World Cup Story from the Kanmadikars

It feels great personally to have been in an era where one has seen the Indian cricket team winning the World Cup. Yes, I didn’t have the opportunity to be at the Wankhede stadium, but it does not matter. I am happy about the World Cup. Here in Indore, sitting in the board room of the MPCA, located at the Holkar stadium, I am beginning my preparations for IPL’s debut at Indore.
It feels great to be in a city that has a rich history in cricket, although fairly low in terms of the output of Test cricketers; but those who made it were of rich pedigree.
While on work, a certain gentleman Mr. Milind Kanmadikar knocks the board room and asks for me. Yes, I remember him, as I had spoken to him over phone in order to confirm his role as the home team liaison, we mutually scheduled the meeting. He was the liaison manager for the Canadian team which participated in the recently concluded Cricket World Cup. I enquired about his role with the Canadian team to have an insight about his role and he was very lucid that made us have some interesting conversation. My inquisitive mind did not stop.
I asked him if he was at Wankhede to witness the finals, he said “No” but my son Prasoon did. I got to meet Prasoon two days prior I met Mr. Milind. Prasoon is a freelance lawyer who also happens to be the Broadcast Liaison for the two IPL matches at Indore. Mr. Milind added– “I witnessed the 1983 World Cup at Lord’s”. I was impressed and he continues – “My father was the secretary of the BCCI during that time and courtesy, my dad I was able to watch the match”.
He was referring to none other than Anant Wagesh Kanmadikar, who is popularly known as “The Judge” was in fact a judge by profession. He was a popular cricket administrator whose highlight in administration was holding the post of secretary, BCCI from 1980 – 85. This small chat with Milind was enthralling. Mr. A.W. Kanmadikar was a towering personality in MPCA and Indian cricket administrative circles. He passed away in the year 2005, leaving behind a legacy that saw India winning the World Cup for the first time and also hosting the World Cup in 1987. In his honor MPCA conducts a district level junior tournament and the trophy is aptly named ‘A.W Kanmadikar trophy’.
We both had some commitments to attend and before bidding a bye, I asked if he wasn’t tempted to be at Wankhede. He replied, “I saw in 1983 and I wanted my son to witness this. He cried after India won the World Cup as his son had an opportunity to witness the same and now they both relate this rare joy of achievement among Indian cricket circles”.

Over the course of next few weeks, I will have an opportunity to interact with these gentlemen as Indore gears up to host the IPL for the first time.(L-R): Milind Kanmadikar, A.W. Kanmadikar, Prasoon Kanmadikar posing with the Kanmadikar trophy

Slum Shot Millionaires

If I would like to comment on the ending of Slum dog Millionaire, I feel it isn’t filmy like most Bollywood movies that come from the school of formula movies. One feels ending was a miracle, but I feel it wasn’t. In some way today I was got a feeling that India’s victory in this year’s World Cup was quite similar and in the end, the Three Musketeers turned out to be Sachin, Gary Kirsten and Dhoni.

Right from the start, this World Cup was played in a normal way by the Indians. The hype was there, no doubt, but it wasn’t like 2003, 2007 or other previous editions where people hoped for miracles than believing that team could do it. Never in the history of Indian cricket, had a team displayed such consistency over a period of time across the globe. It was not a one man show, it had characters who encountered different situations time to time and in the end the blow of Dhoni was similar to Jamal answering the last question.

Both the protagonists had a mission and took upon themselves to find their destiny. And some might call it luck, but every puzzle India managed to solve had a solid reason behind it, something very unusual when we look at the other Indian teams from the yester years. One had solid reasoning behind every milestone.

We are a nation fascinated by glory associated with miracles. This victory wasn’t a miracle; it was sheer hard work, of course things went India’s way on some occasions but overall if you ask anyone in our country, you find more optimists than pessimists. In the end it wasn’t the World Cup that interested us; it’s the journey from 2007 that helped the entire nation to believe it wasn’t a miracle after all.

