Every summer, Sudhir Gautam makes a pilgrimage to Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai home, carrying a box of Muzaffarpur litchis from his home town in Bihar, a gesture sweeter than the fruit itself.
Sachin Tendulkar fan Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, also known as Sudhir Gautam, is always the star attraction among spectators.
Having met him at different venues around the world, he recognised me easily.
Experience has taught him how to pose for a photograph, and he was seen suggesting to people how to get a good selfie.
Earlier he used to paint himself from head to toe in the Tricolour, but this time he was wearing a tight-fitting dress resembling full-body paint.
There was a time he used to paint his body the day before a match and skip sleep that night to ensure the paint remained intact.
Had he attempted to paint his body for this tournament, the sweat from the heat and humidity would have staged a full-on rebellion against the paint.
When I met him at the Kensington Oval in Barbados during the 2024 T20 World Cup, he showed me how he folds the huge Indian flag, which was twice his size, with military precision.
During the 2023 World Cup, he had a replica of the World Cup on his head.
Every summer, he makes a pilgrimage to Tendulkar's Mumbai home, carrying a box of Muzaffarpur litchis from his home town in Bihar, a gesture sweeter than the fruit itself.
Jayasuriya's 189 In Sharjah
Cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya's presence itself is an inspiration for everyone.
I have covered almost all his great knocks, especially in Sharjah. So I was very touched when, after the India-Sri Lanka match post match press conference, he came down the stage, shook hands, and introduced me to the Sri Lankan journalists as someone who has reported most of his good knocks.
His 189 against India in the 2000 Coca Cola Champions Trophy in Sharjah was a stupendous exhibition of how to destroy a bowling attack in an ODI match.
India's current Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar was hit for 67 runs in 10 overs in that game.
Varun Chakravarthy's Love For the Movies
Varun Chakravarthy relaxes off the field by watching movies.
He loves films so much that his second innings is likely to be in the film world.
He has already acted in a Tamil movie, Jeeva, as a club cricketer. He even has a tattoo of Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay on his left shoulder.
When Malayalam actor Nandalal, who is in the UAE as a chief guest for an Onam celebration event, expressed a desire to meet Varun, the leg-spinner immediately invited him to his hotel.
Despite the India-Bangladesh match finishing late on Wednesday, Varun met Nandalal and spoke more about films than cricket.
Varun was born in Bidar, Karnataka. His father is half Tamilian and his mother is half Keralite, and he grew up in Adyar, Chennai.
His childhood coach is S Vincent, the Dubai-based head coach of the Dunes Cricket Academy.
Mr Google, Pakistan's Wicketkeeper
The UAE used to be Pakistan's home ground when international teams refused to play in Pakistan for security reasons.
This resulted in even the Pakistan Super League being held in the UAE, and I got the opportunity to interact with many Pakistan cricketers and inquire about their early days.
Pakistan wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris was born in Mushtarzai, a small village near Peshawar, but he was ambitious and studious.
He earned the nickname Mr Google as his Under-19 team-mates found him always sharpening his knowledge by searching for facts on Google.
As a boy, he used to watch almost every match on television, and he has even done commentary at some time.
Food And Indian Cricketers
Dubai has some of the finest restaurants from all over the world. Before the first India-Pakistan match in this Asia Cup, Kuldeep Yadav, Rinku Singh and Jitesh Kumar visited the popular Raju Omlet restaurant.
Players often sacrifice their favourite dishes to maintain top fitness. Shubman Gill loves Butter Chicken and Parathas but avoids them during tours and prefers grilled fish.
Jasprit Bumrah loves pizzas, burgers and milkshakes but avoids all of them during matches. He once remarked that he eats Chicken Biryani as a cheat meal.
Suryakumar Yadav loves cooking, and he prepares Lamb Biryani but revealed that he does it only on a cheat day.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
© 2025