From Moeen Ali To Ranji: Hindu-Muslim In Cricketing Diaspora

Aug 5, 2017 at 12:26 PM

facebook iconlinkedin iconmail icontwitter iconWhatsApp iconTelegram icon
From Moeen Ali To Ranji: Hindu-Muslim In Cricketing Diaspora

When he completed his hat-trick by trapping South Africa’s Morne Morkel leg before wicket in the third Test match at the Oval with his orthodox off-spin, Moeen Ali entered the record books on three counts.

This was the first hat-trick in history at Surrey’s famous cricket ground. The hat-trick also gave England victory, a record-breaking coincidence. Also, Moeen is the first cricketer of South Asia origin to have posted such a record — at least since the princely order faded out. Not since Ranji, Duleep Singh ji and the Nawab of Pataudi has a sub continental cricketer inserted himself in British history books.  Virat Kohli Wants Usain Bolt To Become A Cricketer

Asked if he would ever play cricket in India, Ranji is reported to have grandly asserted: “Duleep and I are English cricketers.” For that classy disdain, Ranji Trophy cricket was instituted in India in 1934. The year Ranji died, 1933, was, by a coincidence, historic for Indian cricket in another way: The first Test match was played at the Bombay Gymkhana. C.K. Nayudu captained India. The English captain happened to be D.R. Jardine, notorious for his bodyline series against Bradman’s Australia.

I find it difficult to resist a non-cricketing story about Ranji which I picked up during my travels across Ireland. After his cricketing days, Ranji took to hunting as a sport. A grouse shooting accident injured him in one eye.  Will Take a Call on Dhoni-Yuvraj After Discussing with Kohli-Shastri: MSK Prasad

Scouts scoured the British Isles for the finest spot for angling, which was to be Ranji’s next hobby. He was informed that there was no better spot for river salmon than the bend in the river facing Ballynahinch Castle on Ireland’s Connemara coast.
Other than being a magnificent castle facing a hillock on one side and a river on the other, Ballynahinch suited Ranji for another little-known reason.

Ranji, the very “English” cricketer, had a very Indian sister he was fond of. In the male dominated feudal world, she had to be accommodated within hailing distance. Negotiations were started with a convent in the vicinity. The convent would receive endowments. Ranji’s sister would live with the nuns with two non-negotiable conditions: She would not be converted and she would wear a sari, not a habit. To this day Ballynahinch has a photograph of Ranji’s sister in the convent, wearing a white sari, rather like Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity.  Watch: Ravindra Jadeja Sends Back Angelo Mathews

Had I not strayed into the Ranji saga, the narrative after the Moeen Ali performance would have been the obvious one: A few months ago there were as many as four Muslims in the English cricket team — Moeen, Adil Rashid, Haseeb Hameed and Zafar Ansari. Why is there no Hindu in the list? Lest I be misunderstood, my curiosity is mostly sociological. My guess is that Hindus overseas involve themselves in matters more serious than cricket.

The phenomenon continues in other cricket playing countries — Usman Khawaja in Australia; Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir in South Africa; Sikandar Raza who helped Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka.  I Am Cheering For Women Team To Go All The Way And Win The World Cup, Says Suresh Raina

Most of these players do not lend themselves to significant sociological analysis. They are immigrants from Pakistan. Hashim Amla is the only one who reflects South Africa’s social hierarchies going back to Mahatma Gandhi’s 21 years in that country.
An overwhelming majority of Indians in South Africa, mostly around Durban, are children of indentured labourers, a device colonialism invented to circumvent the abolition of slavery. This class, along with the blacks, was too depressed to be playing a “gentleman’s” game. But a wave of Muslim Gujarati Merchants, who turned up to cater to the British and Indian clients, were financially sound. One of them was Baba Abdullah, who invited Gandhi to be his barrister.

