14 Facts About Lala Amarnath

Lala Amarnath is considered to be the father figure of Indian cricket.

Lala Amarnath scored the first ever century for India in Test Cricket in 1933.

Lala Amarnath was independent India's first cricket captain and captained India in their first Test series win against Pakistan in 1952.

Lala Amarnath played only three Test Matches before World War II.

Lala Amarnath later became the chairman of the Senior Selection Committee, BCCI and was a commentator and expert.

Lala Amarnath played his debut match against England in 1933 on the Bombay Gymkhana grounds in South Bombay.

In 1933's England's tour of India, Lala Amarnath was leading run-scorer.

Lala Amarnath was controversially sent back from the 1936 tour of England by the captain, the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, for "indiscipline".

Lala Amarnath was finally put in to bat at the end of the day.

Vizzy took this as an affront and conspired with team manager Major Jack Brittain-Jones to have Lala Amarnath sent back from the tour without playing the first test match.

Lala Amarnath lived in Patiala in the Indian state of Punjab till 1957, when he moved to the capital, Delhi.

Lala Amarnath had received his education at Aligarh Muslim University.

Lala Amarnath is widely respected for reaching out to bridge the divide between players and fans of India and Pakistan, caused by political tensions between the two countries.

Lala Amarnath's sons Mohinder and Surinder played cricket for India and another son Rajinder played first-class cricket while his grandson Digvijay is a first-class player.