Quite a few parallels if we compare the Indian team of 2007 to the start of the movie. We were at some point in time literally in shit or so as many believed we were after a dismal performance in 2007. The turnaround was through sensible choices and one such was appointing Dhoni as the captain. One must not forget the contribution made by Anil Kumble to bring in the character that was required in order to win the final war. Many battles were fought between 2007 and 2011, some were lost but the most important thing was progress and it was towards winning the war.

Personally I was happy to witness the metamorphosis of this team and on the final day in Mumbai, it was similar to Jamal being driven to the studio for that one final question. Who believed Jamal would falter at the last hurdle? None, somehow people were convinced he would answer and win the ultimate prize. The question wasn’t easy and it was a tricky situation but he went for it and in a similar fashion MS Dhoni took upon himself and went for it. After having played brilliant cricket, this team wasn’t destined to fail. Next moment all we see is people cheering as though they have personally accomplished this feat. Such is the emotion about yesterday’s victory.

Come next day, it is business as usual; people are recovering from the hangover of yesterday’s victory. The moment has passed yet the memories shall remain for the people who witnessed personally and to the millions and billions of other fans who followed it through some form of media.

All good things must come to an end; if it isn’t good then it is not the end. It wasn’t good for Sachin in 1996 and 2003 and his career wasn’t going to be a collection of sad ending World Cup stories. Reward finally arrived; good it came what he always wished for; even better the fact that it came at his home ground in India.

Jai Ho

In Memory of My Mom, Wife and the World Cup

Two people whom I am missing at the moment are my wife and my mom. Mom is the one whom I would to credit for my liking towards cricket. And to my wife, all I would like to say is: Honey, Here’s our wedding gift. I am in a hotel room while she is away in another continent, but tonight comes across as a night to remember for both of us along with all the Indian fans. I have heard my mom telling a lot of cricket stories while growing up and now I keep telling or writing my girl friend/wife a lot about cricket.

Coming back to the moment when M S Dhoni hit the winning runs with a massive six over long-on, all I did was; stare at the TV screen. No one around to hug or shout and India winning was something I knew would happen, so it wasn’t a surprise.
Few minutes later seeing all the players running on to the field, tears of joy started, a smile and the moment I was waiting all these years finally came through. Like I said, it wasn’t a surprise after watching India pull off a stunning win against Australia in Ahemadabad. In a way it completes a full circle to me personally with this Indian victory. The journey of watching cricket started with 1992 and if I go back in time, I vividly remember waking up each day to watch cricket. The past 45 days have been really special to me; watching Tendulkar score a hundred, a tied match, few days later tying knot to my girl friend, watching India win a match with my wife and now India winning the cup.

I managed to speak to both my mom and my wife. Three weeks after India won the World Cup in 1983; our parents got married. And three weeks after my wedding India wins again. Mom always used to tell me about India’s win over West Indies when I was a kid and in fact when she called me right after India winning the cup, she in her exciting voice shared her 1983 memories and also told me the prayers she did today for India to win the cup.

Coming back to the man who was instrumental in today’s match when it mattered, MS Dhoni. He showed why a World Cup final is a platform for champions to shine. Looking back at other World Cups in the past, either captains or players who have captained always had a big role to play. Now Dhoni has everything; he won the T20 World Cup on the evening of 24th September 2007, #1 ranking in Tests, #1 in ODI’s, Winning IPL, and Champions League prior to this night’s triumph. One common factor surprisingly is the feature of tied matches – each and every major competition Dhoni has won, it involved a tie at some point in time.

To end this celebration, I would like to salute the man who continues to inspire me in my personal life till this day. In a way it is fitting that he won the World Cup in front of his home crowd, in a World Cup whose finals were in India and more importantly he won it as a part of a team and not as an individual. I remember his interview six years ago when he mentioned his ambitions in cricket – To be part of #1 Test team and World Cup winning team. Well he can be proud of himself for having achieved both of them. What lies ahead of him is best left to him.

I am a bit tired but would like to say one thing – Team India you did it.

