The great Hindi litterateur Munshi Premchand was born on this day, July 31, in 1880 in the village of Lamhi which is near Varanasi. Such was his mastery that his stories and poems seem to be relevant to this day. He wrote on a vast range of topics, but very few know that he was an avid cricket follower and also penned his thoughts on the game. He was averse to kings to being appointed captains during the colonial times and in his works, he has ripped apart this trend.
Premchand wrote a story in 1935 which was based on the India vs Australia series. The Australian team was in India under the captaincy of Jack Ryder and the team played a number of first-class matches in many cities.
This tour was organised as a private affair and hence, the Australian cricket board was not involved. The main organiser of the tour was the Maharaja of Patiala and the Indian side was named All India Eleven. India was not a Test playing nation. The match was played in Patiala in the ground owned by the Maharaja and incidentally, he played for Australia while his son turned out as the Indian captain.
Premchand wrote a story on this and titled ‘Cricket Match’. He wrote, “Our team was stronger than the enemies, but we lost and they took away the trophy. Why? Because we do not believe that talent is the qualification for leadership. We consider wealth to be important for leadership. His Highness was elected captain. But how many hearts were set on fire, how many people accepted this decision as the rulers, where was the enthusiasm, where was the resolve, where was the enthusiasm to fight till the last drop of blood.”
Earlier in 1932, he wrote about India’s tour to England. Premchand wrote that the Indian cricket team may not have achieved as much success as the Indian hockey team, but its successes were still significant.
He was also thrilled at India’s success and wrote, “The Indian cricket team returned home. Although it did not achieve such spectacular success, it showed to England that India cannot be neglected even in the field of play. The truth is that the people of India can beat the world if they get opportunities, in every sphere of life. The people of England take pride in cricket. This pride must have received a big shock this time. It is a matter of joy that the Viceroy honoured the Indian team and introduced himself as a gentleman.”
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