‘He was not understood’

Former left-arm spinner and handy lower order batsman Bapu Nadkarni said that former India skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who died in the capital today due to lung infection, was "a much misunderstood man" during his playing days because of his aloofness.

Former left-arm spinner and handy lower order batsman Bapu Nadkarni said that former India skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who died in the capital today due to lung infection, was "a much misunderstood man" during his playing days because of his aloofness.

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"He was a much misunderstood man. His handicap was he did not know many players in the team as he had come from England (where he was an Oxford Blue). He was a loner, but he was a good man," said Nadkarni, who was among the seniors whom Pataudi had captained. Nadkarni said what amazes him even now is how Pataudi could play cricket at the highest level so well even with the sort of physical handicaps he had.