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The story of Cricket in India

Transcript of Ramchandra Guha's chat.

asdfg : Mr Guha, would you agree with Ashis Nandy's description that cricket is an Indian game discovered by the British?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : That is a wonderful line of Nandy's. In my recent book, I have explained in detail how we made this British game so completely ours.
rajaryan : mr ghua whom do you think is the gratest cricketer of india?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Hello everyone, here I am....the first great cricketeer of India was not Ranji but a now forgotten Dalit slow bowler named Palwankar Baloo. As for the title of greatest ever Indian cricketeer, in my book it is a three way tie between Sachin, Kapil and C K Naidu.
baloo : Dear Mr Guha, what was the reason you wrote a book revolving around Baloo as your main character?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Because I was intrigued by his double role as player and social reformer and saddened that he had been so completely forgotten.
ashu : Why is Sunil Gavaskar not icluded in that list?? shocking to say the least...
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Gavaskar would certainly be in my alltime Indian eleven along with Mankad, Vishy, Chandra and others. But I ws trying to narrow it down to the greatest ever.
james : is it not strange that since palwanker abaloo there are no dalits in the team
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : It is indeed strange. One reason could be that following Dr Ambedkar, talented Dalits took to professions like the law rather than to cricket.
ashu : The first great cricketers from India...were parsis or am i mistaken...all the early teams comprised mainly of them
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Yes, in my recent book, I spend three chapters saluting the Parsis and describing how they founded nd sustained Indian cricket in its early decades.
ganguly : Mr Guha, why did you choose a complicated name for the title of your book? What does it mean?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I like paradoxical titles. In this case, the British made a corner of India into enclosed clubs where they played cricket, but eventually we Indians colonised a large corner of their sport, cricket.
james : which is india's most egalitarian game?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Hard to say. Probably football, but cricket has also democratised quite successfully.
anirban : Why is Dravid so undermined in his contrib to indian cricket?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : A PS on Dravid : as of this summer, he replaces Hazare in my alltime Indian eleven!
sushil : recently there was article in the EPW that the Lagaan movie reinforced the paternalist representations of dalits in our society... was wondering what your thoughts of that were?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I thought that was a dreary academic article. He ddn't even seem to have enjoyed that superb film!
TrivediBhai : WHICH IS YOUR NEXT BOOK COMING UP
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : My next cricket book will be a selection of my Hindu columns.
BalSandhu : Why had Bombay produced the best names in Indian cricket?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : We should speak of this in the past tense. Bombay is no longer a powerhouse - for good or for ill,it looks as if Sachin will be perhaps the last great Bombay batsman.
Administrator : RON, please be careful about what you post.
schumi : do you think modern players techniques is superior to olden day players or vice versa
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Especially the fielding, yes. And also even tailenders can bat now. But there has been a marked decline in the art of spin bowling.
baps : what is opinion on saurav as a captain
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Saurav is the first non-parochial Indian captain since Tiger Pataudi, which for me cancels out some of his blemishes. He should not be replaced as long as he is batting adequately.
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Someone asked a question about ganguly the captain : can you please ask it again?
sushil : can you recommend 5 books that cricket lovers must read, academic books included...
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : CLR James, Beyond a BoundaryJack Fingleton, The Masters of CricketNeville Cardus, The Essential CardusRay Robinson, On Top Down UnderSujit Mukherjee, An Indian Cricket Century
Administrator : The question on Ganguly:Ron : Do you think Ganguly is the best Indian captian?
Rejoy : Should playing in the domestic championships be made compulsory for the Indian team (a la, Aussies, etc. ) ??
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Yes, absolutely. I have been advocating this for years now. My biggest ambition which will sadly be unrealised is to see Sachin bat against Kumble and Srinath for Bombay versus Karnataka.
Rejoy : Do you think that the excess use of modern technology is taking away the romance from the game ??
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I have mixed feelings on this. Helmets do convey an extra advantage to batsmen, already the pampered aristocrats of the game. And umpires are placed on the firing line. But it is easy to be too nostalgic - on balance, the changes are for the better.
kaif : what is your all-time Indian XI?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Gavaskar, Merchant, Vishwanath, Sachin, Dravid, Mankad, Kapil, Kirmani, Prasanna, Chandrashekhar, Nissar or Srinath.
baps : Why the media and the general public of India against captaincy of Saurav Ganguly??
