Mumbai: The ignominy faced by Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul, being sent back from an overseas tour, is only the second such instance in 82 years. In 1936, Lala Amarnath was sent back from India’s tour of England by the erstwhile captain Maharaja of Vijianagaram or ‘Vizzy’ for alleged insubordination during a first-class game. The general belief was that Lalaji’s tiff with Vizzy was more to do with team politics unlike the entitled duo of Pandya and Rahul, who paid the price for their loose talk about women. “Amarnath had been carrying a back injury for a few games but had not been allowed to rest.
At Lord’s he was asked to pad up and then forced by Vizzy to sit as a succession of other batsmen were sent in ahead of him. “He (Amarnath) eventually got his turn minutes before the close, and clearly angry, when he returned to the changing room he made clear his anger, throwing his kit into his bag and muttering, in Punjabi, ‘I know what is transpiring’.” According to the book, Lala Amarnath: Life and Times, written by his youngest son Rajinder Amarnath, his father was a victim of canard. “Many of the squad, including Vizzy and Major Jack Brittain-Jones, the manager, did not speak Punjabi, but versions of the story spread. Amarnath was sent for and handed a letter signed by several team-mates demanding action. Jones told him he was being sent home.”
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