Hyderabad, June 14 -- The 1970s were undoubtedly the golden period of Hyderabad cricket. The state had a star-studded team and an abundance of talent. That is why, when the Indian team went on a tour of the West Indies in 1971, the BCCI selectors decided to include no less than five players from Hyderabad in the touring side. The players were M.L. Jaisimha, Syed Abid Ali (both all-rounders), P. Krishnamurthy (wicketkeeper), K. Jayantilal (batsman), and D. Govindaraj (fast bowler).

There were two other Hyderabad players who were not in that team but deserved to have been selected. They were former Captain M.A.K. Pataudi and Abbas Ali Baig. There could have been a total of seven Hyderabad players in the Indian team. Nowadays, when Hyderaba...