Tribute to a legend called Pankaj Roy!

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Tribute to a legend called Pankaj Roy!

ESPNSTAR.com pays its tribute to the man who won hearts for his never say die attitude. Here's a tribute to a legend named Pankaj Roy.

By Boria Majumdar
In this age of active social networking and internet surfing almost everything is available on the worldwide web. One of the few exceptions are details on the lives of cricket players from the past who played and struggled at a time when there was no 24/7 media.
These cricketers gutted it out at a time when there was no front foot rule, no helmets and limited protective gear. Saurav Ganguly put it well, “For batsmen who played without helmets you need to add a minimum 10 runs to their average to understand their true worth.” One such was Pankaj Lal Roy, considered a worthy predecessor to Sunil Gavaskar by some and surely the first Bengali test cricketer to capture the Indian imagination.
It was delightful for me as a scholar of cricket history to see one of Bengal’s best sportswriters, Gautam Bhattacharyya, attempt to bring Pankaj back into contemporary memory with his book on the man, launched by the Indian cricket team in Kolkata on 3 December. Gautam has done a commendable job in recreating the contemporary political ambience of the 1950s, the acutely political Indian cricket scenario, the struggles that Pankaj faced and the issues confronting Bengal cricket at the time.
Having done his homework well, the author straddles at two levels at the same time- contemporary and historical, to ensure he doesn’t lose his reader. So while on the one hand he talks about the significance of the Pankaj Roy hundred in India’s first ever test win at Chennai in 1952, he inevitably brings in Saurav Ganguly’s debut century at Lords to make the comparison more pertinent.
How does one best define Pankaj Roy’s legacy? The author answers this question well. Pankaj should be remembered as one who showcased a never say die attitude, which we more commonly associate with the Mumbai school of batsmanship. He played at a time when Bengal players did not have much support at the All India level despite Bengali administrators like Pankaj Gupta, M Dutta Roy and A N Ghose holding key positions in the BCCI. Roy, it is evident, showed exemplary courage when facing up to Roy Gilchrist at the Eden Gardens, an aspect of batsmanship that won him many a accolade at the time. The book is also a timely reminder that something needs to be done to honour Roy, who, the author suggests is “almost a forgotten legend in the annals of Bengal cricket.”
It is a fact that Bengal cricket has no definitive history. And this has in turn led to a situation where Bengal hardly finds a mention when we talk about the history of Indian cricket. And here I am talking about the pre Dalmiya-Ganguly era. Bhattacharyya’s book is an important addition to our understanding of Bengal cricket of the 1950s and 1960s and is a reminder that Bengal has always been significant in the larger history of Indian cricket.
With complete access to the Roy family archives, thanks to the initiative of Pranab Roy, the editorial hand behind the book, Pankaj is laden with some rare photographic gems. The best is the Mankad-Roy photograph of their world record opening wicket partnership of 413 against New Zealand, a record that stood for 51 years. At a time when bating was exceedingly difficult, to score 413 for the opening wicket was simply unbelievable. Thanks to the book this photograph now adorns the outside façade of the fantastic Eden Gardens giving Roy his rightful place in history.
In an otherwise enjoyable book, Bhattacharyya would have done well to include two things in some more detail-first he should have tried to understand the socio-economic context which created Roy a little better. Could Roy have been created in pre-partition Bengal for example? And why did contemporary Bengal cricket administrators not back Roy in the way Dalmiya backed Ganguly? Had they done so we wouldn’t have had to wait for Bhattacharyya to write the first definitive biography of Bengal’s first cricketing legend.
Having said that there is little doubt that Pankaj is an extremely valuable addition to Bengal’s and in turn Indian cricket history. It is beautifully written, saucily garnished with anecdotes and does not shy away from being critical if need be. The English translation, which will be out in a couple of months, should have many takers in the country.