CHENNAI: Rohit Sharma wears everything lightly on his sleeves, and doesn’t break into a sweat when he loses stuff that most others would keep carefully- laptops, pads and even passports, the latter is almost like a right of passage. Several hotel housekeeping staff across the world have stories of searching for the Indian captain’s passport on many tours, the last of which was in Colombo just about a month ago.
But there’s something that Rohit will not lose, his grit. This son of Gurunath Sharma, a caretaker of a transport company in Mumbai, who was brought up by his grandparents and uncles in Borivali, because his dad didn’t earn enough to bring up both his kids, slept in one room with eight people. But Rohit chose to sleep against the wall with his feet touching it for comfort and confidence. He kept this knack going as he started playing for India, finally captaining his country for the first time in a fifty-over world cup. The knack of finding comfort in crowded paces and finding that corner to touch and hug.
As the entire country will drop virtually everything else for revalidate their womb to grave relationship with cricket, it is the leadership of the Indian captain, which for once in four years will be watched more than the most dominant name in this country- at least for this month.
For the vast multitudes, the World Cup is all about India playing the other teams, who need to show up so that India can bat and bowl against them. And yes there’s the Pakistan game, that seems to define the entire tournament- 2015 World Cup, (Adelaide), The Champion’s Trophy in England, the T2O World Cup in Melbourne and then, of course, Pallekelle and Colombo in 2023.
But then history is an elephant in the room that can caress and crush in equal measure. In 1983, the team rode a dream, fuelled by some self-belief and a miracle happened.
The oldest members of the present Indian team Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not yet born then. The collective euphoria that a generation born in the fifties and sixties of Krish Srikkanth square driving Andy Roberts on bended knees or the more often discussed imagery of Balwinder Singh Sandhu bowling Gordon Greenidge with an in swinger which Greenidge left, or Mohinder Amarnath running to get the bails after India won but missing to pick them up, is something today’s kids will never have.
These are images and stories meant for fireside chats. The 15 in the squad who take on Australia here at Chennai today have no such memories or burdens.
2011 is a year some do remember. And through the imagery and imagination of the cup riveted on that one last moment of MS Dhoni hitting that six to win the cup, this was also about Yuvraj Singh when he was challenging his body, coughing blood and hitting big scores. And yes, they did it for the man under whose greatness they all thrived, Sachin Tendulkar.
And then there was 2007 when India came apart, great talent wilting under the taskmaster with no tact, Greg Chappell. In 2015 and 2019, India sparkled but choked in the Semi-Finals.
In 2023, both Sharma and Kohli could be playing their final World Cups. And though Virat has been a 50 over World Cup winner, Rohit Sharma was not even in the team. And that too after being a part of the T20 World Cup winning side in 2007.
And this is a team from a generation that has swum in the sea of plenty. In 1983, Lata Mangeshkar had to do a charity show to raise money to give special prizes to Kapil Dev’s World Cup-winning team. Today most players in the Indian team can charter their own planes across countries. They are all set for life for generations to come. And yet there is something beyond the millions, the fast cars, the lavish homes and thriving businesses.
Many of them have grown up as cricket fans- Sachin looked upto to Sunil Gavaskar, Virat looked upto Sachin. And Ishan Kishan and Surya Kumar Yadav among so many others worshipped Dhoni. The very articulate Ravichandran Ashwin recently spoke of his father bringing him to Chepauk as a little boy to see his first test match against England. It is in front of these stands that Ashwin will play (if he’s in the final XI) the first game of the 2023 World Cup. So it’s the little boy in each of the men in blue, who will look back and look up at the real bounty beyond all their riches- cricket, a sport that cements our diversity, strengthens foundations and tells us, NO this is not just a game.
The World Cup is age defying. An 80-year-old and a 20-year-old will argue and banter and sulk and hug over a game. Mothers across India will be packing puris and vegetables and boiling eggs for their family fan team to take for the game, television sets will be serviced, new ones will be bought and leaves applied for in offices where the applicant and the approver both know that the reason for leave is indeed “genuine”.
In Sri Lanka, one met a travel consultant from Himachal Pradesh who pumped his entire profits for the previous year to travel through the Asia Cup. Such stories are heard in Australia, South Africa and wherever else India goes. Hardworking people break their piggy banks, withdraw from the provident funds, take loans to travel, to watch cricket. Sudhir Chaudhary, a government employee in Bihar gets leave to travel the world- his tickets are paid for by a former Indian cricketer, painting his body in the tri-colour. In each city in the world an Indian family hosts him, many strangers.
They don’t host just Sudhir Chaudhary. They host their passion for cricket.
Therefore, Rohit Sharma and his team will know there are homes and hearts across India and the world for whom, the World Cup triumph means the world. It will be a trophy of validation, of payback by the worshipped game. But it has to be won. Fair and square.
And it all starts in Chennai. Today.
And Rohit Sharma will know that unlike a passport, a lost World Cup will not be recovered.