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Because the media likes controversy and because Saurav has a penchant for off-the-cuff remarks. But he is on the whole a fine captain and must not be replaced.
krishna : hello dr. guha, guess what i found as i walked into a bookstore here (this is ottawa, canada of all places), your picador book of cricket, great selection
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Thanks a lot! Now, read some of the other books recommended by me in my epilogue.
ashwani : Isn't future of indian cricket bleak,I don't see how a team manages without worldclass bowlers
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Yes, but better wickets at home and compulsory playing of Ranji matches will help here.
Rasik : What is your all time World Dream X1
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : This is a difficult one. But let me try. Grace, Hobbs, Headley, Bradman, Hammond, Sobers, Tallon, Lindwall, O'Reilly, Grimmett, Larwood. This is a mischievous selection - my dream team, you see, must include only those I have never seen at all.
shivani : sir, i want to......no i am going to write a book on ind'n domestic cricket which will be as talked about as yours......can u help??????
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I hope so too. Goodness knows we need more cricket books.
Darsh666 : Mr. Guha, I am R.K.Narayan's grand nephew here and the people adorning the cover of your book are 1. My dad-R.S.Jayaram,(Nokki), my uncle Thumbi and Narayan himself. Great idea!!
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Lovely to know that. The credit goes to the great photographer T S Satyan who took the photo in 1950 and gifted it to me in 2001!
coolraj : Mr.Ramchandra, only one question from my side.. how do you think cricket is related today to the social outlook of the society of mordern india... does it stand for the same way it did in the freedom struggle????
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Cricket has become a vehicle for nationalism, even for jingoism, we look to Sachin and company to make up for all our other failures.
krishna : dr guha, out of curiosity :) do you remember what age you started following cricket? And, which international series you first followed?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I think it was, in a serious sense, the 1966 England -West Indies series, when I was eight. I couldn't have been luckier, since the peerless Gary Sobers was at the top of his form.
ieajay : Dr. Guha do u think Sachin should always open in ODIs?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : It depends on the context and the opposition. Let me also say more generally that John Wright has been an outstanding coach and has taken some very wise decisions.
suraj : can you please tell which is the greatest cricketing moment for India as a cricket playing nation
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I suppose it has to be the 1983 world cup. But much before that, another great happening was the rise of the remarkable family of Dalit cricketers whom I celebrate in my recent book.
aanandam : Is it a crime to idolize the players of a game we love ? Mind you, the love is not so much for the individual as it is for the Game. I loved Gavaskar when he was playing, ditto for Kapil. But I dont grovel after they have retired !
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I admire cricketeers but reserve idolatry in your sense for social workers and musicians.
shivani : sir i haven't read ur book as yet.....but is there any mention also of the other three Palwankar brothers...they make an interesting story too...
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Four chapters on the Palwankar family, the last on Vithal's successful captaincy of the Hindu team. Raj Singh Dungarpur told me that his father told him that Vithal was as good a batsman as Vijay Hazare. Raj Singh will tell you that Hazare was as good as Gavaskar, and when I am sentimental, I will tell you that Gavaskar was as good as Sachin. That is how good Palwankar Vithal was!
pratim79 : are u a historian on Indian cricket or Mumbai cricket ?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : PS : a future historian writing about Indian cricket, 1970 to 2010, will find that Mumbai plays a much less important place in history.
sunny : Mihir Bose has also come up with a book on Indian cricket. What do you think could be the reason behind this sudden rush for books on Indian cricket???
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : May there be many more. We need individual books on specific cricketing centres like Madras, Calcutta, Indore, etc, well-researched biographies of our great players from Baloo to Sachin, and books on specific themes like comercialisation, schools cricket, cricket and Indian fiction/films etc.
mohan : Hello, Mr. Guha. I am from Bangalore and a sort of fan of yours :-) Have read "Spin and other Turns" and liked it very much. My question is, is the craze for one-day cricket killing Test cricket in India?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I would like less one day matches to be played, with a greater emphasis on tests as well as on domestic cricket.
nraju8pc : Hi, y did u choose to write something on communal feelings
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Because it has, tragically, been an inescapable part of our cricket for the past 100 years. A historian cannot suppress uncomfortable truths.
prince : sir, can u tell me which is the book where i can find some interesting stories abt indian cricket which are not known generally i mean some intersting moments and great things .
