The Mumbai Khadoosness

[Shehezaada]

Hey guys, I guess I should introduce myself a bit before asking this question: I'm a cricketer who's been playing club cricket (U-16, U-19, League 3rd, 4th, 5th division) since I was 13. I started playing cricket when I was 11... my cousin taught me when he came from India. Since cricket was hardly alive in Canada those days, I never got to experience watching any live matches. However the following year in Grade 6 me and a paki friend of mind started to play at school and the trend caught on. We organized World cups, got some crackers to play with us as well...and it carried onto middle school. From then on we were recruited by a coach to join a club named Inverhaugh in Elora. It was the only grass wicket in all of canada and at the time we were quite lucky to have it. So me and my friends got some good coaching, and decent practice every single week. At the beginning Inverhaugh was nice to us...we didn't have any equipment at all. They let us use a kit that had been made up of leftovers from the senior cricketers (bu still was fairly good material). I was selected for the U-19 team in a couple of weeks and top scored on debut as a middle order batsmen who bowled both off breaks and leg breaks. As time went on I captained the U-19 side and played regularly for the senior side. After 5 years of Inverhaugh we realized there were major problems beginning to develop. After a major incident, me and my three best friends left Inverhaugh and started to play league cricket (I had debuted in the league, EDCL, at 16 and so I had some experience as well). After a half season with a very poor team (although they were a great bunch of guys), we've finally realized our dream. We realized that Inverhaugh had become too controlling. Often I would set fields for specific batsmen (little moves like a silly point for a batsmen who played with bat infront of pad, or short cover/midwicket on slow surfaces)...only to find that they had been moved by the time the next delivery had been bowled! The coach or owner would move the fielder at will and criticze me for over attacking. We now have our own team in the EDCL cricket league called Falcons B. We will be playing as a brand new team in a brand new division. I'm the vice captain of the team, and one of my good friends is the captain. Here's the question (sorry for the long post) What is the mumbai culture like? What is khadhoosness and how can it be exemplified? I would like to believe I am a tough cricketer. I play hard and in fact I was hit on my debut as a 16 year old by a fast bowler who had played for Canada. It spurred me on and I top scored in the innings. Can this be a way of being khadhoos? I want my team to be tough and to be like Mumbai...win championship after championship. Obviously a khadoos culture has a lot to do with it. So let's hear it guys...maybe post your story and tell me how you've been khadoos, and how I bring that into my game as well.

[sm332]

you looking for any players ?

[Rajiv]

btw, its Khadoos

[Mr. Wicket]

The Mumbai cricket culture's the greatest in the world. Basically, ask no quarter, give no quarter. Fight to win, or fight to the death, circumstance, situation and opposition be damned. Bombay cricket's filled with tons of kids who punch way above their age level - 8 year olds in U13 or U15 competitions - like Wasim Jaffer's nephew a few months ago, who made his debut in the Giles [u15] Shield and scored a century from a tough position. People there basically give the game their all - show up at Shivaji Park at the crack of dawn some times to practice, show up at Cross Maidan in brutal rain with wet, nasty wickets to take on the best in the Kanga League and put ridiculous time and effort into even small school competitions and such. Look at the circumstances people like Kambli, Jaffer and Powar came from - it's amazing that despite their circumstances, they still played cricket with that sort of fervour to become good enough and win enough to bring home paycheques from games. The players there aren't the most talented at times, but they'll give it their all and teams are often the sum of their parts. That's why you get people like Ramesh Powar or Nilesh Kulkarni - moderately talented, but tough as hell and the sort of people you want in a fight or when the going gets tough, because they don't KNOW how to hang their heads and give up. That's the basic khadoos character. When on top, they stay on top. When not on top, they keep clawing back and do their damnedest to get back on top. As for that sort of khadoosness - take moments like Sameer Dighe psyching out Steve Waugh back in 2001 on his debut test in the ultimate pressure situation (tense run chase in Chennai with the series on the line), or Tendulkar going to ridiculous lengths in 98 to learn how to combat Warne - and then destroying him alongside Amit Pagnis the moment he started to bowl in India. Or any of Powar's gritty knocks for Bombay, most of which came in positions where we were down a few wickets too many with too few runs on the board, before he just battled it out and turned things with sheer guts and a refusal to give in. Or for that matter, two kids early into their teenage years who found batting easy - and just kept going and going to make the most of it and grind the other team into the dust, while making history for Shardashram Vidyamandir...

