NAGPUR, Aug 11: No Mushtaq, No Test. This is still fresh in his mind, when the Calcuttans shouted against the selectors to include him in the match against Australian Services XI in 1945-46. The hero of that episode -- Mushtaq Ali -- recalls the whole incident with a majestic satisfaction in his eyes.

Mushtaq, 83 not out, was very much dejected by the controversies surrounding the Indian cricketers and talked at length in a tete-a-tete with The Indian Express here this morning.

Every time when the Indian team loses, there is a hue and cry about the faulty selection and its process and Mushtaq blames the Indian cricket fans for this. He feels after Independence, the Indians want every match to be won and the unrealistic expectations lead to this outcry each time.

Going down memory lane, Mushtaq, who has the credit of being the first Indian to score a century (112) on English soil in 1936 at Old Trafford, said there were three English selectors, who were the county cricketers and who used to select the Indian team. They used to see only potential in the player and give as many chances to groom a cricketer, but the present system is faulty.

He wondered how selectors, who have not played Tests, are selecting the Test players. ``Former Test players, like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, should be taken into the committee and captain should be given a bigger say in the selection matters. If it happens, it would be the greatest achievement of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),'' he added.

Mushtaq, who made his Test debut as a bowler at the age of 19 against England at Calcutta in 1934, praised the highest-ever Test total (952 for eight declared) scored by Sri Lanka at Colombo recently and added, ``they are our neighbours and being Asians we should be very proud.''

He termed the reported incidents of match-fixing as shameful and a blot on the gentleman's game. He suggests a CBI enquiry into the matter, which may help to punish the guilty players and others involved in it.

Mushtaq, who is the recipient of Padmashree in 1964 and the second Col CK Nayudu award in 1995, calls the one-day cricket a big tamasha. He said there is too much cricket nowadays because of which cricket may lose its charm.

``To have a coach is the biggest insult to the Indian cricketers. Do players like Tendulkar and Azhar need a coach?,'' he asked.

Mushtaq, who played in 11 Tests and scored two centuries and two 50s, requested the present cricketers to form a trust with an amount of Rs 50 lakh and groom and coach the upcoming talents free of cost.

He expressed his desire that Madhya Pradesh should win Ranji Trophy once while he is still alive and added that the standard of MP had improved a lot and the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) was also giving cash incentives to the Ranji players, which is a step in the right direction.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.