Indian cricket's glamorous heroes

Sporting heroes have been glamourized from the ancient Roman times and continue till today. The feats of the famous gladiator, Spartacus or the charioteer Benhur are stories that still rekindle the gl

On the completion of his century and especially as it was made against the British, Amarnath was a hero who had coins, jewelry and one gathers even a mangalsutra handed over to him on the ground, while play was stopped to recognize and applaud his feat. The next Indian cricket superstar was one of India's greatest all-rounders, Vinoo Mankad. He was instrumental in all the initial Indian Test victories and his famous historical feat during a Test match at Lords in England in 1952, "Mankad versus England", established him as a house-hold cricket star. 

The famous victory in Kanpur in 1959, when India beat Australia for the first time, brought about stardom for an immaculately dressed and well-groomed Indian captain, G.S. Ramchand. The victorious leader hailing from Mumbai became an ideal model for brand advertisements and cricket made its foray into the Sindhi community of India. Good looks do play a part and, therefore, the handsome cricketers seem to have that extra bit of stardom attached to them. Abbas Ali Baig, the first cricketer to ever get kissed on a cricket field and Brijesh Patel, thereafter, brought flair, style and fashion as well. The fair and handsome looks of Baig, dressed classily and elegantly and the drooping moustache and long hair of Brijesh became a fashion for the young during their era. 

Cricket, was looked at as a slow and steady sport. The emergence of two flamboyant handsome stroke players into the Indian cricket scene brought that element of excitement and liveliness into the sport. Salim Durani, the tall, handsome man with the good looks of a film star, having the grace and ability to hit the ball for a six at will, was one of them. Never before in the history of cricket was a Test match put into a precarious position, when the public in Mumbai went to the extent of 

stopping it, with the famous slogan, "No Durani, No match". The other cricketer was the debonair Parsee, Farokh Engineer. The swashbuckling stroke player, who nearly got a century before lunch as an opener against the mighty West Indian fast bowlers of yore, became the famous "Brylcream" poster boy. His swagger and personality made him the heart-throb not only among the Parsees but the young boys and girls that followed the game. 

M.L. Jaisimha , the tall, dark, handsome and stylish Hyderabad batsman, may not have had the power hitting capabilities of Engineer, but his grace and elegant batting along with his striking personality made him the glamour boy of the South. The one cricketer who became the biggest superstar of them all and stood head and shoulders above them was the late Nawab of Pataudi Jr. He led the Indian team for over a decade. His royal lineage, blessed with a lithe and athletic physique and with an abundance of cricket skills, made him the poster boy of the Asian cricketing world. One of his ardent fans was the present Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. The