Ashok Mankad

In 1969, the year he made his international debut against New Zealand, Ashok Mankad was the toast of the club house. His 97 against Australia at Delhi won India the Test, and made the hosts pull level at 1-1 with the visitors in the four match series. That was arguably his best knock, in what can be regarded as one of the best years of his international career. He impressed throughout that series against Bill Lawry’s Australia, appearing in his new role as an opener. He faced the pair of Connolly and McKenzie with ease and irreverence.

But a trip to the Caribbean in 1971 changed all that. As debutant Sunil Gavaskar’s opening partner Mankad failed to impress. Mankad was best suited to the middle order where he has been compared with the likes of Polly Umrigar in judgement and skills. But he was pushed further up the ranks and that did him no good.

This uncertainty of batting status no doubt affected his game and in England 1971 he had a miserable time of it. That tour sealed his career and thereafter he was infrequently summoned and erratically played, as in the series against England in ’74 and West Indies in 1974-’75. After that first burst against Australia he scored only two other Test fifties in what is widely regretted as an unfulfilled Test career which at the fall of the curtain in 1978 stood at 22 Tests played and 991 runs scored in 42 innings with six fifties at an average of 25.41.

Mankad’s exploits for Bombay (now Mumbai) and the West Zone are legendary. In the Ranji Trophy alone he amassed a massive 6619 runs at a whopping average of 76.08 with 22 centuries and a highest of 265 runs scored.. He retired from first class cricket in 1982-’83. The grand total of runs in his first class career stands at 12980 runs at an average of 50.90.

There may be a sense of disappointment surrounding his career, but Ashok Mankad’s genius had other facets.

He is regarded as one of the best captains Bombay had. An able leader and a shrewd tactician he devised strategy and implemented schemes with the likes of Eknath Solkar, Gavaskar and Dilp Vengsarkar deferring to him. Bombay won the Ranji Trophy back to back in the 1974-’75 and 1975-’76 seasons with Mankad leading them. After retiring from professional cricket he took up coaching as a career. Although never in the reckoning as India’s national team coach, at the domestic level Mankad coached Madhya Pradesh, Railways and Mumbai, with Baroda being his last charge. He coached Mumbai to a Ranji Trophy title in 2000 and came very close with Baroda in 2006-’07.

Sports has filled every corner of the Mankad family. If father Vinoo was a colossus of Indian cricket, for whom being made to bat in every position from one to ten was not as debilitating as it may have turned out for his son, wife Nirupama was a national tennis champion of some merit. Of two sons Mihir and Harsh, the latter has been a part of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2001.

There is an interesting anecdote about the man who was known and loved as ‘Kaka’ by his team mates. During the tour of England in 1971, despite being in bad form Mankad retained an impish sense of humour.

Struggling against the playing conditions and the English bowlers, especially John Snow, the irrepressible Mankad would do one thing without fail every morning.

He would go up to Snow and greet him, “Good morning, sir. I’m Ashok Mankad. I hope I’ll get runs against you”— he did not get enough runs, but he always remained a good sport. Ashok Mankad died in his sleep early on Friday morning. We hope he wakes up in cricketing heaven and makes a new beginning saying “Good morning, sir. I’m Ashok Mankad. I hope I’ll get runs against you.”