During the sixties and the mid-seventies, the Indian cricket team was blessed to have the services of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, better known as ‘Tiger Pataudi’.
He led the Indian team in 40 test matches in the period between 1961 to 1975 and was renowned for his flamboyant batsmanship as well as lightning fielding. He played 46 Test matches overall.
However, Pataudi played throughout the entirety of his career with visual impairment. The former Indian captain lost his right eye during a car accident in England back in 1961.
Moreover, former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott once doubted about Pataudi’s visual impairment. Now, son Saif Ali Khan, a prominent entity in Bollywood, has opened up on how comments made by Boycott agitated him.
“Boycott, who I really looked up to, made me really angry one day. He said, ‘I heard about your father, it’s not possible to play Test cricket with one eye.’ I asked him if he thinks my father is lying, to which he replied, ‘Yes! I think he’s making it up,” Saif told Sportskeeda during a recent interaction.
After retirement from his game, Boycott enjoyed a successful stint as a commentator and was well-known for his controversial statements against Indian players.
“I told my father that, and he got really annoyed. He said, ‘Well, I was bloody good with two eyes. I’m just good with one.’ That was the only arrogant remark I ever heard him make,” Bollywood’s ‘Nawab’ added.
Further, Saif commented that he looked up to his father’s carefree nature and suggested how he saw cricket as a sport.
“If he didn’t want to tour, he would say he wasn’t available. He said it was a game and he was losing interest in the game in the ’60s because he thought there was too much cricket,” Saif concluded.
