The cricketing legends of the world Clive Lloyd, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Allan Border, Arjuna Ranatunga, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Saurav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Aamer Sohail, Inzamam-ul-Haq came together under one roof at the event ‘Salaam Cricket’, a cricket conclave organized in New Delhi on 18th October, 2014.
Yes, I heard them , saw them, experienced the thrill of having them around in real, outside the stadium or the television box. Its been more than twenty days that I attended the event but due to my travel sprees was not able to blog about it. But Cricket needs no special reason to be talked about. We Indians are obsessed about the game in all its avatars, be it One-day, Test match or IPL.
India Today thoughtfully conceived this idea of discussing cricket right before World Cup 2015. The event was themed around analyzing the favorite teams before the World Cup. Would it be India or Australia or Sril Lanka or Pakistan? No doubt the room thought Australia was one of the top contenders. India had good chances and at present Pakistan did not have game changing players. However, they all agreed that the other teams that were strong and could change equations of the game were Sri Lanka, West Indies and Africa. New Zealand might be the dark horse.
I was impressed with Clive Lloyd. Not only did he apologize for West Indies calling off India tour midway but he appeared thorough gentleman in many aspects. Best of all, he did not even shy from shaking a leg on the Punjabi dhol. He displayed perfect sportsmanship.
They said…
Cricket is about Pressure. Its all about coping it on the particular day.
The greatest pressure is on the host country.
Australians have mastered the task of handling pressure best.
Australian and South African pitches and their bounce would be match-turners.
Arjuna Ranatunga wore a Buddhist attire and he so looked different than usual. Rajdeep mentioned about his Buddhism connection with his calm and cool attitude. Arjuna said that he always maintained his cool, absorbed pressure and tried his best to keep the teammates relaxed.
India-Pakistan rivalry definitely needed a session. They all agreed that among all the matches that are played between countries, India vs Pakistan fall in a different league completely. Inzamam said, “If they lost match against India, even the family members used to not talk to them properly’ so playing against India has always been a tough battle. People take it too personally. Azharuddin quoted that if you win a match against Pakistan, its considered a big big win.
“India is definitely better at present because Pakistan’s team is yet not final” Aamer Sohail said
Inzamam praised our captain M.S. Dhoni but he backed his team back home as well saying they were gearing up and they would definitely perform well.
It was a moment to capture, a picture to be framed when the seven six wonder captains sat together as Imran Khan did not reach and his seat was filled by Sohail. They talked about their winning moments, the expectations, the turn arounds, the match making and match breaking sixes, centuries, wickets etc. It was like living a journey through Cricket’s history. The best part was the legends remembered their numbers so well. The years, the matches were on their finger tips. It was clear that none of them thought themselves winners until they won the last match. The best aspect of World Cup has been that not one country or team can dominate however the Australians have been really good.
Kapil Dev said… as they kept winning one after the other in 1983 WC, their thought process, attitude kept changing and they came out victorious.
The Legends also spoke under ‘ Can India Defend the Title’ and believed that the batting line up has always been strong but bowlers needed to pull up their socks. This time the pressure was on bowlers who would have to make India perform well and defend the title.
There were other sessions too where Yuvraj’s comeback after his cancer was discussed under ‘Story of a Winner’. Indeed he is the real champion who fought through his cancer throughout the World Cup because that time it was the cup that mattered to him more than his health. Book Review of his book– Test of My Life.
The three Australian Captains sat together in ‘Thunders Down Under’ and discussed Australians dominance in Cricket through three successive World Cup series.
There were many great moments throughout the day, Standup comedian and cricket humorist Vikram Sathaye tickled our funny bone during “Silly Point”. He kept us entertained and enacted the players amazingly.
I did miss the presence of Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar but overall it was a great event.
PIC of the DAY!!!
Steve Waugh at the Aaj Tak conclave ‘Salaam Cricket‘.
He came out to be absolutely humble and approachable with no airs about him.
Until I attend next event, Happy Blogging!!!