[Shehezaada]

you looking for any players ?

sure Sameer..where do you live...we practice at Qasra Sports Nets, 7 AM Saturday mornings

[Shehezaada]

The Mumbai cricket culture's the greatest in the world. Basically, ask no quarter, give no quarter. Fight to win, or fight to the death, circumstance, situation and opposition be damned. Bombay cricket's filled with tons of kids who punch way above their age level - 8 year olds in U13 or U15 competitions - like Wasim Jaffer's nephew a few months ago, who made his debut in the Giles [u15] Shield and scored a century from a tough position. People there basically give the game their all - show up at Shivaji Park at the crack of dawn some times to practice, show up at Cross Maidan in brutal rain with wet, nasty wickets to take on the best in the Kanga League and put ridiculous time and effort into even small school competitions and such. Look at the circumstances people like Kambli, Jaffer and Powar came from - it's amazing that despite their circumstances, they still played cricket with that sort of fervour to become good enough and win enough to bring home paycheques from games. The players there aren't the most talented at times, but they'll give it their all and teams are often the sum of their parts. That's why you get people like Ramesh Powar or Nilesh Kulkarni - moderately talented, but tough as hell and the sort of people you want in a fight or when the going gets tough, because they don't KNOW how to hang their heads and give up. That's the basic khadoos character. When on top, they stay on top. When not on top, they keep clawing back and do their damnedest to get back on top. As for that sort of khadoosness - take moments like Sameer Dighe psyching out Steve Waugh back in 2001 on his debut test in the ultimate pressure situation (tense run chase in Chennai with the series on the line), or Tendulkar going to ridiculous lengths in 98 to learn how to combat Warne - and then destroying him alongside Amit Pagnis the moment he started to bowl in India. Or any of Powar's gritty knocks for Bombay, most of which came in positions where we were down a few wickets too many with too few runs on the board, before he just battled it out and turned things with sheer guts and a refusal to give in. Or for that matter, two kids early into their teenage years who found batting easy - and just kept going and going to make the most of it and grind the other team into the dust, while making history for Shardashram Vidyamandir...

great reply and many thanks. I would love to believe I am that type of cricketer in attitude and discipline...but there's still so much to learn and so much to improve. For example in the nets on saturday I'm gonna focus on getting my footwork correct...the strokes will be a lot more fluent. I'm gonna keep bugging you for these little tips Salil...it would be great if you could help me and my team improve. We want to take the championship this year so we can move into 4th division. Getting back to the kadoos and never giving up...what's the best way to put this kind of spirit into our team. Leading by example, talking about it actively with other players? either or both?

[Shehezaada]

also can you talk a little more about psyching out Steve Waugh in the run chase in 2001? I've never been a big man in terms of sledging...I prefer to do the talking with the bat. But do you think it's an art that every cricketer should have?

