Perhaps it was the endless stretch of uneventful, emptiness during the heat of long summers that inspired M. Askari Hasan, a Lucknow-based cricket enthusiast to do something about it: And that’s how the Sheesh Mahal Cricket Tournament came to life in 1951, one of India’s oldest and most prestigious summer cricket competitions.
The surfeit of cricket in all its formats never seems to cloy the appetite of cricket lovers in India. In fact, and on the contrary, enough isn’t enough as far as they were concerned. Never content with what they had, always clamouring for more and more. Thankfully, Television along with its multiple channels and the internet, has made it possible for aficionados to connect with their passion when domestic cricket goes on the backfoot, or speaking more plainly, doesn’t have much to offer on the home front.
Even when they’re not watching a game in real time, seeing it or TV or ‘listening’ to a game (commentary) on the radio has had the same effect, sending cricket fans into a fever and frenzy; it’s like a fix they need to have to get high in order to stay cool.
But what was it like some decades ago when there was no internet, no cellphones, no TV sets with action replays or engaging cheerleaders, no cellphones, no corporate advertising or big brand sponsorship, and a whole lot of accompanying hype and hoopla?
In the 1960’s, the radio was the only thing able to feed the passion of cricket lovers hungry for some action, eager for some king of connection with a cricket match going on somewhere else. And if someone in the neighbourhood had a radio, they’d gather around it in droves, listening with relief and satisfaction to the commentary.
It might seem like a fragile connection in today’s world, but back in the day it was their only lifeline to their passion. For them it was magic. Even more magical was the voice of commentator, that somehow made them feel they were actually watching a test match live.
But what was it like some decades ago when there was no internet, no cellphones, no TV sets with action replays or engaging cheerleaders, no cellphones, no corporate advertising or big brand sponsorship, and a whole lot of accompanying hype and hoopla?
But there were limitations, too. Test matches being the only form of cricket then weren’t adequate enough because they only happened once in a while. After that, long periods of uneventful emptiness would once again settle over the landscape, one that seemed to stretch forever.
Perhaps it was this emptiness that inspired one man to do something about it. And that’s how the Sheesh Mahal Cricket Tournament came to life in 1951, a vibrant and pulsating dream of M. Askari Hasan, a Lucknow-based cricket enthusiast.
Held annually in Lucknow during the summer months, the Sheesh Mahal tournament was one of India’s oldest and most prestigious summer cricket competitions. The matches were typically played on a league-cum-knockout basis.
The first edition was played in 1951 and matches would start at around 6 am and finish around noon. Matches would be played at the K.D. Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium and Colvin Taluqdars’ College, and when the Chowk Stadium in old Lucknow came up in the mid-1980s, they started playing matches there, too.
By 1960, its popularity had begun to spread far and wide, showcasing the topmost players and the biggest names in Indian cricket from around the country, soon emerged as the single-most popular event for cricket fans in the region.
Sadly though, the Sheesh Mahal Cricket glorious days came to an end in 2010, a victim of dramatic circumstances, brought on by the multi-format changes the game had undergone and the emergence of big brand advertising and even bigger corporate sponsorship of players.
The first edition was played in 1951 and matches would start at around 6 am and finish around noon. Matches would be played at the K.D. Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium and Colvin Taluqdars’ College, and when the Chowk Stadium in old Lucknow came up in the mid-1980s, they started playing matches there, too.
Despite this, players like Yashpal Sharma, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, and MS Dhoni have participated in the Sheesh Mahal Cricket Tournament down the years before it folded up in the year 2010.
India’s 1983 World Cup-winning batsman Yashpal Sharma, who passed away on Tuesday aged 66, was a product of Lucknow’s Sheesh Mahal Trophy
He owed his rise to stardom to two summer tournaments he regularly played in Lucknow for several years — the Sheesh Mahal Trophy and the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy, in which he scored prolifically.
Both tournaments, now discontinued, used to be played in peak summer, in April-May, in Lucknow and Sharma was probably the biggest player that emerged from there, particularly from the Sheesh Mahal Trophy. Sharma started playing in the tournament in early 1970s.
Some of Lucknow’s stalwarts, like Ashok Bambi, Mazhar Ali Ansari, and Pervez Ullah, who played against Sharma, say he must have scored 10 or 12 centuries, including two double hundreds, that helped his stature grow as a solid middle-order batsman.
Sharma first represented the Food Corporation of India, where he first worked and later for the State Bank of India (SBI), which he joined later.
His performances in the Sheesh Mahal Trophy were considered when he was picked for India. Sharma made his One-day international debut first, against Pakistan in Sialkot in 1978, and then the Test debut, against England at Lord’s, London, in 1979. He went on to play 37 Tests and 42 ODIs, until 1985.
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