Salim Durrani: Born With Finesse And Flamboyance
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
3 April
2023
"It's not your performance on the field
that matters. But, it's your persona off the field and your conduct in public
life that endear you to the people. Runs, wickets and catches are okay as long
as you're active as a player. And how long is the career of a cricketer? You're
remembered chiefly as a human and not as an athlete or a cricketer."
Sir Garfield St. Auburn Sobers In His Memoirs
Salim Durrani
-----
So very
true. Sobers vindicated the aforementioned statement with his life and
astounding cricketing abilities. The same can be said about his dear friend
Salim Durrani, who passed away on April 2. On many counts, the affable Salim
Durrani could be compared to the game's greatest all-rounder Sir Garry as both
were complete southpaws, bowling slow left-arm orthodox (though Sobers bowled
fast-medium and Chinaman as well !) and batting left-handed. While Sobers was a
pure genius, our Salimbhai (as he was fondly called) was an all-rounder manque.
Hardly any cricketer was so universally liked and popular as Durrani was. Along
with the Australian all-rounder Keith Miller and the West Indian legend Sir
Garry, Salim Durrani carved a niche for himself whenever and wherever he
played. Though he played just 29 Tests, slammed a hundred (104 against West
Indies in 1962), took 75 wickets and scored 1202 runs, his demeanour and
cavalier approach distinguished him from others. Always a gentleman, he played
the game in a spirited manner and never behaved ungentlemanly on and off the
field. Like Bedi, Benaud and Sobers, Salim Durrani would clap when a batsman
would hit him for a boundary or an over boundary. He himself was a past master
in hitting sixes on the spectators' demand.
Endowed
with exceptionally good looks, he acted in a couple of movies, ' Ek Masoom '
(1969) and ' Charitra ' (1973). His heroines in the movies were Tanuja and
Parveen Babi respectively. Durrani had a great sense of humour as well. When a
journalist told him that he shared his birthday (December 11) with Dilip Kumar
and Osho Rajneesh, Salim smiled and said that he inherited a few qualities from
both the celebrities.
He always
kept himself away from all controversies and never said anything bad about
anyone. Salim Durrani always helped the newcomers and was never condescending.
A self-effacing man, he liked to talk about the exploits of others in glowing
terms. He was never phlegmatic in admiration. Australian great Doug Walters
once said that had Salim been less carefree in his ways, he'd have been counted
alongside his friend Sir Garry as the game's greatest all-rounders. But then,
Salim never cared for statistics. He played for the spectators and hit sixes
when they egged him on. Such nice humans are a rarity in these times. Au
revoir, Salimbhai. We'll miss you.
------
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/salim-durrani-finesse-flamboyance-/d/129476
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