Film promotion commitments grounded cricket enthusiast Saif Ali Khan in Mumbai. The disappointed actor was forced to watch the India-Pakistan match on television today and cancel his tickets to the match in Bangladesh. Before the match, Saif shared anecdotes and thoughts about the game.
Which was the first India-Pakistan match you watched with your father?
It was that fateful match at Sharjah in 1986, which had Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for a sixer. I had gone to watch the game with my father. With that one hit, Miandad changed the mental balance of India-Pakistan encounters for years. Then there was this festival match I was keenly looking forward to, because my father was playing. He had retired from professional cricket matches when I was five and I had never seen him play. After he lost his eye it was difficult for him to differentiate between half-volleys and yorkers so he had to curb his natural instincts to play a half- volley and keep his bat on the ground. I love Kapil Dev and his cricketing skills as a batsman and bowler but at that particular match, he bowled my father a nasty yorker. It was the only time I saw him him bat and because he couldn't gauge the ball he was out on the first ball. I felt crushed! At that time I thought it was a bit unfair to bowl a yorker to someone knowing he can't see.
Do your patriotic feelings get stronger when it's an India-Pakistan cricket match?
Of course, and obviously, I would like India to win! One also wonders what kind of game it would turn out to be if India and Pakistan combined their cricket teams. We don't have many fast bowlers and they (Pakistan) have super fast ones, so if we had a combined team with a batting lineup like ours and a bowling side like theirs, what a formidable side that would be!
Do you feel in recent times we have lost the sporting spirit and become more communal?
When my father was the captain, they sometimes needed a translator as there were people from all states of India and no one understood another's mother tongue. He was the first captain to tell them that they were playing for India and not for any region. He inspired them to play as a team and play well resulting in India's first test series victory abroad against New Zealand, as a captain. Though there was intense rivalry between the team members then, my father managed to bring the team together.
Has cricket become more aggressive in today's times with ball-throwing allegations, etc?
No. Cricket has changed and survived more than any other sport. During my grandfather's time, they started the most vicious line of cricket (Bodyline), considered by many to be intimidatory and physically threatening and unfair in a game which had gentlemanly traditions. You don't see such things in today's times. My father used to say, 'To imply that cricket is no longer a gentleman's game is to imply that once it was'.
Rahul Dravid recently resigned from the Indian cricket team...
I was sorry to hear that. Rahul is a valuable member of the Indian team. In the lust and quest for No 1, we sometimes forget to honour No 2. I was very upset to read an article which said Dravid retired a year too late! What a cruel thing to say to someone who's left the game. I sent Rahul a text expressing my regret on his retirement.
Did you ever want to become a cricketer?
I would have loved to, but I think I am a better actor! My lack of talent as a cricketer stopped me from taking up professional cricket.
Which was the first India-Pakistan match you watched with your father?
It was that fateful match at Sharjah in 1986, which had Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for a sixer. I had gone to watch the game with my father. With that one hit, Miandad changed the mental balance of India-Pakistan encounters for years. Then there was this festival match I was keenly looking forward to, because my father was playing. He had retired from professional cricket matches when I was five and I had never seen him play. After he lost his eye it was difficult for him to differentiate between half-volleys and yorkers so he had to curb his natural instincts to play a half- volley and keep his bat on the ground. I love Kapil Dev and his cricketing skills as a batsman and bowler but at that particular match, he bowled my father a nasty yorker. It was the only time I saw him him bat and because he couldn't gauge the ball he was out on the first ball. I felt crushed! At that time I thought it was a bit unfair to bowl a yorker to someone knowing he can't see.
Do your patriotic feelings get stronger when it's an India-Pakistan cricket match?
Of course, and obviously, I would like India to win! One also wonders what kind of game it would turn out to be if India and Pakistan combined their cricket teams. We don't have many fast bowlers and they (Pakistan) have super fast ones, so if we had a combined team with a batting lineup like ours and a bowling side like theirs, what a formidable side that would be!
Do you feel in recent times we have lost the sporting spirit and become more communal?
When my father was the captain, they sometimes needed a translator as there were people from all states of India and no one understood another's mother tongue. He was the first captain to tell them that they were playing for India and not for any region. He inspired them to play as a team and play well resulting in India's first test series victory abroad against New Zealand, as a captain. Though there was intense rivalry between the team members then, my father managed to bring the team together.
Has cricket become more aggressive in today's times with ball-throwing allegations, etc?
No. Cricket has changed and survived more than any other sport. During my grandfather's time, they started the most vicious line of cricket (Bodyline), considered by many to be intimidatory and physically threatening and unfair in a game which had gentlemanly traditions. You don't see such things in today's times. My father used to say, 'To imply that cricket is no longer a gentleman's game is to imply that once it was'.
Rahul Dravid recently resigned from the Indian cricket team...
I was sorry to hear that. Rahul is a valuable member of the Indian team. In the lust and quest for No 1, we sometimes forget to honour No 2. I was very upset to read an article which said Dravid retired a year too late! What a cruel thing to say to someone who's left the game. I sent Rahul a text expressing my regret on his retirement.
Did you ever want to become a cricketer?
I would have loved to, but I think I am a better actor! My lack of talent as a cricketer stopped me from taking up professional cricket.
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