[Mr. Wicket]

It's not something that comes from one cricketer, or even a team. It's a mentality around an entire cricket culture in the city - you see it in the Kanga league, schools' Harris and Giles shield and the Ranji squad. What sums up that is the general culture that the players were even brought up in. As I said, take no quarter, ask no quarter. When the likes of Tendulkar and Muzumdar were honing their batting under Ramakant Achrekar, they were never pampered and treated as future India players (even though that potential was evident). If they'd been in Bengal, Karnatake or any other part of India that would have been the case - instead they had their coaches and seniors telling them things to the effect of 'look, you're good but see THESE guys like Gavaskar and Vengsarkar? Try and get near where they are first.', while constantly pushing them harder and harder rather than pampering them and trying to prepare them for greatness. As far as getting that sort of character into the team - simply play like that. Tough it out, refuse to go down without a serious fight if you must, and pick players who have that same mentality. It doesn't happen overnight, but good luck. As far as footwork/strokes/etc, don't take tips straight off a forum. Play, ask people who can watch (and who have some good knowledge of the game) for their inputs, and try and pick things up from the guys who really succeed in the game. Re. Dighe - great story. This wasn't sledging - which is worthless if done improperly. Just a quick cautionary sentence that had more effect than a string of effs and barstards. Zaheer had just come in to bat during the chase, Colin Miller had been bowling at one end and had just dismissed Bahutule and the question was when Waugh would bring back his front line quicks (who had done most of the donkey work that day and were exhausted, but WOULD bowl again to try and finish it especially as the teams had just come back from the tea break). Now - or give Miller another over? As Waugh was in the infield and moving the field around with Zaheer about to face one ball from Miller, Dighe spoke to Zaheer in mid pitch and just loudly enough for Waugh to hear. Didn't try and bring attention to himself, just said to Zaheer - IN ENGLISH - that Miller was causing quite a few problems, so handle him with care. Waugh kept Miller on another over, and then Dighe took ten runs off his next over, which changed the equation hugely.

[Shehezaada]

It's not something that comes from one cricketer, or even a team. It's a mentality around an entire cricket culture in the city - you see it in the Kanga league, schools' Harris and Giles shield and the Ranji squad. What sums up that is the general culture that the players were even brought up in. As I said, take no quarter, ask no quarter. When the likes of Tendulkar and Muzumdar were honing their batting under Ramakant Achrekar, they were never pampered and treated as future India players (even though that potential was evident). If they'd been in Bengal, Karnatake or any other part of India that would have been the case - instead they had their coaches and seniors telling them things to the effect of 'look, you're good but see THESE guys like Gavaskar and Vengsarkar? Try and get near where they are first.', while constantly pushing them harder and harder rather than pampering them and trying to prepare them for greatness. As far as getting that sort of character into the team - simply play like that. Tough it out, refuse to go down without a serious fight if you must, and pick players who have that same mentality. It doesn't happen overnight, but good luck. As far as footwork/strokes/etc, don't take tips straight off a forum. Play, ask people who can watch (and who have some good knowledge of the game) for their inputs, and try and pick things up from the guys who really succeed in the game. Re. Dighe - great story. This wasn't sledging - which is worthless if done improperly. Just a quick cautionary sentence that had more effect than a string of effs and barstards. Zaheer had just come in to bat during the chase, Colin Miller had been bowling at one end and had just dismissed Bahutule and the question was when Waugh would bring back his front line quicks (who had done most of the donkey work that day and were exhausted, but WOULD bowl again to try and finish it especially as the teams had just come back from the tea break). Now - or give Miller another over? As Waugh was in the infield and moving the field around with Zaheer about to face one ball from Miller, Dighe spoke to Zaheer in mid pitch and just loudly enough for Waugh to hear. Didn't try and bring attention to himself, just said to Zaheer - IN ENGLISH - that Miller was causing quite a few problems, so handle him with care. Waugh kept Miller on another over, and then Dighe took ten runs off his next over, which changed the equation hugely.

amazing story! I wonder how Steve Waugh...mastermind of so many victories, actually fell for Dighe telling his partner that stuff in English!

[Guest HariSampath]

great reply and many thanks. I would love to believe I am that type of cricketer in attitude and discipline...but there's still so much to learn and so much to improve. For example in the nets on saturday I'm gonna focus on getting my footwork correct...the strokes will be a lot more fluent. I'm gonna keep bugging you for these little tips Salil...it would be great if you could help me and my team improve. We want to take the championship this year so we can move into 4th division. Getting back to the kadoos and never giving up...what's the best way to put this kind of spirit into our team. Leading by example, talking about it actively with other players? either or both?

