Gentleman cricketer

It was a cold morning in November which started early like most other days in sportsman Noshir Mehta’s disciplined life, except that there was palpable excitement in the air at the Gymkhana Grounds in Secunderabad. A small crowd had gathered to cheer and congratulate Mehta for playing cricket continuously for 50 years. An extraordinary feat when one thinks of the level of physical fitness involved and the injuries that crop up from time to time in the career of every cricketer. The choice of venue was poignant. It was on the very same Gymkhana cricket grounds that it all began for Mehta, way back in 1964 when he started playing for the Secunderabad Union Cricket Club (SUCC), the oldest club in league cricket. That was the start of an exemplary career in cricket. He has received mention on the sports pages of all the local newspapers of Hyderabad and the icing on the cake was to be featured in Wisden (the ‘Bible’ of cricket), which is every cricketer’s dream.

Noshir Mehta on the field and today

Born on February 5, 1948, Mehta’s prodigious bowling talent was discovered early. He was part of the Ranji Trophy Hyderabad team for a staggering 10 years from 1967 to 1976 and captured 147 wickets. He played at Calcutta in the Rest of India Team in 1972 against the victorious Indian Team, for the AP Chief Minister’s XI against the touring Sri Lankans in 1971 and visited Singapore, Malaysia, Colombo, Bangkok, East Africa, Manila, Hong Kong, Australia and Fiji Islands as a member of the Hyderabad Blues on three foreign tours. Captain of the Hyderabad Veterans Cricket Team, Mehta toured Sri Lanka in August 2008. In 2010 he was a member of the Hyderabad Veterans team which toured Dubai.
Describing the day he reached the recent landmark, 66-year-old Mehta says: "When I got up in the morning it actually dawned on me what am I doing 50 years on. Why am I risking injury at this age? But then I realized what cricket meant to me. There was cake cutting along with most of my old bank team mates and my team (SUCC) mates with whom I started playing. Some good friends and the Press were also there making it a memorable and wonderful morning for me. To top it all we won the match and I got four wickets for 30 runs in 12 overs.”
Mehta attributes his long stint at playing to his fitness regimen which includes two sets of tennis every morning and some exercises. He adds, "I am also very disciplined in my eating habits. I sleep by 9 p.m. and wake up at 5 a.m. every day.”
His late father Soli was a director of the Finger Print Bureau (CID) and captained the Hyderabad Ranji team for many years. He was part of the Hyderabad Ranji team which won the trophy in 1938. Mehta mentions, "My mother Tehmina has always been a homemaker and turns out great Mughlai dishes. My wife Yasmin is a graduate and a gold medallist from J. J. College of Commerce in the secretarial course. Her passion is singing. I worked for the State Bank of Hyderabad.”
About his role model and inspiration, Mehta says, "My father was my guide, my bowling coach and above all a wonderful human being. Being a very good spinner, he used to guide me in how to bowl to different batsmen, use variations and how to bowl in different conditions which not only helped me improve my game but also made coaching easier due to all the finer points that were drilled into me in my formative years. My uncle Eddie Aibara, who many consider as the father of cricket in Hyderabad was one of the best batsmen in the country during his playing days and was our first coach. My childhood was fun. Apart from playing cricket at home with friends we used to wait for Diwali and Sankranti to burn crackers and fly kites.”