My World Cup Debut - I was at the Chinnaswamy stadium today

In 1999 at Edgbaston and 2003 at Durban, Gary Kirsten witnessed twice on field the great tragedies involving a tie; first in a World Cup semi-final and latter at home by Duckworth Lewis method. On both occasions it was a knock out punch for him and for the team in particular. This time around it wasn't his country. He is part of the Indian set up and can say eloquently that Bangalore tie was a bitter-sweet experience unlike the tied matches of 1999 and 2003.

On a personal front, I am happy about watching my first World Cup game in Bangalore and see Tendulkar making a wonderful hundred. The scene was set for an Indian victory before England started their batting. The way England went about their innings I felt India did not deserve to win. It is an assessment I make; Indian bowling line up was not up to the mark and it was evident during the match.

From the time England took their batting power play till the last ball of the match, Indians showed intent unlike the first 41 overs and was thoroughly backed up by the crowd. Hang on, "We dont deserve to lose either, what a fight back" - I wondered . It reached the final ball and I never once thought we would lose and in the end I strongly believe tie was a fair result. It would have been a heart break for English team if they were to lose and a heart break to all the Indian fans and mostly the crowd at the stadium if India would have lost. I was thrilled to see the optimism of the junta in the stadium and deservingly they can all look back at this match with great pride. Crowd plays a big role in India winning close matches at home and today I got to witness the same and also be a part with a contribution.

India is a nation of billion people and majority of them have few lines and opinions about cricket. I am one among the billion people and I feel privileged to have seen this match and also be part of a tie match. If's and but's could have had us winning the match but there is always a flip side which a patriot and a zealot ignores or say chooses not to see. I take the result without analyzing too much into the result and hope Indian bowling puts up more disciplined show in the future matches.

It was an instinctive decision to go with my cousin on 23rd of this month; wait for the entire night inside a car at Cubbon Park, chatting with him and few friends, running to stand in the queue, being happy when the ticket counter was few meters away from the place we stood, getting suffocated and frustrated after having to wait another five hours and seeing policemen buying tickets for themselves. My cousin and I decided to get out of the line, protested with the police, gave interviews in the media about how difficult it is to get a ticket even when you are few meters away from the counter. Finally I was pleased to get the ticket in the end after all the drama.This little incident gave us the celebrity status as we appeared on papers the next day.

Looking back, I must say it was a hard earned ticket and I feel as though I am part of something that I look upon someday in the future and would be glad narrating all those experiences starting with ticketing and culminating with the end result of the match.

The First Heartbreak

I was in college and the World Cup was something I was so thrilled about. Much to say, I was joking about Afridi being still 23 when this important tie was scheduled on the 1st of March, 2003. Centurion was the arena for this biggest stage - India vs. Pakistan. Nothing much to say about this match, whose memories still echo as group of friends watched Sachin play a breathtaking innings and the way Yuvraj and Rahul Dravid finished it off.

March 1^st brings back another incident which is deeply rooted in me. My first heartbreak with cricket, to be more precise, crying first time for cricket.

As a seven year old kid in 1992, getting up early on a Sunday morning, watching Prabhakar for his in-swingers, other bowlers and the zinc oxide cream all over their face was such a treat. I woke up every day to catch the action before I was forcefully pushed to attend school.

My memories about the India-Australia match are - Kapil Dev taking early wickets, Dean Jones blasting away to 90. A spectacular catch by Ajay Jadeja which had me imitating by diving on the bed to catch the ball next few months is a snap shot to my mind till date.

I remember hearing few of elder folks at home complaining about rain and the revised target, which was not good. Ravi shastri took ages to get going something close to 11 overs to get to 25. If my memory serves me right, I think Shastri didn't play a part in the remaining matches as he was dropped after this match.

Azharuddin was in sublime touch and I was sad to see Sachin getting out early. 236 out of 47 overs were gettable and India was on course before the run outs of Azhar and that of Manjrekar. Never had I witnessed Manjrekar belting the ball and score more than run a ball. Cameos from Kiran More in scoring those two crucial boundaries in the last over and we have 5 runs in 4 balls with 3 wickets to spare.

