(Continued from the previous post)


Finally let us not forget the people of India. The billion strong population is the strongest and the most deserving stakeholders in the Indian cricket and her fortunes. They might not be the best behaved like the ones who fill the stands of Sydney and Edgbaston. But they are as passionate as the ones who fill up Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro or the River plate stadium in Buenos Aires. They simply eat, sleep and drink cricket. Please understand the attitude of Indian fans can’t be equated to the ones in United States or Australia or the ones who support Toronto Blue Jays (you should know as your offspring Jon Chappell used to play there). They might not have the economic well being to buy cricketing souvenirs for hundreds of rupees/dollars as they do in the Western world. I can give a couple of examples from my daily experiences. There is one narrow road called Jones Road in one nondescript area called Saidapet in Chennai in India. There used to be one balloon seller who was in his early teens in 1999. I have spoken to him a few times since he used to sell his wares in front of a eye clinic. He used to make hardly INR 50 (US $1.16) per day for his living. But he will stop selling balloons when Sachin Tendulkar bats for India in any international game and he will try to get the glimpse of action courtesy of any of the TV sets on display in any of the nearby stores. When I advised him not to do that he told me “Namma thalaivar aadathilae enakku boni aaganumnu thevayae illai” (English translation : When our leader (A Tamil way of showing respect to anyone who is adored) bats there is no need to sell anything or make money). He smiles when Sachin hits Warne out of the ground. To me he epitomizes the normal Indian cricket fan (no disrespect to the relatively well off connoisseurs who sit and watch the game from the air-conditioned comforts of their living rooms). He might not know where his next meal comes from. But he is made to smile and feel proud of his nation because of your boys. Please make sure your boys play well with pride to make such fans happy. Please understand that the mood of the nation is dependent on the performance of your boys in the cricket field. They should understand that the happiness of various sets of people from the pot carrying women of SriGanga Nagar in Rajasthan to the weavers of Murshidabad in West Bengal depend on their performance. They need to put up a fight for them. Even if they go down let them go down with guns blazing.

I would like to point out something to you on a lighter vein. Thank God you were not the coach of India when we played Pakistan in the fourth ODI at Ahmedabad in 2005 when Sachin bowled that final delivery to Inzamam. I know you might have asked him to do an encore of Trevor Chappell a la Sydney 1981. That would have definitely derailed the peace process between India and Pakistan!! No such antics Greg (With my tongue firmly on my cheeks!)!! All the very best from the bottom of my heart.

All the very best for your association with the Indian cricket team. We are firmly behind you and Saurav on your(our) future assignments.

Jai Hind (English translation : Victory to India).

Your sincerely,

Vijay (An Indian who is thirsting to see our cricketers stand in the podiums of Oval, Centurion and Kensington Oval with trophies).