India vs England Test Flashback: A Test debut decided at the breakfast table

The Maharaja of Vizianagram’s power over the India team turned supreme by 1936 with which he earned the captaincy of the Test team. He opted out of a tour when Maharaja of Patiala was made the skipper for India’s first Test in 1932. Vizzy returned to the Indian setup ahead of the 1936 tour of England by snatching the captaincy from India’s first Test captain CK Nayudu. The senior player was clearly not happy with the things going around the team causing a rift with Vizzy.

If not for his wealth and power, the Maharaja of Vizianagram wouldn’t make it to the India squad let alone being the captain. His methods of treating CK Nayudu didn’t go well with many players in the Indian squad. This brought a cut to the Indian squad as players got divided into two groups; one behind Vizzy and the other behind Nayudu. By end of the tour matches, it was clear the players who had good relationships with Vizzy had their opportunities.

India lost the first Test match at the Lord’s by 10 wickets even after taking a 1st innings lead but managed to drew the 2nd Test in Manchester thanks to centuries from the openers Vijay Merchant and Syed Mushtaq Ali  in the 2nd innings. By the time of the final match at The Oval, the relations between Vizzy and Nayudu worsened and they weren’t even on talking terms. It was evident that insulting Nayudu was easiest way to making into the playing XI at the time.

A Test cap thanks to a morning breakfast:

Baqa Jilani had good relationship with the skipper Vizzy and was the 12th man for the 3rd and final Test match. On a morning before the Test match, Jilani went on to insult by abusing CK Nayudu at the breakfast table. The medium-pacer might not be a skilled bowler but insulting Nayudu was enough for Vizzy to hand Jilani a Test cap by replacing Shute Banerjee, the fast bowler from Bengal.

Baqa Jilani went wicketless in the 15 overs he bowled across the two innings in the Test match. He scored 4* and 12 respectively in what turned out to be his only match in his Test career. India lost the match by nine wickets and also the 3-match series by a 2-0 margin. India made 222 and 312 while following-on in response to England‘s first innings total of 471/8. The hosts chased down the target of 64 for the loss of one wicket in only 13 overs.

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