Virendra Sehwag

पराक्रमो विजयते- The courageous always win.

I have been a Sachin fan all my life. But there was a brief period when I liked a certain cricketer as much as Sachin. The most spectacular thing about that cricketer was that he always lived in the extremes. If it was his day, he would demolish anyone and everyone, but if it wasn't, he could get out to a part timer. He was showered with praises one day and was castigated by the whole country on the other. Being a Sehwag fan was never easy. It is still not easy defending his exploits on the social media and in commentary box. But what the hell, he is my childhood hero, who played the way every Indian wanted every cricketer to play, but never wanted them to get out the way he used to get out, most of the times.

Ian Chappell once said in an interview that he has never seen a cricketer as unabashed and belligerent as Sehwag. He was a fan of his audacity. That is high praise coming from a man, who was not even impressed by the Great Donald Bradman. I totally agree with Ian. Sehwag was a unique cricketer who never gave a damn about what the experts or the fans thought about his style of playing. He just kept on with his merry ways and it paid dividends.

To be brutally honest, I used to find test matches soporiphic in the 1990s. I used to just check scores sporadically and used to get a glance of the last session. Last session of the day always fascinated me, because I feel that is the only time the bowlers have their noses in front. This is the reason Sehwag's 80+ against England while chasing 360+ is one of my favourite test innings because it was scored in the last session and it was carnage. He literally murdered Graeme Swann and changed the mood of the dressing room who were planning for a draw. This is what Viru did all his life, changed the perception of the cricket fans and Pundits, as to anything is possible.

So, yes, Viru was the reason why my interest in test matches spiked and what a daredevil he was. You have to be demented to go for a six when you are on 295, but he already gave Sachin his word that if Saqlain bowls that over, he will go for it and he did, inspite of Sachin advising otherwise. This is Viru for you. He even went against GOD. He tried the same during his 293 against Murali and failed. Everybody applauded the former incident and castigated the other. He was the hero and the villain, but he never cared and he still doesn't. There was Sir Viv who defined non-chalance once and Viru took it to another level.

I can never thank him enough for the memories and the goosebumps he gave me throughout his career. He was, is and will always be a CHAMPION.

Happy Birthday Viru! You are awwwwwwesome.

Anil Kumble

मनस्वी म्रियते कामं कार्पण्यं न तु गच्छति । अपि निर्वाणम् आयाति न अनलः याति शीतताम् ॥

Translation: A strong-minded person can die on self-will, but will never attain pitiable state. Fire gets extinguished, but never becomes cool.

Cricket is a gentleman's game, but this image has been tarnished on many occasions. The desire to quench one's thirst for victory lures people into tossing their principles out of the window. However, there are people who never opt for shortcuts and remain true to their principles. Today we will be celebrating one such gentleman, who goes by the name of Anil Kumble.

He was one of the biggest match winners, India has ever had. A gritty cricketer, who never gave an inch. From "not being good enough to play for India", according to Kapil Dev, to becoming the leading wicket taker for India in ODI and test matches, Kumble demolished umpteen number of stigmas/stereotypes in his illustrious career. What stigma you ask? Bishan Singh Bedi was never happy with the pace at which Kumble used to bowl. It's not Kumble's fault, Bedi was old school. He was of the opinion that a leg spinner should give more flight and should induce the batsman to come forward and then beat him. But who is the most successful leg spinner currently? Rashid Khan, right? Shahid Afridi wasn't bad either. Kumble was a pioneer of sorts, because before him, I don't recall any spinner bowling as quick as he used to do.

If we sit and discuss Kumble's achievements, it will take all day, but some of them are worth mentioning. 10 wickets in an innings against a formidable Pakistan team, an 8-fer in Australia which is a graveyard for spinners, a test hundred in England etc, but the most iconic moment of his career, according to me, was when he came out to bowl with a fractured jaw and caught Brian Lara plumb in front. I have been hit in the jaw and I wasn't able to continue, trust me. The ball I faced was hardly 100-110 KMPH, but he was hit by a West Indian fast bowler. It was the paragon of daredevilry for me and it is stuck in my head to this day.

Apart from his exploits and discipline on the field, he is an exemplary disciplinarian off the field as well. The post match interview after the infamous Sydney test, was gutsy and hard hitting. Throughout his life, he called a spade a spade. The way he stepped down from India's coach position when Kohli made it clear that he wanted a sychophant and not a coach was a glimpse of the strong-willed and proud man he is. The best part of all the scandal was he never maligned Kohli, which he could have done easily. A classy fellow personified.

I can keep on writing about this LEGEND, but I will stop here and wish Sir Anil Kumble a very happy birthday and a happy Dussehra in advance. Thank you for everything and I hope you will help Punjab lift the IPL soon.

Nivu Uttamaru!

Amarjit Kaypee

कर्मण्ये वाधिका रस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।

मा कर्म फल हेतु र्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्व कर्मणि॥

Translation: You have a right to “Karma” (actions) but never to any Fruits thereof. You should never be motivated by the results of your actions, nor should there be any attachment in not doing your prescribed activities.

In the previous editions, we discussed domestic champions from relatively potent and sought-after sides. So this week we zeroed in on a domestic legend who didn't represent a glamorous team. On the contrary, he raised the bar for the team he played for and helped them win their maiden title. This week, the spotlight is on Amarjit Kaypee, the run machine. If you don't know him, let me tell you that he was the highest run getter in Ranji trophy, before Amol Mazumdar outstripped him.

Mr Kaypee was born in Jalandhar, Punjab on 2nd October 1960. He made his debut for his home team in the 1980-81 season against Jammu and Kashmir. He served Punjab for five years and then moved to Haryana and played rest of his cricket there from 1986 to 2000. He was a blessing for Haryana and helped them win their only Ranji title in 1990-91.

The most fruitful season for Amarjit was 1990-91, where he scored 940 runs, which was the highest that year and the outcome was Haryana being crowned the Ranji champions for the first time. This also helped him win the Indian cricket cricketer of the year. He carried on with his merry ways next year as well and piled up 812 runs. He also captained Haryana for 31 matches. There was never a dip in his form, but still he was picked only twice in the North Zone team for the Duleep trophy, playing two matches each in the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. This massively impacted his chances to get picked for the national side and unfortunately he missed out on the India cap.

He called it a day in 2000 and his career aggregate of 7894 runs(including 27 centuries, with a best of 210*) topped the Ranji runs table till 2009. After retirement, he served as the coach of Haryana for 2008-09 season and was a match referee for BCCI for a number of seasons.

Unlike other domestic legends who were at a touching distance from the coveted Indian cap, Amarjit never came close to getting a call from the selectors. However, he was a part of the Indian veterans XI, captained by Azharuddin, which toured Pakistan in 2006 for a four match limited overs series. That was his swansong.

Amarjit's exclusion also busted the age old myth that the selectors of 90s only considered players who won trophies for their respective states. I seriously need to interview one of the selectors from the 90s to understand what were they thinking.