Saif pays tribute to father and cricket legend Tiger Pataudi
What's the story
Actor Saif Ali Khan recently paid tribute to his late father, cricket legend Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, at the Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture 2026 in Kolkata. The event was hosted by The Bengal Club with The Telegraph and was also attended by Sir Ian Botham. During his speech, Khan fondly remembered his father as "a man of very few words who somehow said everything that mattered."
Leadership
'He believed leadership was not about commanding attention...'
Khan reminisced about his childhood, which was steeped in cricket. He spoke of how Pataudi never allowed his eye injury to limit him. "I never heard him describe the loss as an adversity. To him, it was simply a fact. Something to adjust to," Khan said. He added, "He believed leadership was not about commanding attention, but about earning trust by being open and above all fair."
Cricket revolution
'He believed in instilling self-belief in Indian players'
Khan also spoke about his father's significant role in changing the mindset of Indian cricket players. "He believed in instilling self-belief in Indian players who had never before been told they could dominate world cricket," Khan said. "At a time when Indian teams were expected merely to participate, he insisted they compete to win. That change of mindset was one of his great contributions." Meanwhile, on the work front, Khan was last seen in Netflix's Kartavya.