The Forgotten Manager Who Saved India’s Honour in the Gavaskar-Lillee Melbourne Test

The story of Group Captain Shahid Durrani, the unsung hero who averted a major crisis in the 1981 India-Australia Test.

Sunil Gavaskar-Dennis Lillee (Image Source: Google)

The death of Group Captain Shahid Ali Khan Durrani, 89, at Lucknow recently, didn’t find any worth mentioning space/minutes among cricket news. In true sense, he didn’t play for India and was also not a high rank BCCI official but was associated with one cricket incident, which is still a hot topic after more than 44 years. He was a Vishisht Seva Medal winner,

That story in brief is that India was frustrated with the various decisions umpire Rex Whitehead was taking during the 1980-81, three Test series between India and Australia. The third and the last Test at Melbourne saw a meltdown from Gavaskar. In the 2nd innings, Gavaskar at 70*, a Dennis Lillee ball struck on his pads, the umpire raised his finger, but Gavaskar was not convinced with the decision. Gavaskar stood his ground and the spat with Lillee boiled him so much that while going back to pavilion, ordered his batting partner Chauhan to leave the field with him.

Cricket had never seen this before. At that crucial juncture, India was at the verge of conceding the Test, but manager Shahid Durrani sensibly stopped the pair at the boundary line and asked Chauhan to return to the middle and play. Any ban on the India team for this act could have serious implications. This is the same Test where India set Australia a target of 143 and with Kapil Dev 5/28 Australia were dismissed for 83, and India won by 60 runs. This single act earned Durrani a special mention and was appreciated by all.

Although he was with services, his sports background (played hockey for the Lucknow University and was coach with diploma Class I from National Institute of Sports in Patiala) helped to remain associated with sports in many other ways also. When Pakistan toured India for the first time after independence to play a cricket Test series, he was in the organising committee for the Lucknow Test, as a volunteer.

He was a key official for the 1982 Delhi Asian Games (Director of Asiad Protocol Committee). He picked the best brains from the services for the task and helped in organizing one of the best sports events in India . He was awarded Asiad Vashisht Jyoti for this.

After retirement from the Air Force in 1983, he was instrumental in keeping cricket alive in Lucknow and the Times League, the UPTRON Trophy, and the Scooters India Trophy were played for many years.

As per one of the releases of the SCCB, Wing Commander Shahid Ali Khan Durrani was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in June 1958 and joined Services Sports Control Board in April 1978.

Prior to that he was the Commanding Officer of the newly raised Air Force School of Physical Fitness, Sambre and within two years, the unit was judged the best administered unit in the Training Command. This helped him and was appointed Chief-de-Mission for the Services sports contingent for the tour of Malaysia and Singapore during April/May 79. The contingent of 36 sportsmen not only won many hockey and football matches, helped in establishing friendly relations with the Armed Forces of these countries. His performance won high praise from India High Commissioners in Malaysia and Singapore as well as the Service Attaches in these countries.

The story of his going to Australia as a manager is very interesting. It started with his selection as the SSCB secretary. Incidentally two other Air Force officers shortlisted for the post were Group Captain HT ‘Bal’ Dani (1 Test) and Wing Commander VM Muddiah (2 Tests) but Durrani was selected. With the Services being a full member of the BCCI, he started attending the BCCI meetings. In the 1980 BCCI AGM, managers and assistant managers for the upcoming tours of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, and of India ‘A’ team’s visit to Pakistan were to be selected.

Durrani decided to be in the race for the manager’s post for the Australia-NZ tour. Sought Departmental clearance and support from other state cricket associations but was still short of the majority. He still decided to contest.

In an interview with the veteran sports journalist, Qaiser Mohammad Ali, Durrani revealed that he was ‘elected’ as the India manager, not appointed as is the practice. The other strong candidate for the post was Keki Tarapore (with support from Ghulam Ahmed, then secretary of the BCCI). ‘Before the voting took place, Maharaja Fatehsinh Rao Gaekwad, representing Baroda, asked me to withdraw my candidature with a promise of the manager’s post of the India ‘A’ team’s tour to Pakistan,’ disclosed Durrani.

‘I turned down the proposal, telling him that I would rather fight and lose than turn my back to the fight. Eventually, when the voting took place I managed the majority comfortably,’ he recalled. Rest is history. This was the first time ever that a serving Armed Forces Officer was selected as a Manager of the Cricket team going on a tour abroad. This was the first time that a non-Test cricketer was chosen as a Manager of an Indian Cricket Team.

He also received the 25th Independence Day medal in 1972. It is generally unknown that his family is one of the most decorated families in India:

His father Nadir Ali Khan Durrani: Police Inspector in British-India, received the first Indian Police Independence medal in 1948.

His son Lieutenant Colonel Shahzad Salim Durrani: Received a medal on the 50th Independence Day.

His grand-son Lieutenant Shahnawaz Ali Khan Durrani: Received the 75th Independence Day medal.