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I am sorry to recommend my own books, but loads of stories and anecdotes about Indian cricket and cricketers are to be found in my Wickets in the East and in Spin and Other Turns. Also read Sujit Mukherjee's books which are very good.
Joshena : Why are palyers from Tamil nadu are neglected , even Kris Srikanth doesnot appear in your all time Indian team, pl answer
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : That is the nice thing about selecting elevens. The disagreements they cause. I suppose your all-time Indian eleven may have lots of Tamils!
afaf : did we have an early cricket witers in India? Carsus and Swanton are the only chaps i have really read -- all English
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Read Sujit Mukherjee and N S Ramaswamy. Also I hope that K N Prabhu, who is the doyen of Indian cricket journalists and a very fne writer will compile the best of his columns.
jonty : hi ramwho do u think is more "complete" sachin or sir don
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : The Don was the greater batsman, but Sachin has to bear a far greater burden, answering to a billion cricket crazy Indians rather than to merely ten million Australians.
dalit : Dr. Guha, I am the webmaster of Dalit website ambedkar_org running it from USA. I would like to congradulate u for bringing out a Dalit crickter in ur book. I think there is a lot of castisim in cricket. Almost all the cricketer are Brhamins or Muslisms
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Which is why I hope the story of the Palwankar brothers is noticed. I would also hope that a Marathi historian would write a whole book on this great but forgotten family.
pramod : hello sir,has india got a good wicket keeper in Patel
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Yes, I think in three or four years' time, when he has matured. But he certainly shows great promise.
Rasik : Hello sir u did not reply to my earlier Qs.??Do you think Shoaib Akhtar Chucks ??But it's been wonderful chatting with u and understanding your thought
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : His action certainly looks dubious to me. But then, I am not an expert!
sachin_fan : why do u think in the past Indian cricketers were not paid hansomely, even though they were celebrities(i am talking about 70's and 80's)
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : We should be grateful that the present generation is adequately compensated, and the Board should do even more to help old cricketers in need.
krishna : Because despite TV, some of the real fun in following cricket has been TMS, Radio Australia, and AIR (in the days of Anant Setalvad)
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I agree. I grew up on the radio _ on Arlott in England, Cozier in West Indies, Mcgilvray in Australia and Setalvad in India. There was a romance about the radio impossible to convey to the young. You can imagine the action whereas in TV, you are spoonfed.
Raghuraman R : Cricket in India but football in West Bengal & Kerala.. can you find the link between communism and football? Cricket being more elitist!
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Interesting thesis, someone should write a book on it! But the book will have a sad ending, as even in Bengal and Kerala, cricket is now far more popular than football. The final victory of capitalism, we might say!
prashantk : Suddenly, our spin cupboard looks kind of bare. Apart from the 2 doing duty, we have Kartik and Sarandeep. Joshi languishes. Don't u think we are paying the price for not nurturing spin?
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : I couldn't agree more. Ten years ago, when the Board started five pace academies, I wrote saying we should start spin academies instead! That has been our traditional strength and will remain so. It was a mistake playing one spinner at Lord's and the sensible thing to defy English critics and play two spinners at Headingley.
cc : Indian team is more becoming Bombay team - ur comments
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : To the contrary. Once, there were six or seven Bombay players in the Indian team, now there are just one or two. This shows the democratisation of the sport in India.
cricbuff : read your article on NRI indian eleven and thre was a notable omission. I think Venkatraghavan should have been an automatic choice
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : Yes, lets make him 12th man, for his fielding!
krishna : If you had chosen a career as a cricketer, what would you have liked to become? A batsman or a bowler?:) If a bowler, what type:)
Dr. Ramachandra Guha : This will be my last answer...The cricketers I most admire are wicket keepers. There's is the most difficult job in the game and the least rewarding. Their contributions are taken for granted, their errors blown out of all proportion. They are the underpaid and unsung heroes of the game. Let me salute all wicket keepers, past, present and future, as I say goodbye. It has been great being on this show.

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