As a former university captain and having played age group cricket earlier, I tell you this about Khadoos. I had wondered about this when I was 17 and captaining a school team. The school spirit was strong, players in U-15, U-19 camps etc in both sides when a game is played, opponent is a big name neighboring school, this game will be spoken about all next week in school buses, hallways, canteens etc, a win is a school/area prestige. Your side is in a easy winning position and at midway inngs you cow slog, get out and your team collapses 20 runs later, you lose the game. You as captain will be cussing yourself, friends will swear at you for days and you wont even protest, you will cuss teammates , and they will cuss you and themseves. Through this all, you will be marking the next day in season when you meet that school again in the return game. If the intensity of your cussing and pride hurt leads proportionally to your performance and you win,The more Khadoos you are , You love winning, and it shows when you lose.

[Tapioca]

amazing story! I wonder how Steve Waugh...mastermind of so many victories' date=' actually fell for Dighe telling his partner that stuff in English![/quote'] :giggle: Waugh wouldn't have told that part of the story in his loong autobiography, would he ?

[Holysmoke]

"There are two words in Mumbai's street Hindi that accurately describe its character. One is khadoos, meaning one who stands stoically unbowed, facing slings, arrows or bullets (like the Indian captain Rahul Dravid). The other is bindaas, meaning cocky, or courageously doing what's needed, whatever the consequences (like Sachin Tendulkar in full flow)."

[Holysmoke]

:giggle: Waugh wouldn't have told that part of the story in his loong autobiography' date=' would he ?[/quote'] It was in "Indian Summers"

[Holysmoke]