Since apartheid South Africa barred non-white students from the better schools, this elite group helped set up English-style public schools in neighbouring countries like Malawi under the supervision of such arch British toadies as President Hastings Banda.  The Person Who Changed The Direction Of Indian Cricket: Rohit Sharma Wishes Sourav Ganguly On His Birthday

It is the progeny of these Muslim merchants from Gujarat who developed a taste for Marxism, as well as cricket, later in British universities. Yusuf Dadoo, Ahmed Kathrada, Essop Pahad, Kamal Asmal, Dullah Omar, Ahmed and Yusuf Cachalia, Fatima Meer — they formed the backbone of the ANC resistance against apartheid.
Once apartheid was lifted, their children joined the all-white Rand club in Johannesburg and sundry cricket clubs. That is the kind of background Hashim Amla would come from.

How does one explain the fine off-spinner, Keshav Maharaj, to my knowledge the first Hindu in the South African team currently touring England? Maharaj is actually a contrived title among Indians with a background in indenture.
Brahmins never accepted indenture. For them, to cross the black waters (Kala pani) was a sin because useless action was a sin. But the Brahmin was sorely missed for religious rituals during birth, death, marriage. To make up for this shortfall, the community conferred the title of “Maharaj” on the most educated and one of “Light skin”. The most famous of this genre was one of Nelson Mandela’s closest friends, Mac Maharaj. It was he who smuggled out the manuscript of the Long March to Freedom from the Robben Island across a stretch of the ocean from Cape Town. Keshav Maharaj is presumably from this stock.  Mohammad Amir Reveals About Brotherly Bond With Virat Kohli

West Indian cricket, uninhibited by the class stratifications of South Africa, gave full vent to a mixture of slavery and indenture to produce the world’s most scintillating cricketers.
Of Indian origin were brilliant batsmen like Rohan Kanhai, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan — all from Guyana.
It has remained something of a puzzle why Fiji, most loyal to be British crown, never took to cricket in a big way. An average native Fijian is taller than a professional basketball player in America. He is also stronger of built. This oversized human machine hurtling the ball from palm tree height would have led to bloodshed in days when helmets were not known. Is this why the Anglo Saxon never encouraged cricket in Fiji?  Kumble-Kohli Matter Was Not Handled Properly, Sourav Ganguly

Related Article
Sachin Tendulkar At No. 3, Only 1 Active Cricketer From Team India As Moeen Ali Reveals Top 5 Indian Players Of All Time
Sachin Tendulkar At No. 3, Only 1 Active Cricketer From Team India As Moeen Ali Reveals Top 5 Indian Players Of All Time

Jan 9, 2024, 2:50 PM


ENG vs PAK Dream11 Prediction: England vs Pakistan Dream11 Match Prediction Today, Dream11 Team Today, Playing 11, Fantasy Tips, Pitch Report & Injury Updates – ICC World Cup 2023, Match 44
ENG vs PAK Dream11 Prediction: England vs Pakistan Dream11 Match Prediction Today, Dream11 Team Today, Playing 11, Fantasy Tips, Pitch Report & Injury Updates – ICC World Cup 2023, Match 44

Nov 10, 2023, 4:50 PM


ODI World Cup 2023: We Just Didn’t See It As Players Because We Thought We’d Be Performing Well – Moeen Ali’s Honest Assessment On England’s Poor World Cup Campaign
ODI World Cup 2023: We Just Didn’t See It As Players Because We Thought We’d Be Performing Well – Moeen Ali’s Honest Assessment On England’s Poor World Cup Campaign

Nov 6, 2023, 2:38 PM


ENG vs AUS Dream11 Prediction: England vs Australia Dream11 Match Prediction Today, Dream11 Team Today, Playing 11, Fantasy Tips, Pitch Report & Injury Updates – ICC World Cup 2023, Match 35
ENG vs AUS Dream11 Prediction: England vs Australia Dream11 Match Prediction Today, Dream11 Team Today, Playing 11, Fantasy Tips, Pitch Report & Injury Updates – ICC World Cup 2023, Match 35

Nov 3, 2023, 10:30 PM


IND vs ENG Live Streaming: India vs England Live Streaming, Match No. 29, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
IND vs ENG Live Streaming: India vs England Live Streaming, Match No. 29, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Oct 28, 2023, 4:24 PM


IND vs ENG Match Preview: India vs England Match Preview, Match No. 29, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
IND vs ENG Match Preview: India vs England Match Preview, Match No. 29, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Oct 28, 2023, 3:27 PM


Desktop Banner
Mobile Banner