Chetan Chauhan

The bumper struck him on the jaw. Hospitalized, the army man’s son pleaded with the doctor to allow him to go back to the ground. Then he pleaded with his North Zone captain Bedi to allow him to resume his innings!

Jaw wired and mouth capable of sipping only, the brave warrior of Pune, now with Delhi, came out to face the wrath of his erstwhile colleagues of West Zone. Through sheer tenacity he completed his century and booked his ticket for Australia and New Zealand later in 1978-79. This was the start of his 2^nd essay as an India opener.

Chetan had a poor start to his Test career. He was one of the many tried by Vijay Merchant’s selection committee in 1969 at home. Apart from Vishwanath, all fell by the road-side, including Chetan. Then it was the usual grind of domestic first-class cricket. Chetan, unlike most, did not look around for excuses nor gave long discourses on motivation. He concentrated on his batting and reeled off prolific figures. The courageous century against North Zone forced the selectorial nod.

His second service to the country was exemplary as he consistently gave solid support to Gavaskar, Viswanath, Amarnath and Vengsarkar. But his exit after a successful tour of Australia in 1981 raised eyebrows. Why was he omitted is anybody’s guess, unless it was because he was considered too old at 34. Unfortunately his replacements were nowhere in comparison: neither in ability, nor in guts.

If Chetan Chauhan was a dour batman at the crease with a grim mien, off the field I would remember him as a man with a peculiar sense of light-hearted humour. He was excellent company as he knew how to converse. He had wit, he had depth and he had a wide orbit of subjects to fall back on. I remember him telling us once, “Well, Sunil is my junior partner, you know.”

Once he told me, “Raju bhai, I caught you once. Don’t do anything awkward, I will catch you again!”The reference was to the fact he had caught me in the Bengal-Maharashtra Ranji match way back in 1973.

He had this strange way of relating issues. Always laughingly maintained, “My job is to get a century partnership and not to score a century myself!” A clear reference that he never got a Test century himself although with Sunil Gavaskar he had numerous century partnerships.

Chetan had very few positive strokes. His method was generally defensive. But he would be very categorical with critics, “Let me play my way. You play your way.” It was like the philosopher-cricketer CB Fry saying that one needs just one stroke which one can play all round the wicket.

His first scoring stroke in Test cricket was a six off Caiirns. When asked how was it that he who would treat every ball as a striking viper, hit the ball for a six to begin his Test career.  Chetan is believed to have said, “I did not hit the ball. The ball hit my bat and went over the boundary! In fact when I tried to hook a ball for a six, I got caught at the long leg fence.”

Began his career as a batsman for Maharashtra and did consistently well. But at the international stage he was a failure in the early days. Later shifted to Delhi and from the 1979 tour of Australia under Bishen Bedi he found his métier. Was a splendid partner to SMG in many a battle.

After retirement he was a very prominent face in cricket circles as national selector, as cricket manager and generally as a very helpful administrator. On the ‘Harbhajan-Symonds issue’, as the manager he did not let the Aussies get away. He stood firm, a legacy of his army-man father.

Became a parliamentarian with BJP in 1991. He did not join for any career advancement, as is the recent trend. He was always a firm believer in Shyama Prasad and Vajpayee’s ideals. Even in his political career he showed exemplary courage and perseverance, for which he was so well known in cricket circles. Liberal-minded, he was beyond meanness and greed.

Last time I met him was during an IPL match in 2013 at Feroze Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi. When I told him about a certain facility that was not attended to as promised, Chetan smiled, “Raju bhai, Delhi will always be Delhi. Everyone will promise “koi baat nei, ho jayega” but nothing will be done. However, you need not worry, we shall arrange things in such a manner that you would be satisfied before the match starts.” He kept his word.

Chetan Chauhan will be remembered as an honest, determined soul with no frills. A very gutsy man who did not take things lying down. Independent and confident, he never tried to befriend or influence the media. A knowledgeable man full of wit and reason. Even up there, he will not rest. He will do something worthwhile to keep himself busy. Marvellous soul.

 

 

     

 MS Dhoni , an extract from my latest book Cricket India: Tales Untold

In 2004 the BCCI began a system by which young talented cricketers around the country would be identified and short-listed for further training. The idea germinated from the fertile brain of Makarand Waingankar, the highly conscientious freelance journalist from Mumbai.

Former senior first-class cricketers PC Poddar and I travelled to Jamshedpur to watch the players in action in the one-day senior inter-state championship in January 2004.

