Tiger Pataudi was a fascinating character. His father, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi was the captain of India's national cricket team during its tour of England in 1946.

It was decided that India will get its independence in 1947 and Jawahar Lal Nehru was keen on giving a message to the world that India is a secular and diverse country. And so a Muslim captain was sent on this tour.

In the backdrop of communal turmoil, Iftikhar Pataudi became the captain of the team, and this strengthened the message that India is a secular country that doesn't discriminate based on religious identities. And this was how politics and cricket inter twined and it became imperative to not separate the two.

I write about his cricketing journey and political battles against what he felt was a 'betrayal' when Indira Gandhi abolished the privy purses of the maharajas and nawabs. I combined all these riveting details about the life of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who believed that if some corrective measures had been taken then cricket wouldn't have faced such a blow to its credibility in later years.

The book recounts the success of the Indian cricket team during the reign of Pataudi, how India won its first overseas Test series in New Zealand, its diversity as a team and much more. Through the eyes of Tiger Pataudi, I have covered his life story, early childhood, education in England, his father's death when he was only 10 years old and how all this truly made him the 'Nawab' of cricket.

(As told to Sanya Tyagi)

To be continued….