Former India Captain Tiger Pataudi No More

Faisal Fareed
Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Sep 22: Former Indian skipper, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (70) passed away after a brief illness at Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi on Thursday September 22 evening.

Mansoor, who was also known as Tiger Pataudi hailed from the Nawab family of Pataudi in Madhya Pradesh. He is survived by son Saif Ali Khan, and daughters Soha Ali Khan and Saba, besides wife Sharmila Tagore. Saif and Soha are accomplished actors in the Hindi film industry, and Sharmila Tagore too is a cine star of yesteryears.

All of them, including Saif's partner actress Kareena Kapoor, were by his side when he breathed his last at 5.55 pm.

Hospital sources stated that Pataudi was suffering from lung infection and was admitted to the hospital in August. He remained critically ill and was admitted in the ICU. He was on very high level of oxygen support requiring intermittent Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BIPAP). Pataudi was suffering from interstitial lung disease, a condition in which the passage of oxygen to the two lungs is reduced. The disease does not have permanent cure but a person can survive with support on BIPAP machine.

Earlier on Thursday, he was put on ventilator after his condition worsened.

Pataudi was born on January 5, 1941. A car accident permanently damaged vision in his right eye when he was only 20. This, however, did not affect his widely acclaimed playing skills.

He was the ninth and last Nawab of Pataudi, now in Haryana.

For the records, Pataudi played 46 Tests for the country, scoring 2,793 runs for an average of 34.91 with an unbeaten 203 being his highest score. He scored six centuries and 16 fifties in his career. He was the youngest cricketer to captain India, at the age of 21.