At the end of the first day’s match, while discussing cricket, Poddar blurted out, “Today I saw a man hitting the ball with awesome power. Never before have I seen anybody with such immense power in his strokes.” Coming from a man of Poddar’s deep knowledge and wide experience, I was extremely keen to have a good look. Poddar added, “Tomorrow you would be watching the Bihar match. Have a good look at the opener with long hair.”

 Next morning, as I alighted from the taxi near the Keenan Stadium pavilion gate, I found a motor-cycle screech to a halt a few metres away. A well-built lad in his mid-20s wearing a tight t-shirt and denims parked his vehicle. Instantly two pariah dogs came towards him and he brought out some biscuits from his pocket to feed them. The speeding bike, the long flowing hair style, the bulging biceps all mitigated against the sensitive care that he took to show his affection for the road-side canines.

When I asked the Bihar coach if he was the opener who hit the ball very hard, he  replied, “In my Bihar team everybody hits the ball hard. But this boy from Ranchi is an exceptionally hard hitter. He is actually a wicket-keeper/batsman, playing first-class cricket for about 4 years. No one has ever taken any notice of him yet. Why are you so keen to know about him?” By the end of the day, when he had scored just about 40 odd, I realized that I had seen an uncut diamond.

That evening both Poddar and I exchanged notes. We decided to send our report to the chief Talent Resource Development Officer (TRDO), Dilip Vengsarkar, specially mentioning the batting ability and the exceptional power of the young man’s strokes. As it transpired, the responsible people at the BCCI took serious note of the report and the career graph of a young talent from a neglected corner of India took an upward curve.

By the end of the very year – 2004 – MS Dhoni was playing for India and had done enough to cement his place. Other wicket-keepers, who hailed from favoured provinces and were being played in the national team by turns and on whims, were now vying for the reserve stumper’s post. A new star had risen on the horizon.

Dhoni’s career graph is a unique case in Indian cricket. Hailing from a family of very modest financial background, he had little option but to accept whatever job came his way. The Indian Railways gave him a job based at Kharagpur at the border of Bengal and Orissa but, true to tradition, decided that a man from the eastern region would not be good enough for the all-India Railways cricket team!

Since Dhoni was based at Kharagpur, which happens to be in West Bengal, he was very much qualified to represent Bengal in national championships. Where were the Bengal selectors – all former test and first-class cricketers – at the time? Their job was to select the best of talent residing in Bengal. Were they doing their job?

He kept his ears and eyes open in the India dressing room to observe what Tendulkar and Dravid were doing to prepare themselves for the battles ahead. Off the field, his cool and composed personality was the just right ingredient required for a person craving to learn the ways of the world.

During an IPL match, as match referee I requested the Chennai Super King skipper Dhoni to call very loudly at the toss because the extremely high decibel music from the stands could plug one’s ears. Dhoni, true to his impeccable manners, said, “Do not worry, sir. I will call ‘tails’.” He was, it goes without saying, true to his promise.

Reams have been devoted to his exceptional abilities. I shall not repeat those to bore my readers. But I would like to relate that never before have we had a leader in India as exemplary as the man from Ranchi. He led India to the inaugural T20 world cup trophy with all the top names dropping out of the team for one reason or other! A young set of keen lads helped the relaxed captain to bring off one victory after another.

 Before leading India, did MS Dhoni ever lead a cricket team?  Perhaps his school team. But, even then, I doubt it. Because he was first and foremost a football goalkeeper. It was only when his school coach, Keshav Ranjan Banerjee, asked him to become the school keeper, did he pick up the wicket-keeping gloves. Surely you do not give the captaincy to a replacement player? Dhoni had no experience of captaincy; no grooming at all. It seemed he did not need any. Players instinctively followed him for his sterling qualities of character. A distinct sign of a born, natural leader of men.

With not a single god-father, the magnificent man went on lead India to all sorts of trophies. No other Indian captain has been able to match his statistical highlights. In fact, has any other captain from any country been able to hold all the three trophies at the same time?

Despite such magnificent achievements, the cool and composed man still remains as modest and accessible as he was nearly two decades back when he was making his debut in first-class cricket for Bihar. Far from stooping to gamesmanship, he was the epitome of the ‘spirit of cricket’ concept. His classic calling back of Ian Bell in England will forever remain a great lesson in sportsmanship. He even allowed a re-toss after having won the first toss in a world cup final. A sage, no less.