Mumbai boasts of the best ensemble of cricketers to ever come from a specific region of the nation. It’s rich sporting culture is rooted deep in the maidans that dot the Mumbai landscape. Suneer Chowdhary explores the cricketing ethos of the Mumbai maidans He says with folded hands, “Sir, Namaste!” Those two words could have symbolized one of the two possibilities, the kid is about to put down his ‘coffin’, or pack one up. No ‘Good Morning!’ or ‘Hello Sir!’. That’s how almost everyone who’s been coached on the maidans of Mumbai would have greeted their coaches. A mark of respect to the man who’s imbibed the game of cricket in them. It was never just a game though. It was something else, something indefinable by words. This guru-shishya relationship has been a small but intricate part of the heritage that defines the Mumbai Maidan Cricket culture. Drive down Cadell Road, next to Shivaji Park, in any non monsoon month of the year, at seven in the morning, and along with the smell of the intermingling of grass with dew, you would invariably see a horde of white. Boys of all age, right from the time when one starts walking, to twenty something guys, under the tutelage of one or the other, would be a sight that would greet your eyes. Skipping, exercising or just spot-jogging to warm their bodies up for the next three hours! This would invariably be followed by the formation of an umbrella by the fielders, waiting to catch anything hit at them by the coach. Eyes not kept on the ball, and one could end up getting caught napping and the result would be a nasty hit on the hand, followed by a couple of rounds in the park (punishment for not concentrating hard enough). The scene would be no different at the Oval Maidan or the Azad Maidan. Or any other such ground, which offers a little bit of real estate, and a decent little pitch. If you are a true connoisseur of the game, and you wanted to know how a Tendulkar or a Gavaskar happened to cricket, these grounds would not be a bad place to start. An aerial view of any of these would be akin to watching the famous video game, Pacman, the only difference being that those 4 monsters would be replaced by hundreds of neatly dressed budding cricketers. And getting back to the respect that the Mumbai cricketers hold for their coaches (whether official or those who have offered them helpful tips from the wayside), there was this incident about Sachin Tendulkar, sitting next to Madhav Mantri’s feet after scoring his maiden hundred in England and asking, “How did I play? Could I have done anything different?” The coaching ‘clinics’ at Shivaji Park and for that matter, any other such ‘maidans’ in Mumbai, are seeped in tradition. The coach is the final authority and it is him (and in certain instances, her, a lesser known fact is that Ramakant Achrekar’s daughter also coached kids), who decides the batting order and the bowling order for the nets. Usually, the balls provided are old, some even in unplayable condition, and that by itself is a huge learning experience. Try and get a wicket off such a ‘ball’ and you would invariably do it off any other. And playing one’s shots and trying to hit these balls is another curve for the batsmen. One common story that Vinod Kambli happily narrates today, and gives a huge insight into the role of the coaches, is about the record breaking 664 run stand that he was involved in with Tendulkar, for his school Shardashram against a hapless St. Xavier. The coach, Mr. Ramakant Achrekar had instructed the two of them to declare the innings at a particular score, when it became evident that both of them would be approaching their personal milestones (a double century for Kambli and a triple for Tendulkar), both continued their innings, disregarding the coach. An assistant coach was specially sent, to ask them to declare, and the poor man kept waving to them frantically from outside the ground, but the duo decided to ignore his appeals, and did not even look at him! Finally, at one of the breaks, an angry Mr. Achrekar, put his foot down and ordered the two of them to declare the innings. Incidentally the match had five kids, who would end up representing the Mumbai Team in Ranji Trophy. The legacy of Tendulkar and Achrekar was so profound, that soon after; one saw a barrage of 4-5 year olds, being led by their parents to cricket grounds, exhorting the coaches to make their sons, the next big thing. Each time a big Harris Shield century was scored, one thought that we had just seen another Tendulkar and by the time, the same guy made another one, he was already a contender for the Ranji Trophy, and more often than not, the same player then fizzled out under the pressure of replacing Tendulkar. The same applies to any of those matches that get arranged amongst the players themselves. These matches are usually played between the morning and the evening batch aspirants. However, this is one occasion where the new, shiny, red cherry is assigned to the quickest bowler in the nets. It is quite an occasion this, to be able to feel that smooth new ball in the palm of one’s hand. Normally these are 30 or 35 over matches, with at least three drinks breaks, and sometimes, the May heat demands even more! And when we talk about the ‘Drinks’, it is a huge ‘Jug’ of water that the 12th man carries onto the field for both, the team batting and bowling! In comparison with many of the other cities or states, Mumbai coaching has still managed to retain that sense of cultivating orthodoxy in the techniques, batting or bowling. If you look any of the international cricketers from Mumbai, today, you would immediately realize what one means. There is a sense of technique in their characteristic, the stance, the back lift and the straight drive, the run up, the release of the ball from the bowlers’ hand to even the style of catching and throwing the ball. A tinge of grace and technique, even in this day and