1971: The Beginning of India’s Cricketing Greatness

aman.arora@harpercollins.co.in | 5 March 2021

HarperCollins

is proud to announce the forthcoming release of

1971

The Beginning of India’s Cricketing Greatness

by Boria Majumdar and Gautam Bhattacharya

Releasing on 20 April 2021

‘1971 – and here I will combine the two wins, West Indies and England – will always rank as one of the highest moments of my career. The only other achievement which I can think of that compares with 1971 is the 1983 World Cup win.’

– Sunil Gavaskar

1971 was the year that changed Indian cricket forever. Accustomed to seeing a talented but erratic Indian team go from one defeat to another, a stunned cricketing world watched in astonishment as India first beat the West Indies in a Test series on their home turf, and then emerged victorious over England—in England. Suddenly, the Indian team had become a force to reckon with.

Boria Majumdar and Gautam Bhattacharya’s book is a thrilling account of the 1971 twin tours, that brings to life the on-field excitement and the backroom drama. Against a canvas that features legends: Pataudi and Wadekar, who captained India to the two sensational series victories abroad; Sardesai, Durani, Viswanath, Engineer, Solkar, Abid Ali; the famed spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, and Venkatraghavan; and a young batsman named Sunil Gavaskar who was making his debut—it is the tale of a young country ready and eager to make an impression on the world stage.

Fifty years later, this is a wonderful book to relive those glory days with.

About the authors:

Boria Majumdar, a Rhodes Scholar, is the author of multiple books on Indian sport and its history, and the co-author of Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography Playing It My Way. His most recent publications include Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians (2018) and Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games (with Nalin Mehta, 2020). He is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Central Lancashire and Consulting Editor, Sports for the India Today Group. @BoriaMajumdar FB, Twitter, Insta

Gautam Bhattacharya, currently the Joint Editor of Kolkata’s leading daily Sangbad Pratidin, has been a longstanding cricket writer and commentator and is the author of several books. In a career spanning four decades, apart from cricket reporting from across the globe, he has had the rare privilege of interviewing some of the all-time greats of the game. He is the co-author of Sourav Ganguly’s book A Century is Not Enough.

‘As Rishabh Pant scored the winning runs at the Gabba on 19 January, life turned full circle for Indian cricket. The journey that started at The Oval in 1971 was finally complete. In 1971: The Beginning of India’s Cricketing Greatness, we look back at the twin wins in the Caribbean and England fifty years ago which started it all: the spectacular triumphs abroad gave Indian cricket teeth and muscle. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it was our spinners in England and in the Caribbean who did the job, not to forget Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Sardesai and several other heroes. As Virat Kohli’s team makes the final push for a place in the World Test Championship final this week, 1971 seems all the more relevant and important. There was never a more opportune moment to look back at the twin victories and celebrate Indian cricket. It was an amazing journey for the two of us to delve deep into the dramatic events of 1971 for this book, to speak to an array of cricketing legends, to come to know details and anecdotes that had never come to light before; we’re tremendously excited about the announcement for publication that is being made today – we can’t wait for the book to be in the hands of readers.’

– Boria Majumdar and Gautam Bhattacharya

‘In January 2021, the Indian cricket team achieved the unthinkable: struggling with injuries and finding it difficult to even field a playing eleven in Brisbane, they went on to beat Australia, and win what was a thrilling and memorable series. Fifty years before this incredible feat, the Indian team had triumphed abroad equally dramatically, again in adverse circumstances, defeating both the West Indies and England on their home turfs, registering India’s presence on the international cricketing scene. The story of the twin tours of 1971 is the stuff of legend – featuring cricketing greats, full of adventure, incident, and intrigue. Fifty years later, Boria Majumdar and Gautam Bhattacharya have brought the story alive, for a new generation of readers, in a book that is simply unputdownable. It is an absolute pleasure for us at HarperCollins to be publishing 1971: The Beginning of India’s Cricketing Greatness.’

– Udayan Mitra, Publisher HarperCollins India

The legends speak…

‘The twin victories were very special; they also announced the arrival of Sunil Gavaskar who I felt was a complete batsman. While I was the manager of the Indian cricket team I saw Tendulkar blossoming before my eyes and that was special; subsequently we saw Virat Kohli who is brilliant. While not taking anything away from them, Sunil Gavaskar, to my mind, was something else: temperament, technique, courage, and a will to perform – you had to no option but to admire him. For me he was the greatest ever Indian batsman.’

– Bishan Singh Bedi

‘Anyone who was part of the celebrations in Mumbai after the England series win in 1971 will remember them till the last day of their life. We felt like royalty. Without a doubt, it was the highest point of my cricketing career.’

– Gundappa Viswanath

‘Winning abroad in those days was a remarkable achievement: the team had no fast bowlers, nor did it have athletic cricketers. Despite these limitations, we did win in 1971. Just think about it: a team winning abroad, in front of foreign umpires, where 50-50 decisions always went in favour of the home team. To counter that and win made the effort timeless.’

– Kapil Dev

Pre-Order Now: 

https://amzn.to/3enDXRV

For more information, please contact:

Aman Arora at aman.arora@harpercollins.co.in