India’s Miserable Show In the 1975 Cricket World Cup, India fared pathetically, losing two of the three matches and winning only against a weaker side, East Africa. That is something that any good Ranji Trophy team from any zone could have done conveniently! I do not wish to be critical at this stage, but I cannot help mentioning the inclusion of the second wicketkeeper just for three to four days of cricket.
In the three pre-tournament practice matches, this job could have been done by anybody, as the wicketkeeper was required to stand well back for the medium pacers in the 60 overs. It only deprived other youngsters of gaining experience in English conditions. If Farokh Engineer had become unfit, the second wicketkeeper could have been flown out immediately, as there was three days’ rest between matches.
It has been said that the Indians were not used to one-day cricket. I would humbly, but with all the emphasis at my command, point out that our cricketers are essentially meant for this sort of game. For instance, we had great stroke-makers like C. K. Nayudu, Mushtaq Ali, Vinoo Mankad, Khandu Rangnekar, Rusi Modi, Polly Umrigar, Salim Durrani, M. L. Jaisimha, and others who would have reveled in these conditions.
Source: ONE-DAY CRICKET Excerpts from an article by Lala Amaranth (published in Cricket magazine) after the 1975 World Cup
