Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, popularly known as Tiger Pataudi, was an Indian cricketer who captained the India national cricket team during the 1960s and early 1970s. Widely regarded as one of India's most influential captains, he is credited with instilling a more assertive temperament in Indian cricket and with promoting the use of spin bowling as an attacking weapon. He was the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi before the abolition of princely titles in India.
| Full name | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi |
|---|---|
| Popular name | Tiger Pataudi |
| Born | 5 January 1941, Bhopal |
| Died | 22 September 2011, New Delhi |
| Father | Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi (former captain of India) |
| Spouse | Sharmila Tagore (actress) |
| 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 debut | December 1961 vs England, Delhi |
| Test captain | 1962–1970, with brief return in 1974–75 |
| Tests played | 46 |
| Test runs | 2,793 with 6 centuries |
| Honours | Arjuna Award (1964), Padma Shri (1967) |
Mansoor Ali Khan was born into the ruling family of the princely state of Pataudi in present-day Haryana. His father, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, played Test cricket for both England and India, and captained India on its 1946 tour of England. After his father's death in 1952, Mansoor inherited the title of Nawab of Pataudi at the age of eleven. The hereditary title was formally derecognised when privy purses and princely titles were abolished by the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution of India in 1971.
He was educated at Lockers Park in Hertfordshire, Winchester College, and Balliol College, Oxford, where he captained the Oxford University cricket team.
In July 1961, while at Oxford, Pataudi was involved in a serious car accident in Hove, England. A shard of glass damaged the vision in his right eye, which never fully recovered. Despite this disability, he made his Test debut for India only a few months later and went on to enjoy a long international career, learning to compensate by adjusting his stance and head position at the crease.
Pataudi made his Test debut against England at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, in December 1961. In March 1962, at Bridgetown during India's tour of the West Indies, he was appointed captain at the age of 21 after a serious injury to Nari Contractor, making him the youngest Test captain in the world at the time, a record he held for several decades.
As captain, Pataudi led India in 40 Tests, winning 9, including India's first Test victory abroad, against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1968 during a series India won 3–1. He is closely associated with the rise of India's celebrated spin quartet, fielding combinations of Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, B. S. Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.
His highest Test score was 203 not out against England at the Feroz Shah Kotla in 1964. He was replaced as captain by Ajit Wadekar in 1971, and made a brief return as captain in the home series against the West Indies in 1974–75 before retiring from international cricket.
Pataudi played first-class cricket for Sussex in England and represented Oxford University, Delhi, and Hyderabad in India. He captained Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy. In first-class cricket overall he scored more than 15,000 runs, including over 30 centuries.
Pataudi is credited with transforming India from a side that often played for draws into one that sought to win matches, particularly through spin bowling. He emphasised fielding standards and brought a sense of self-belief to a national team frequently demoralised by overseas defeats. His captaincy years are often cited as the foundation on which subsequent Indian teams built their reputation.
In 2007, the trophy contested in Test series between India and England was named the Pataudi Trophy in honour of his family's contribution to cricket in both countries. The Board of Control for Cricket in India also instituted the M. A. K. Pataudi Memorial Lecture in his memory after his death. He served as a member of the International Cricket Council's panel of match referees and worked as a cricket administrator and columnist after retirement.
Pataudi married Hindi film actress Sharmila Tagore in 1969. The couple had three children: actor Saif Ali Khan, jewellery designer Saba Ali Khan, and actress Soha Ali Khan. The family residence, Pataudi Palace (Ibrahim Kothi), is in Pataudi, Haryana.