Hyderabad, July 27 -- As every cricket fan knows, the Lords ground is the home of cricket. It holds a significant cultural and traditional importance in the history of the game. Similarly, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), founded in 1787, which owns the ground, was once the premier body in the game and wielded immense influence wherever cricket was played.

Due to these factors, England was the dominant figure in the corridors of power in world cricket. But in 1983, something happened that turned the tables and sparked off India's rise to the top. It was an incident that took place off the field that altered the course of cricket history.

That year the well-known senior politician Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who had served as Chief Ministe...