Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu shocked everyone when he abruptly left the team during the 1996 tour of England. His sudden departure caught BCCI officials off guard, and despite an internal inquiry, Sidhu refused to explain his decision.
With no answers forthcoming, the board sought help from Mohinder Amarnath, hoping that a fellow Punjabi and trusted teammate might get Sidhu to open up. At first, even Amarnath couldn’t get through to him. However, after taking Sidhu out for a quiet walk, the former opener finally shared the reason for his walkout.
Amarnath laughed at the reason and when they returned, he told the BCCI officials that Sidhu was innocent but chose not to disclose the actual reason. Eventually, Amarnath confided in then BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele, who later revealed the story in his autobiography ‘I Was There – Memoirs of a Cricket Administrator’.
What was the reason behind Sidhu’s decision?
In the autobiography, it was mentioned that then India captain Mohammad Azharuddin used to hurl abuses at Sidhu at every possible place. The opener was terribly upset with that and, without informing anybody, he left the team midway and returned to India.
“Every day, when they met, he used to say 'Good morning', okay, but this was invariably followed by filthy words. At the hotel, at the nets, while passing on instructions, even while chatting with him, Azhar used to address him with a prefix!” Amarnath told Lele.
“Sidhu said he was terribly upset and decided that it was not tolerable! He had not come on the tour to listen to abuses from the skipper. He was upset, so he decided to leave the team quietly. Mohinder was stunned! But as he knew Azhar closely, he was not ready to believe him. He insisted that Sidhu tell him the words used by Azhar. Ultimately, Sidhu came out with the words: "Maa ke ******* " Lele wrote.
“After a pause, Mohinder burst into laughter as Sidhu watched him nervously. Finally, Mohinder told him, "Dear Sherry, okay, this is an abuse in North India. But believe me, this is a very common naughty address to a dear one in Hyderabadi, often used by even ladies over there! It means 'mother's dear child,” he added.
Sidhu’s absence and Ganguly’s debut
Senior cricketer Sidhu’s absence opened the door for a young Sourav Ganguly. He made his debut in the second Test against England in Lord’s and in his first innings, the Bengal batter scored a century, becoming one of the rare cricketers to score a ton on debut.