in January 1975.
In domestic cricket, Pataudi played for Delhi and later for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy. He captained Hyderabad for many years and was a leading figure in south Indian domestic cricket through the 1960s and early 1970s.
Pataudi married the Bengali film actress Sharmila Tagore in 1969. The couple had three children: actor Saif Ali Khan, jewellery designer Saba Ali Khan, and actor Soha Ali Khan. After retirement, Pataudi was associated with cricket administration, served briefly as a match referee for the International Cricket Council, and edited the magazine Sportsworld. He unsuccessfully contested the 1991 Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal on a Vishal Haryana Party / opposition platform.
Pataudi is regarded as a transformative figure in Indian cricket. He is often credited with changing the team's mindset from a defensive outlook to one that aspired to win. His insistence on fielding standards and on cultivating attacking spin bowling shaped Indian Test cricket for a generation. In 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the England and Wales Cricket Board instituted the Pataudi Trophy, awarded to the winner of Test series between India and England played in England, in honour of the Pataudi family's contribution to cricket in both countries. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame posthumously.