New Delhi. The 2001 film ‘Lagaan’ directed by Ashutosh Gowariker received a lot of praise all over the world. In this film, the story of innocent villagers of a village playing a cricket match with the British to get their tax waived off during the British rule on India has been presented in an interesting way. The events take place in such a way that winning this cricket match becomes a question of national identity for the villagers. The game of cricket may have been invented by the British, but the villagers’ team wins this match. Bhuvan, who stood up strongly against the British, becomes the hero of this victory with his batting and the Dalit youth called ‘Kachra’ with his bowling. Bhuvan’s character was played by Aamir Khan and Kachra’s character was played by Aditya Lakhia. The film worked to run a ‘current’ of national sentiment in the people and instill faith in ability.
The story of ‘Lagaan’ may be fictional but before independence, a Dalit youth like ‘Kachra’ had troubled the British with his spin bowling. Facing his spinning balls was no less than a headache for the British batsmen. The name of this Dalit cricketer was Baloo Palwankar. Before independence, when the upper caste society did not like to keep company with a Dalit, let alone eat with him, due to untouchability, Baloo played high level cricket with them with his sports skills and many times became a symbol of the country’s respect with his performance. Later he joined politics and played a role in bringing about social change in the country and eradicating the evil of untouchability.
Balu’s life story is so interesting that a Bollywood movie is going to be made on his life. This film, based on the book ‘A Corner of a Foreign Field’ by famous historian and cricket expert Ramchandra Guha, will be made by filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia. Apart from Balu, the struggle of his three other cricketer brothers Shivram, Ganpat and Vitthal will also be shown in the film.
10 wickets in debut and last test, first bowler to take 200 wickets, Bradman accused of ending his career!
Took 179 wickets in 33 matches
Born on 19 March 1876 in a Dalit family in Dharwad of the then Bombay Presidency, Balu faced humiliation and contempt at every step but he proved himself even in these circumstances. Between 1905 and 1921, he played 33 first class matches, which also included some matches played in England. Apart from taking 179 wickets (best 8/103) at an average of 15.21 in 33 matches, he also scored 753 runs. Left-arm orthodox spinner Balu took 5 wickets in an innings 17 times and 10 or more wickets four times.
Spin bowling to give practice to the batsmen Were
At the time when Balu played cricket, India did not have its own team and religion-based teams used to play cricket in Indian cricket. Balu’s father was a soldier in the 112th Infantry Regiment of the British India Army. After watching the British officers play cricket, Balu used to secretly wear their equipment and play cricket. His passion for cricket grew when he got a job as a groundsman on the Parsis pitch in Pune. Later he started working in the British cricket club. Here he used to make the batsmen practice with his spin bowling. England’s first class cricketer JG Greg was once impressed by Balu’s control and turn on the balls and advised him to take cricket seriously. Acting on this, this young cricketer started playing from Pune Hindu Club. According to media reports, there were different opinions in the Hindu Cricket Club on the issue of whether Dalit Balu should be given a place in the team or not. Some were in favor of it and many were against it. However, Balu’s playing skills overpowered his opponents and he got a place in the team.
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Because he was a Dalit, other players did not eat with him
Even after this, the difficulties did not reduce. Being a Dalit, Balu had to face humiliation many times. During the break, when the upper caste players would drink tea in porcelain utensils, there was a separate utensil for Balu. No one would sit and eat or drink with him. Many times, people would even refrain from touching him. He was not allowed to bat. However, Balu was superior to his so-called ‘elite’ teammates in the game and this was the reason that the club had to give him a place in the team, even if under compulsion. The British club used to have an edge over the Hindu cricket club in performance, but after Balu joined the team, this difference almost ended. In a match, when Balu destroyed the batting line of the British Gymkhana Club by taking 7 wickets, he became the center of discussion everywhere. According to media reports, for this performance, he was made to sit on an elephant and taken around. Social reformers Mahadev Govind Ranade and Bal Gangadhar Tilak honoured Balu and advised the upper caste players to break the shackles of untouchability and not discriminate against Balu and the people of the Dalit community.
International career of just 12 days, he took a ‘paw’ including a hat-trick in the last ODI but…
He won accolades by taking 114 wickets in England
After 2011, Balu became the star of Indian cricket. This year, a combined team of players from Hindu, Parsi and Muslim clubs toured England. In this team, six players were Parsi, five Hindu and three Muslim. Bhupendra Singh (Sikh) of Patiala royal family was the captain of the team. Being from different clubs, there was no coordination among the players. Some players were focused on touring in England rather than cricket. In such a situation, the team won only two out of 14 matches against recognized county teams. The Indian team also played matches against relatively weak teams. Despite the poor performance of Indian players in the tour, the player who returned with his head held high was Balu. The English batsmen were seen doing ‘tata-thaiya’ on his swinging balls. Balu had taken 114 wickets in England. The English media also praised his performance. After this performance, Balu became an inspiration for the Dalit community on the sports field. Constitution maker BR Ambedkar was also among the fans of this great son of Indian cricket.
Cricketers who have shown their prowess in other sports in the Olympics, some have even won gold medals
Joined Congress, worked for social reform
Influenced by Gandhian ideology, Balu later joined politics and worked for social reform. He was also vocal for the independence of the country. Despite being influenced by Ambedkar, Balu also disagreed with him on some issues. Balu joined the Congress and contested the assembly elections from Bombay against BR Ambedkar, although he lost. It is said that when Baba Saheb left Hinduism and adopted Buddhism, Balu called it a suicidal step. In 1955, Balu died in Bombay (now Mumbai) at the age of 79. He was such a hero of Indian cricket who did not get the respect he deserved.
Tags: Cricket news, Independence Day, cricket, Indian Cricketer
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 14, 2024, 15:21 IST
