HIGH LIFE - ‘We’ is for victory
Personally, I kinda like Kambli. I remember him and Rohan Gavaskar both ducking their heads every time I would see them at a nightspot. Kambli, then, was a regular on Page 3 for his wild ways. To me, his dating and partying were always good news but perhaps it wasn’t the same for his career. I moved to the US and didn’t see him for a few years. Then, last year, I bumped into him at a suburban hotel’s coffee shop. He walked up to me instead of hiding from me - something he had not done for years.
I was at the coffee shop because I was being denied entry at their nightclub so he escorted me in and surprisingly left. It was evident the man had sobered down. He may never make it back to the team, but he has a great chance on TV with his knowledge of cricket. Just like Ajay Jadeja, another partyhappy cricketer, who now has a new lease to his career thanks to the great relationship between TV and cricket.
So new cricketers on the block, do not party. The recent defeat of a captain and his team can be attributed to his compulsive partying on the eve of his big game. You don’t drink and then hope to rake in sixers. That’s what sets Sachin Tendulkar apart. He is allergic to wild nights. I see the same potential to succeed in Yusuf Pathan. He is poised to be a winner. His dedicates his success to God and Warne.
This brings me to Shane Warne who has finally instilled the Australian mindset of reveling in each other’s performances into his Rajasthan Royals. Something our cricketers didn’t fathom. For years, they have played with two agendas - keeping their place in the team irrespective of whether the team may lose or win and sponsorships. Even if all they score is 30 runs.
Thankfully, Indian cricket and its mindset have changed forever. Now it is all about team play. Some of our star performers and captains have been booted out of their teams when they have tried to play the old ishtyle cricket. Yup! That’s the price you now pay for being self-centred. Cheers to new age cricket!
(Simi Chandoke, Editor-in-Chief, Lifestyle and Society, Zoom)