Tom Moody castles More when he tried to scoop or fine flick it to fine leg one many time. Prabhakar comes in, takes a single. 4 runs - 2 balls. Srinath facing Moody hits it to short mid wicket and no run, but Prabhakar is run out. It’s all happening here, says Bill Lawry alongside Greg Chappell in the commentary box.

Last ball, not sure what was discussed between Raju and Srinath. It was decided that Srinath would go for a slog and slog he did, only to be stopped by Steve Waugh who hurried in the throw while Raju was contemplating whether to run or not. David Boon donning the gloves uproots the stumps and Aussies win by one run at the Gabba.

Late in the afternoon on that Sunday, tears make their appearance on my face as I see India’s cricketing suicide for the first time. As I remember, it was my crying debut with cricket. The kind of emotional guy that I was and to an extent I am now, it’s fair to say I was heartbroken then. Later for another match, I faked a stomach ache to watch India-New Zealand tie and when I saw Mark Greatbatch belting our bowlers, I told my mother I want to go to school in the post lunch break as I was feeling better.

Now we have a World Cup that is coming up shortly. I expect this to be something sort of a picturesque for more than one reason as I will be getting married when the World Cup is on.

To be honest, I did plan it this way and thankfully other aspects of mine and my fiancée’s life co-incided during this period, hopefully to make it memorable for the cricketing souls in me.

It’s time to redeem those first tears with huge big smile on my face when I see India lifting the trophy. Otherwise, I guess I have to wait like I did for the past 19 years.

Building a Culture, Bridging a Gap - From the Grassroots

PART II - FROM THE GRASSROOTS

Humans are bounded by a theory famously known as "Evolution". It emphasises on the metamorphosis of all the living species on this planet. It talks about the species adapting to its habitat. Now, as a matter of fact, habitat determines the evolution and behavioral patterns of all the mortals as time goes by. Consider the situation of creating an environment more suitable to sustain and develop a particular growth; it requires a certain amount of change in the existing system. This change is more influential and beneficial, if it is aimed at the grassroots level.

In this second edition of my series, I want to talk about the importance of coaching the youth to bring about a change and inculcate a sense of discipline, imparting the knowledge and guidance from the experts at the grassroots level. Bangalore Youth Football League (BYFL) was started on similar lines.

BYFL was conceptualised in 2007 by Adhip Bhandary, who himself is a football player in his own right. His involvement in football administration goes back to late 1990's when he was a football sub-committee member of the famous Bombay Gymkhana. Over the next few years, he worked in organising many football tournaments across the country and more importantly realised the need of structured youth programs.

In 2009, Adhip was part of the Sports Master's programme in Lausanne, Switzerland through which he was able to absorb a lot of knowledge and expertise which BYFL has benefited immensely since the start of this year.

“Be the change you want to see in the world”, a famous saying by Mahatma Gandhi. It is no coincidence to see a parallel between the above said line and the creation of BYFL. It is interesting to know the idea and the legacy of such an idea. A man of few words, he took his time out to give some insight on his initiative.

Creation of Bangalore Youth Football League (BYFL) –

[AB] - The idea for Bangalore youth football league came as I witnessed there was no proper league structure for the kids to play every weekend. Also the quality of coaching was below par in many parts of the city. Also since I had played professionally in Mumbai, I had decided to give back to the kids what i had received from Football, which was discipline and sense of pride and belonging. It inculcated good habits and a healthier way of life.

How is it being run in the present and the legacy of your initiative?

[AB] - Well as of now it is being run by a team of 8 coaches in 3 different locations; we have over 200 children, both from underprivileged and privileged backgrounds. The legacy of this initiative is to develop skilled, confident and creative players and above all to make the game fun for everybody.

Future Plans:

[AB] - We at BYFL are looking to branch out not only within Bangalore but also to smaller towns like Mangalore and Coimbatore. Also organize a seminar for coaching the coaches’ programme.

