How often have you visited India?
I used to come on diplomatic trips or to visit my extended family in Bhopal - aunts, uncles and cousins. As you possibly know, I went over to Pakistan in 1950. I was born in Bhopal. My grandfather was the last nawab. We went back to 13 generations of rulers, four of whom were women. In the next few months I hope to publish a book on Bhopal's history, The Begums of Bhopal. It's taken me two years to research. The focus is on how and why Bhopal had four women rulers. That too in a man's world. And a turbulent world. How did these women succeed? It will have around 300-400 pages.
It must be nostalgic coming to India, especially Bhopal?
To be frank, it's often like coming back to one's childhood. I was 14 when I left. It was an unreal world I lived in. I was in two schools here. At the Royal Indian Military College in Dehradun and one in Indore. Once they knew I was coming they invited me to a reunion. I went to study in Indore because I couldn't reach Dehradun because of the riots. Fortunately, Bhopal was peaceful. Many refugees came here because of that. I still remember Gandhiji's death. It's a moment I will never forget. Even as a young boy I felt it was something very definitive in the history of South Asia.
Was going to Pakistan your personal choice?
I was old enough to make one. But the choice was mainly my mother's. I supported her. The choice offered itself again in 1960 when my grandfather died. I was 24 then and in Karachi. Just joined the diplomatic service. President Ayub Khan told my mother, 'you made a huge sacrifice coming to Pakistan. You left a huge house and jagir. Now should you want to go back, because the people want you back, we will never doubt your Pakistani credentials. For us you are totally Pakistani. You can even keep the passport. My mother refused but said I might want to. I was emphatic in staying. That was like a second bite of the cherry.
Do you sit in on the team meetings?
Yes. I am responsible for their conduct so I have to sit there. Of course, understandably, cricketing issues are decided totally by the captain, coach and vice-captain.
Did you feel the threat to the tour was just a drama?
No, the series was fraught with tension. We took the threats at face value. It was happening on the ground. First the digging of the pitch, then the bcci vandalism and then the attack on the high commission. It was more than drama.
Any bloomers? Anything needing your diplomatic skills?
Not so far. Not a ripple. We have been overwhelmed by the welcome, within and outside the stadium. The boys have responded. We don't cheer opponents back home when they reach 49. They were cheering Yousuf Youhana when he was on 49. We don't do that to members of the opposing team. Only to our own. I was very touched. Chennai is a sporting crowd. It was a very good gesture.
Are you surprised at the adulation?
Many of them have played one-dayers here. Some go back 12 years. Off the field there is lot of camaraderie. The crowds want India to do well. But there's no hostility towards us. Only a great warmth.
Did you have a chat with the boys? The do's and don'ts?
Certainly. Have to be very careful. Things in the press can be twisted around. Things normal elsewhere might not be so here. Take a glass of Coca-Cola. There are malicious people who might say there was whisky in it. Then there will be denials etc. Many boys have not been here before. It's not the same as Pakistan. Though there's a long history, there are differences. It helped that I knew Wasim Akram and Salim Malik from my London days. I also knew Javed Miandad, Ejaz Ahmed and Mushtaq Ahmed.
Do you play cricket yourself?
I have played a lot of club cricket in England and Pakistan. I went to Cambridge and the Fletcher school of diplomacy in Boston. I studied law in Cambridge. I was a crusader. Couldn't make it to a blue. I still play though I am 65. My second son who is a coach has stopped playing! The youngest, studying social anthropology at Cambridge, still plays though.
Would you like to be manager for the World Cup?
No. Not that I dislike it. I took this on for the delicacy involved.
Your favourite players?
I am one of the few alive who saw Bradman a lot. In 1948. I followed the Australian team around. Middlesex, England etc. I remember him being caught at short leg by Hutton off Bedser. And then I saw him in the famous match at Leeds when Australia got 403 in a day to win. He got 173. I saw him at the Oval when England were all out for 52. Lindwall took seven wickets. Hutton scored 30 and was the last man out. Bradman got a zero.
My favourite was Hutton. I could watch him all day just defending and not scoring a run. He was poetry. Then also Everton Weekes and Ramadin. I admire Tendulkar.
Having seen Bradman, what do you think of Sachin? Specially since so much has been in the air?
I haven't seen as much of him as of Bradman. Bradman played every ball to its merit. No risk involved. Pulls and hooks were on the ground. You noticed nothing particular yet he scored at a fast rate. He was seldom beaten. Sachin is more classical. Nearer to Hutton. I like the classical mould bats. The Greg Chappels, Sunny, and Barry Richards. Sunny has played so many classic knocks on turning wickets. Sachin has to go some distance. Some years ago you could have said Lara would be the three-four all-time greats. But look where he is now. After Sachin finished with Yorkshire nobody talked of him as a great player. The tragedy is that so much of Sachin is wasted on one-day cricket. Great cricketers are cheapening their skills playing one-dayers. Playing bowlers like Malik, Chris Harris and Larsen. They are not bowlers. I hate one-day cricket. I think much of the poor batting by Pakistan in the first innings was because of that.
Take Ganguly's catch of Moin. He was trying like hell to concentrate but then he played this one-day shot. He should have said, I will not get out to Mr Kumble today and played that ball down.
Who is your favourite Pakistani cricketer?
Fazal Mahmood. I have seen a lot of cricket. But he was something else. Of course, there's Imran. Mad Qadir. Not only did he have a googly but a disguised googly. Then Zaheer Abbas. In the present lot, I admire Wasim and Waqar. No batting favourites though.
I can't leave you without a comment on the nuclear test.
Once India tested, Pakistan doing it was a natural corollary. Although a lot of our friends in the West were angry I think the tests have brought us closer psychologically to a solution than before.
SAARC'S a dead duck. Can't we have economic cooperation by insulating it from politics?
Unfortunately no. It's because of political differences between India and Pakistan that saarc refuses to take off. Rather sadly, we are holding all the others back. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka etc. You have to have a political framework for economic policies.
Can cricket help?
The series can have a negative as well as a positive impact. If things go well, relations will improve. The climate will help.
Any must-do's on the tour?
We have to emerge out of it in a way that Indo-Pak relations is at least maintained, if not improved. In order to do that we have to work hard. There are madcap fanatics on both sides. Winning or losing is important but the spirit is much more so. I was very happy on the first day of the Test. Two of our boys didn't play shots and were given out. They walked away quietly. They were obviously disappointed but didn't show their displeasure.
Have you mingled with the Indian players?
Yes. On the first day of the Test we presented Tendulkar with a letter of congratulations on his Padma Shree.
