We should not play Pakistan at all

If Mohinder Amarnath's life was a movie, it would be a franchise with too many sequels to count. He describes it as a 'Hitchcock thriller.

- ANIRUDH MADHAVAN

The son of Lala Amarnath would grow up to be a fine cricketer-the man of the match in the 1983 World Cup finalbut he would also learn quickly that the famous last name was a doubleedged sword. Dropped repeatedly from the team, Mohinder had to, he says, prove his worth every time to claw his way back. And claw he did. Now, more than 50 years since his international debut, Jimmy, along with younger brother Rajender, has recapped his story in around 450 pages full of grit, humour, triumph and despair. In an interview with THE WEEK, the Amarnath brothers talk about the process of writing the book and how their cricket world compares to the one they see now.

Q/ You saw the advent of Kerry Packer cricket, and you once signed a contract to play for him. Do you think the same thing is happening with the T20 leagues mushrooming all over the world? Do you think these leagues will take promising youngsters away from other formats?

A/ I think it's all about the money. You can make good bucks and you'll be comfortable in life. The foreign players think differently. Especially when they are in their 30s, they feel they don't have much of a future. The other boards don't have [as] much money to pay them like the Indian board does. So they want to go and play these T20 leagues in various countries to earn more quickly. But there is nothing more prestigious or satisfying than representing your country.

Q/Rajender, you have now written a book on your brother as well as your father. How would you compare the writing processes?