Never took advantage of his position. He could have promoted players of his choice or his State but never did. He respected the selectors and allowed them to do their job. Never got involved with any publicity stunts. Never bothered to get into conflicts and controversies. Detested sledging and avoided verbal duels. Never resorted to any kind of one-upmanship. He was and still remains a champion in the truest sense of the word.

His persona was and still is such that people consider him to be the leader, whether he is leading the team or not. He gave up his Test position so that Wriddhiman Saha could come in. He did it in style and in isolation. Did not create any hullaballoo about it. How many men, dear reader, you know who has given up the India captaincy voluntarily without any pressure? None till Dhoni showed us the way. A neglected man from an obscure corner showed the so-called educated Indians what actual magnanimity was all about. It was only because of his generosity that the crown prince Virat Kohli could be gradually groomed for the leadership seat.

It is to the great credit of Virat Kohli that he has shown the highest possible respect to his benefactor. In the dressing room, Dhoni in his quiet and low-profile manner is still a great influence on other cricketers. Just as chief coach Ravi Shastri and the captain Kohli readily admit Dhoni’s reassuring presence, every young player makes a beeline for his guidance.

After being out of the captaincy throne, no other India captain has earned the respect and affection of his peers as Dhoni has. This shows the man’s actual worth. Even when not in the any seat of power his considerable aura pervades every nook and corner of Indian cricket. People from all walks of life revere the man for what he is. The media flocks to him. The sponsors crowd around him. Powerful politicians want to shake hands with him. Film stars have been known to be photographed with him. He does not, and never did, go out to seek publicity or power; fame or fortune. Everything comes to him because he deserves it.

When not actively involved with the national team, Dhoni still finds the time to be with his Jharkhand players at the ground. He does not need any official appellation, but he becomes everyone’s mentor. His accessibility, his easy manner, his ready smile are not artificial at all. Spontaneous, modest, sincere, honest that is what he was and, thankfully, still remains so.

No fiction writer would ever have conceived the rise and rise of Dhoni to fame and fortune. He was nowhere on the radar in early 2004 before two talent spotters strongly recommended his name to their chief. Thankfully the India ‘A’ selectors had a close look and realized his potential.

Without wasting time they put the 23-year old, as the reserve wicket-keeper, on the plane to Kenya and Zimbabwe with the India ‘A’ team in mid 2004. With the main wicket-keeper Dinesh Kartik ‘called’ to England with the India ODI team, the reserve wicket-keeper of India ‘A’ got the scope to exhibit his potential.

By the end of the year the name of MS Dhoni was an obvious choice for the national team heading for Bangladesh. A man, who was ignored by all concerned people for four years, suddenly became the cynosure of all eyes within four months!

Which fiction writer would dare to pen such lines? No wonder it is said that truth is stranger than fiction.

 

 

Balbir Singh

After the Berlin Olympiad in 1936 the following quadrennial Olympic championship could not be held in 1940. Nor in 1944. The 2^nd world war had turned the world topsy-turvy. 

India had won the hockey gold medal at Amsterdam in 1928, followed by Los Angeles in 1932 and the last one in 1936 at Berlin. Obviously India was considered by the other nations as the ‘favourite’ to retain the hockey gold medal. But in India there were grave doubts about the quality of the team that would go to London to defend the title.

After the partition of India, many prominent players from the Muslim community had opted to settle in Pakistan. Numerous outstanding talents from among the Anglo-Indians migrated to foreign lands. These hockey players were the nucleus of the three previous gold medal-winning teams.

During the war years, although hockey championships were held in India at the domestic level, were we able to unearth top-quality players? Would they be able to uphold the legacy of Dhyan Chand and company at the highest international level? How will they be able to take the strain without adequate international exposure?

The anxiety was genuine. All the new players bound for London would be debutants at the international stage. Will the young, inexperienced men be able to take the pressure of winning on foreign soil? Do they possess the skills we were famous for? Will they be able to withstand the pressure of being the defending champions?

At the end of the London Olympics, every hockey follower heaved a sigh of relief. New heroes emerged almost overnight. Young men of almost no international experience revealed that they did not lack the magnificent skills or the tough mentality of their predecessors.

Skipper Kishen Lal was magnificent on and off the field. The brilliant KD Singh ‘Babu’ was an inspiration with his stick-work and distribution. Young Leslie Claudius gave every hope of becoming a future ‘great’. Leo Pinto with his huge pads was a perpetual stumbling-block. And one young Sardar made the world sit up and take notice. He was Balbir Singh, an inspector of Punjab Police.

