PANAJI
Noted journalist Rajdeep Sardesai delivered a lecture on ‘Democracy’s XI: 75 years of Indian Cricket’ at the Vicharvedh lecture series at Gomant Vidya Niketan in Margao on Friday.
“Nepotism does not work in cricket; it can work in politics, industry, or Bollywood but surely not in cricket. To excel in cricket, one has to have talent, more than having a popular surname, effluence, wealth, amenities or power,” stated Sardesai.
The Padma Shri awardee recalled the days when his father, Dilip Sardesai, a Madgaonkar, left Goa in 1950s and went to Mumbai to carve a niche for himself as a cricketer.
“My father had no god-father. He had no money or backing. A small town boy who played cricket on the playground near Margao Railway Station at 16 was lucky to be seen by the captain of the Reserve Bank of India cricket team, who picked him and invited to Mumbai. A nondescript tailor in Margao taught my father cricket, that too by listening to cricket commentaries on radio. And in Mumbai, his talent in cricket was recognised by Vinu Mankad who paid the gymkhana fees for my father so that he gets chance to practice, as in those days one had to be the member of some gymkhana to be able to have access to playground,” said Rajdeep.
“Manya Naik was my father’s coach in Mumbai. Later Lala Amarnath guided my father so that he could make it in the Indian cricket team, and at the age of 21 he was a part of the Indian cricket team, all because of his hard work. There was fire in his belly that made him a great cricketer despite his humble background,” he added.
Explaining how circumstances in cricket has changed over the years, Rajdeep said, “Today people can make and shape their careers without having any patron, or a network. But in 1932 the cricket captainship was given to Maharaja of Patiala, and after him to Maharaja of Porbandar, not because they could play cricket well, but all because they were rich and royal. It was a game of royals and the effluents. Today’s boys and girls from any small town can chose cricket as their sports and make a career out of it, provided they have talent and are willing to do hard work.”
“The boys and girls coming from small town can make it big in life, because they have seen hard days. The journey makes them stronger, as they have no other option but to prove themselves if they wished to do something in life and reach to get mobility. Today, we have more Indian success stories in sports, business and entrepreneurship “ which is a symbol of new India, which is not geographically dominated by big cities,” he added.
Can Goan cricket provide the environment to today’s boys and girls? asked Rajdeep, and expressed joy that there is rise in women’s cricket, which is one of the best things happened to Indian cricket.
