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Sad to hear of the demise of Mansur Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi aged 70 today. Some time Indian cricket captain, selector and at all times a gentleman, “Tiger” Pataudi, the 9th and last Nawab of Pataudi was without doubt the last of his ilk.
As a kid I received his book “A Tiger’s Tale” as a birthday gift and I treasured this. He learnt his cricket as a product of Winchester and Oxford. We remember that difficult tour of the West Indies in 1962 when the Indian skipper, Nari Contractor was felled by a ball from Charlie Griffith. He was lucky to survive that injury. Young Pataudi became the captain at the age of 21 under extremely trying circumstances. Later under his captaincy India won their first ever overseas tour against New Zealand in 1967.
What set Pataudi apart from the others of his time was that he was an excellent fielder in an age when Indians were horrible in the field. He supported the famous spin quartet of Chandrasekhar, Bedi, Prasanna and Venkatraghavan who became a force to reckon with under his captaincy.Tiger set high standards in the field, leading by example. He was an elegant batsman and one remembers the century he scored against England at Leeds in 1967. He was Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1968.
Farewell, Tiger! May your soul rest in peace.
People at Work & Play 
Probably the best captain Indian cricket ever had, Tiger Pataudi also proved to be a fine editor with the now defunct Sportsworld. He wrote crisply, with an economy, knowledge of most sports and elegance that reflected his personality.. He wrote the edits in the weekly less often than I wished he did. With just one eye he did more, much more than others with both eyes did, and more perceptively with a few words he got to the heart of an issue than others with their verbosity. And he didn’t try to make an impression. .. But he left his impression on all who met and talked to him.
— K. Bhaskaran
Thank you for your views, Mr. Bhaskaran. “Tiger” was truly one of a vanishing breed. There aren’t any like him left in India, sadly.