Syed Mushtaq Ali (; 17 December 1914 – 18 June 2005) was an Indian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er, a right-handed opening batsman who holds the distinction of scoring the first overseas Test century by an Indian player when he scored 112 against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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in 1936.Telegraph, 25 Mushtaq Ali was noted for his graceful batting style and a flair which often cost him his wicket by being over-adventurous too soon in an innings. He received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995, the highest honour bestowed by the

BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

on a former player. He batted right-handed and bowled slow left-arm orthodox spin. He bowled frequently enough in domestic matches to be classified as an all-rounder but only occasionally in

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

matches.

Career

Mushtaq Ali was observed by

C. K. Nayudu Colonel Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu (31 October 1895 – 14 November 1967) was an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator who served as the first captain of the Indian national cricket team. He is widely regarded as one of India's greatest ...

at Indore at the age of 13 and helped to develop his cricketing skills. A

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

Special Award winner, he scored four first-class hundreds in the 1936 tour. He was an opening or middle-order batsman who played very little international cricket mainly due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In total, he played in 11 Tests. He made his debut in the second Test against England at

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in January 1934, and played his last Test against England at

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

in February 1952, at the age of 38.

Domestic cricket

He was educated in Indore and at

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

. He played extensively for regional teams and private clubs when cricket was a young sport in India. In first-class cricket, he represented Holkar, Central India, Muslims, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Bharat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and India between 1930 and 1964. He played for

Holkar The Holkars (pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ were the ruling house of the Indore State of the Maratha Confederacy, and earlier held the rank of Subahdar under Peshwa Baji Rao I of the Maratha Empire. When the Maratha Confederacy began to we ...

in the National Championship for the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

along with other stalwarts like C. K. Nayudu. He was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1964 and made a life member of the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

for his contribution to the game. He published his autobiography, Cricket Delightful in 1967. He died in his sleep, at the age of 90 in 2005. The Indian domestic T20 series is named after him. Mushtaq Ali's son, Gulrez Ali, and his grandson, Abbas Ali, both played first-class cricket.

Awards

– awarded in 1964 * C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award - awarded in 1995 *

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a domestic Twenty20 cricket championship in India, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It is named after former Test cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali. It is played by the teams from the R ...

– This is a

Twenty20 cricket Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

domestic championship in India, organized by the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

, among the teams from the

. The 2008–09 season was the inaugural season for this trophy.

References

* Smith, Martin (editor). ''The Promise of Endless Summer (Cricket Lives from the Daily Telegraph)''. Aurum (2013).

External links

* *
Obituary from Rediff.com

video feature from

Cricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

1914 births 2005 deaths Aligarh Muslim University alumni Central India cricketers Central Zone cricketers Cricketers from Indore East Zone cricketers Gujarat cricketers Holkar cricketers India Test cricketers Indian Muslims Indian cricketers 20th-century Indian sportsmen Madhya Bharat cricketers Madhya Pradesh cricketers Maharashtra cricketers Muslims cricketers Rajasthan cricketers Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Uttar Pradesh cricketers {{India-cricket-bio-stub