Currently based out of Bangalore, Adhip can be seen organising inter-school tournaments, coaching camps or sit in his office developing plans to take initiative a step further. BYFL started with a membership of 15 students and now it has grown into a pool of 180 students in a short span of time.

For those of you who want to know more on this initiative, Adhip Bhandary can be contacted through e-mail and phone.

Email: adhip.bhandary@gmail.com

Mobile: +91 – 9686098644

www.byfl.in

Building a Culture, Bridging a Gap is a forum to share some of the initiatives taken by indiviuals for the development of Indian sports.

Building a Culture, Bridging a Gap - Gather the Mass for the Mass Sport

PART 1 - GATHER THE MASS FOR THE MASS SPORT

Culture, every nation has its own unique way of presenting themselves and the same can be applied to sports. The challenges of a developing nation are plenty and one such for India is to build a sporting culture. To build a culture, there needs to be a sense of belonging. A little effort in the form of tiny drops must agglomerate in making an ocean. We have a population which can be used to harness the support for the athletes. One such initiative is for the game of football in India.

India will be participating in the forthcoming Asia Cup, held at Qatar, 2011. Mahesh Reddy, a sports management graduate from Lausanne, Switzerland, has launched an interactive fan support website to gather goodwill messages for the Indian football team.

His campaign titled “Ji Le India” is all about collecting the support in the form of messages from different parts of the country. India currently ranked 144th (latest FIFA rankings) requires a support system in order to revive the state of the game. Having involved heavily in cricket, Mahesh realises the importance of upbringing other mass sports such as football into the market. I had three simple questions to him related to his project:
What was the motive behind Ji Le?(MR) - The FANS of any sports team play a massive role in influencing the performance of the team in a game. The encouragement and support provided by fans during the thick and thin of a national side goes a long way in restoring confidence amongst the players and helps in bringing out the best in them. In an attempt to provide the Indian players with as much support as possible to excel at the 2011 Asia Cup Championship in Qatar, the Ji Le team intends to attempt a feat that has not been done ever before.
What are you doing as part of the Ji Le Campaign?
(MR) - “Ji Le” is an interactive community driven exercise to garner support for the Indian Football Team competing at the 2011 Asia Cup Championship in Qatar. Ji Le will be a completely unique and one of its kind initiatives featuring fan support through videos, hand written messages, photos, on the spot competitions and many other unconventional methods. Emphasis will be not only be on garnering as much support as possible but also to do it in the most unique form. Ji Le India will by far be an unparalleled show of fan support in the history of Indian Football.
What legacy do you intend to leave behind?
(MR) - Legacies are left behind by events that are over and done with. We at JI LE INDIA do not believe in being just a one off spark in the wilderness. We rather wish to be the spark that has the potential to ignite a raging wild fire that can bring down with it all the negatives attached to Indian Football and hopefully bring in the much needed transformation not only in the minds of the administrators but more so in the minds of the 1.2 billion odd Indian citizens. Ji Le India will be an ongoing campaign to foster as much support as possible to the Indian Football fraternity with the only change being that it would take different avatars to suit different needs!
This initiative is first of its kind in India for football. Football, being a globally renowned sport definitely needs a revamp in the second most populated country. Collective effort is necessary to make this happen and one such endeavour is Ji Le.

The website - http://www.jileindia.com/ was launched in the third week of September and so far managed to register 1300 fan messages in the form of text, photos and videos. With the Asian Cup football scheduled in January, expect the support numbers to grow. After a gap of 26 years, Indian football team will arrive in Qatar to participate in the XV Asian Cup football.

The best showing from the Indian team dates back to 1964 where they finished second, behind Israel. Israel then was part of Asian football Confederation (AFC) till the early 1970’s before they were expelled and now currently part of UEFA.

With many of the fans having expressed their support through Ji Le campaign, its the turn for the Indian football team to live the dream of their supporters. Ji Le India

Building a Culture, Bridging a Gap is a forum to share some of the initiatives taken by indiviuals for the development of Indian sports.