(L-R): Mehta, Nari Contractor and Zubin Bharucha

There were setbacks too. "Injuries and fluctuating fortunes are part and parcel of a sportsman’s life. Luckily except for being hit on the head while fielding at forward short leg in a university game and a few fractured fingers, I have been injury free. Of course, my parents were always worried whenever I played and prayed for my safety,” says the cricketer.
Tall, fair and handsome, Mehta is said to have been the cynosure of all eyes on the field each time he came out to bowl. Regarding the role of the women in his life, Mehta responds, "In my youth my grandmother and mother have both had a very special influence on me. They inculcated the right values which have stood me in good stead in later life. Later, Yasmin became a pillar of support for me in all my endeavors — whether in my career or my personal life.”
The Parsi community has produced many cricketing legends that have even played for the country. Parsis of yesteryear were a force to reckon with. On being asked why there are hardly any Parsi cricketing greats today, Mehta responds, "Yes, Parsis have produced legends in all fields, not only in sports. Youngsters of today, I think, want to play individual games and excel in their respective spheres rather than play cricket.” Mehta has played in many Parsi tournaments. "I played in the Jiji Irani tournament for many years and was part of a wonderful winning team (we won for more than 10 years on the trot). There are quite a few talented youngsters in these teams but they play just once a year. Even in the six-a-side teams there were good players, but most of them are busy with their studies or careers and don’t take the game seriously.”
From modelling to a role in a film, Mehta has done it all. "I have done a few modelling assignments, the last one being for National Institute of Fashion Technology. Walking the ramp was a totally different ball game and an experience I will never forget as we were modelling with some of the leading models from Bombay. Doing a small role in the film Iqbal was another great experience. Acting alongside a legend like Naseeruddin Shah made me quite nervous but he was very down to earth and made us feel at home on the sets.”
Has Mehta’s feat of playing for 50 years continuously ever been achieved by any other cricketer? "In Hyderabad, I am not aware of anyone playing for that long. I have won quite a few Man of the Match awards and best bowler awards along the way. Twice I won the Most Promising Youngster award in the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup tournament.” Additionally he has garnered trophies at club level in tennis, badminton, snooker and billiards.
Said to be the most talented cricketer never to have played for India, Mehta asserts, "I have represented Hyderabad at the junior level and in the Ranji Trophy. I have also played in the Duleep Trophy for South Zone and Rest of India. I have been part of the team which won the Rohinton Baria trophy for the first time and have also played in the Vizzy Trophy. As far as playing for India goes, I think I was in the wrong zone. There was E. A. S. Prasanna who was probably the best off spinner to have ever played for India. Finding a place in the XI in the South Zone team with Prasanna, Chandra (B. S. Chandrasekhar) and Venkat (S. Venkataraghavan) was itself a big achievement. I was in the team for Indian Veterans vs Pakistan at Hyderabad. Had I been in another zone, who knows how my career would have shaped? I was also in the first of standbys for the 1971 twin tours of England and West Indies.”
When queried whether his life and career would have taken a different turn had he been born in another city, Mehta replies, "I have no regrets being a Hyderabadi and in fact am proud to be one. The only heartburn was that I was definitely good enough to have played for India, especially after Prasanna retired from international cricket but unfortunately that was the time when I was replaced in the Hyderabad team. Probably I was not destined to play for the country. But life has been good overall and I am grateful to God for that.”
Among the Parsi and non-Parsi cricketers whom he admires are Nari Contractor, Polly Umrigar, Vijay Manjrekar, Salim Durani, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Hanumant Singh. "All of them were very humble and willing to share their vast knowledge with the younger lot. In the current scenario it is good to see (Sanjay) Manjrekar come of age. (Cheteshwar) Pujara, (Virat) Kohli, (Ajinkya) Rahane, Rahul (Dravid), (Ambati) Rayudu and (Suresh) Raina should serve India well for a long time to come.”
Regarding the Parsi community, Mehta is of the opinion that: "The Parsis are a very fun loving community. They love their dhansak and a peg or two in the evenings and relax on their easy chairs which one finds only in Parsi homes. Ours is one of the oldest and most powerful religions in the world and I respect it deeply. One aspect I would like changed is that if a woman marries a non-Parsi, her children should be allowed into our religion.”
Will he play cricket in the future? The sportsman muses, "It has been a long and wonderful journey for me. I think I might play an odd league match and a couple of festival matches. I have been a spin bowling coach in our Cricket Academy of Excellence in Hyderabad.” Coaching youngsters (in under-14 and under-16 years categories) has been a challenge. "It feels good to give back to Hyderabad cricket what cricket has given to me,” he acknowledges.