Fortunately for India a man of formidable presence went as the joint-manager of the team, Pankaj Gupta. Gupta in close confidence with his skipper Kishen Lal planted the concept of ‘one nation, one aim’ among the players as he had done earlier with Dhyan Chand’s men. They chopped and changed the team depending upon situations. But more so to give every youngster the opportunity to experience the international sphere. Ultimately India’s worry was over as skipper Kishen Lal, KD Singh ‘Babu’ and their mates went up to receive the gold medals round their necks.

The magnificent centre-forward Balbir Singh began with 6 goals in the first match only to find that he was sidelined for the next two matches! The reason was that Gupta did not want to expose his trump card to the opponents. Balbir was brought back for the final, scored two more goals and finished the championship with 8 goals in just 2 matches. A hero was born.

The other forwards were no push-overs. Later Pankaj Gupta once recounted, “In the 3 matches that Balbir did not play, our other forwards scored no less than 12 goals. We played as a team called ‘India’. We helped one another to succeed. We did not think of personal considerations. Our trump-card Balbir did his duty for the nation as did everybody else.”

In the 1952 Olympic Games at Helsinki again India was at the top. Balbir Singh was superlative, as always. His stick-work, his body feints, his final ‘finishing’ all had the ‘cobra strike-symbol’ in action. He was a general on the field: perpetually encouraging and attacking, always dangerous, fatal as a finisher. A magnificent specimen of a hockey player. An ideal man to take over the crown that Dhyan Chand had worn.

At Helsinki in 1952, India hardly played 3 matches to reach the final. Every match was a knock-out fixture. There was no question of anyone being ‘nursed’ or someone else being ‘rested’ as had happened at London in 1948. Here again the combination of skipper KD Singh Babu and the world-class striker Balbir Singh had the oppositions in no end of anxiety.

In 1952 at Helsinki yet again the magic of Balbir Singh continued. He proved again and again that he had no parallel as far as goal-scoring ability was concerned. He was by far the best in the world. Warmed up against Austria with a goal and then against Britain repeated his 1948 hat-trick. As if this was not enough, in the final Holland could not withstand India’s blitzkrieg as Balbir scored 5 of the 6 goals.

Now came 1956. Melbourne Olympics was a stunner with a huge stadium to beckon one and all. This time Balbir was the captain of the team.  In the first match Balbir sounded the board 5 times. But a very serious injury to his hand kept him away from the next two matches. Came back against Germany in the semis with pain-killers and again scored the match-winner. In the final, a close encounter with Pakistan gave India the gold medal through a penalty corner conversion by Randhir Singh Gentle.

Balbir Singh retired from active hockey on his return. He joined the Punjab Government bureaucracy and did outstanding work as the Director of Sports. His splendid service to the nation resulted in being awarded the Padma Shree award in 1957. His sterling inspiration helped the State of Punjab to promote sports and encourage sportspeople.

The great patronage of the House of Patiala from the early 20th century continued with the active encouragement of the government of Punjab. The triple gold medalist in three Olympic Games – like Dhyan Chand and Richard Allen earlier – authored an excellent book The Golden Hat-trick: My Hockey Days.

Balbir was born in 1923. As a youngster he revealed exceptional prowess at hockey. After finishing his college studies at Lahore, where he met his future wife, Balbir went across to Amritsar to train under Harbail Singh. His reputation grew as his college and club teams prospered. The exploits of the India team in the pre-war Olympic Games held him in awe. He was inspired by the magical stick-work and the finishing touches of Dhyan Chand and Roop Singh.

The handsome Sikh was a strong man physically and mentally. Once, as a teenager, it is said that the Punjab Police threatened him of arrest unless he played for them! When no response was coming from Balbir, the Inspector General of Punjab Police John Bennet had him hand-cuffed and brought to Jalandhar, “If you do not join Punjab Police, you will be arrested right now! Now decide your future.”

Thankfully Balbir realized that discretion was the better option than valor and did not go into the pros and cons. From all angles, the forcible recruitment appears to be an extremely praiseworthy move on the part of the inspector-general!

During the partition days Balbir was based at Lahore and was at the heart of the violence. Two great stalwarts of Pakistan hockey team – Shahruk and AS Dara – helped Balbir and his wife to cross the border without any problems. The great rivalry on the field actually gives rise to great friendship off it. This is a stirring example of camaraderie between the hockey players of India and Pakistan.

In 2014 he was conferred with the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award by Hockey India. Settled in Canada, he kept travelling back to his Chandigarh residence. Last week of May 2020, he breathed his last at the age of 96. A wonderful person; among the greatest of players; and an able administrator. A treasure to cherish.