DOES THE GANDHI PLAYED CRICKET?-INDEED.

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DOES THE GANDHI PLAYED CRICKET?-INDEED.

By: Dinsa Sachan | 4 Comments previous post | next post

Today is Gandhi’s 132nd birth anniversary, and while I am open to any criticism regarding how out-of-my-way I went with proving the Gandhi-cricket connection, let’s give him a salute for all the cool stuff he did. And to him, this post is dedicated.

The only evidence of a Gandhian interest in cricket that I know of is contained in a newspaper essay of 1958 by the Gujarati journalist Harish Booch. Booch had just met one of the Mahatma’s classmates at Alfred High School, Rajkot. This man, Ratilal Ghelabhai Mehta, remembered Gandhi as “a dashing cricketer” who “evinced a keen interest in the game as a school student”. He was, it seems, “good both at batting and bowling”, and had an uncanny understanding of the game’s uncertainties as well. Mehta spoke of a match they had watched together as schoolboys, played between Rajkot city and Rajkot cantonment. Apparently, “at a crucial moment in the match, as if through intuition, Gandhi said a particular player would be out and hey presto, that batsman was really out!”

And, of course, I am sure, he drew analogies from the game and applied the principles of the game to this revolutions. Who knows, though.

This brings me to another question: Would he approve of Twenty20? Some of my fellow bloggers have written T20 off as not-real-cricket. (Uh, duh. That hurt.Badly) I have enjoyed this format so much. But I understand where they are coming from. Had I been born in their time, I, too, would probably belong to their purist camp.

Does Twenty20 live up to Gandhi’s principles? Well, let’s see.

Non-violence a.ka. No ass-kicking, punching Sledging is OK . In short: Do it with the bat and the ball (Banging heads with bats and throwing beamers not allowed, though)

Cricket, as we know, is a gentlemen’s game. Whether it’s T20, ODI, or test format, violence of any sort is just a strict no-no. Of course, the pressure sends gushes of adrenaline (+ testosterone) across the players’ veins, and it’s easy to succumb to the momentary impulses.

Gandhi wasn’t scared. He liked doing things in style, just like Yuvraj.

So we can grant T20 a point, can’t we, if everyone promises to keep their nerves in control?

Vegetarianism a.k.a The health factor

Now, this isn’t going to affect the players’ performance much, but while we are on the topic of health, let me shell out some figures.

I have told you a TT game shoots loads of hormones into the bloodstream. Consequently, your heart rate goes up – sometimes reaching up to 160 rates/minute.

In fact, 200 beats/ minute isn’t inconceivable in these conditions. That makes for an intensive cardio workout.

Cricketers won’t die of heart attacks at least. Let alone, the mental agility that’s going to come along.

Simplicity a.ka. Play your natural game.

Gandhi essentially meant “no lust” with this, but I’ll tweak it in a little to suit cricket better. Be simple; play your natural game.

Nasser Hussain wrote in an India Today column: Twenty20 is a game of flair where you don’t need to be overly fit. You just need to be talented, with natural and raw ability.

Did you hear? Natural and raw ability. No complications at all. Ah, simplicity.

Experiment With Truths

Gandhi experimented with truths, and T20 is about experimenting and taking quick decisions to reach the Ultimate Truth i.e victory.

Faith

Is there a doubt about it? You’ve got to believe in yourself! Okay, now I know your brows have been drawn close together, and I know it’s time for me to shut up!

More on T20 later!








By Dinsa Sachan
1094 days ago He was a TOTAL mystic. We’ll never know ALL about him. We can only speculate. But I like him nevertheless. If it weren’t for him, I guess I wouldn’t be writing this blog; I wouldn’t even have broadband.

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By Sam
1085 days ago I’ve never followed cricket, thought that maybe it was like baseball with a paddle (’til I saw some of the photos on this site), and have not clue one what T20 is. But connecting Gandhi (pacifism) with sport (competition) is definiftely something I didn’t expect to find! Nice bit of comparison in this post!

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By Dinsa Sachan
1085 days ago Thanks, Sam. Nice to have AWers comment!

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