age! Right from Gavaskar to Vengsarkar and Manjrekar, to the modern cricketers that these maidans have produced like Tendulkar, Amre and Pawar, there is something in their game that begs to be called Mumbaite. Whether it is the straight batted drive, tossing up of the ball or the Khadoos attitude associated with them, it is something that gets drilled into you in these maidans. And till ODI revolutionized the game in the country, and the world, a ball hit in the air in the nets would culminate into a punishment consisting of running “two rounds” of the ground. There are tournaments at virtually every level, and this was the case even before many of the other states had envisaged the need to do so. The Harris and the Giles shield, set up for aspiring school cricketers, are both more than hundred years old, and have thrown up many International Cricketers. Many cricketers who have excelled in the Harris and Giles have gone on to wear that coveted Indian cap with great distinction. Tendulkar and Kambli were just two among many others, who represented Shardashram, and then we had Sunil Gavaskar and Sairaj Bahutule who played for St. Xavier’s, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sanjay Manjrekar who represented the erstwhile King George (IES VN Sule now) where as Wasim Jaffer turned out for Anjuman Islam, and was quite a prolific scorer there. To score a hundred or to pick a five wicket haul and get one’s name in a small corner of any local newspaper gave these cricketers (and many more), the motivation to fight harder and strive more to improve. Thus, these school tournaments made telling contributions in any cricketers’ life. And it was not easy for most of them. Managing travel to the coaching clinic, then back home, and then to school, or the other way around was something that almost each of them had to go through. Kambli traveled all the way from Kanjur Marg to Shivaji Park, in that peak hour traffic. And Mumbaikars would be able to relate to the predicament related to traveling in those local trains during the peak rush, something that most had to endure. (The only thing that probably comes close is the use of Blueline Buses in Delhi!) The definition of toil and sweat did not remain just a proverbial term, but lived upto its meaning. Yours truly experienced this for a period of six months; the coach was the school coach (which I incidentally shared with Sanjay Manjrekar and Dilip Vengsarkar) at the Matunga Gymkhana, and then gave up. Cricket was for me, but had no stomach for the rest of the fight and India lost a potential match winning swing bowler! Not many locations in the world can boast of playing cricket in the rains, and by cricket one’s talking about the authentic, one day match, between two teams, with the Kookaburra (or a Duke!) for the bowlers and the protective gear for the batsmen to counter the treacherous conditions. Mumbai’s Kanga League gives Mumbai that pride of place. And this is of course discounting cricket in England, where it rains through the year. And so, unless the rains mess the pitch up beyond recognition, every Sunday would see hundreds of players in white, playing cricket in all seriousness. This Sunday cricket has its own thrills and charm, with some pitches even enabling innings win in a single day of play. And then, the oft-quoted line about Kanga league, the charm lies in not the quality of cricket per se, but in its unique method. So a fielder standing at fine leg for one match may well be at mid-off for another; all with multiple matches being held simultaneously! Adversity brings out the best in us, and rest assured that the problem of paucity of space in the city has managed to bring out the best in the budding cricketers, toughened them both mentally and physically. Almost same is the case with, a host of other tournaments that Mumbai’s cricket playing clubs also compete in- the Police Shield, Talim Shield, Comrade Shield and the Purshottam Shield Cricket Tournament. These cricket clubs generally have players registered for them, and there is a healthy sense of rivalry, that brings out the best amongst them. It is also these tournaments, in which, once a player begins to perform regularly well, that his name floats around, and the Mumbai selectors begin to take notice. It is also said that, some of the selectors double up as umpires, to just observe the player in question, play. These maidans in Mumbai, have, over a period of time, helped build a strong foundation for many of the players, who have gone on to represent the city or even the country. And apart from the maidans, it is the complex relationship shared by all those who have directly or indirectly come in close proximity with them that has seen Mumbai Cricket reach the levels it has today. To end this narrative, one needs to quote a famous story that always did rounds of Mumbai cricketing circles. Once, ‘Superman’ descends upon to a meeting amongst the Indian Selectors, and says, “I will hit every ball I face for a six. Also, if I am allowed to bowl, I would take wicket off every ball I deliver. Ditto with fielding.” One of the selectors looks up, and asks, “So, you play cricket for the Mumbai Team eh?” The cradle of Indian Cricket they call it. Not for nothing.

[Shehezaada]

As a former university captain and having played age group cricket earlier, I tell you this about Khadoos. I had wondered about this when I was 17 and captaining a school team. The school spirit was strong, players in U-15, U-19 camps etc in both sides when a game is played, opponent is a big name neighboring school, this game will be spoken about all next week in school buses, hallways, canteens etc, a win is a school/area prestige. Your side is in a easy winning position and at midway inngs you cow slog, get out and your team collapses 20 runs later, you lose the game. You as captain will be cussing yourself, friends will swear at you for days and you wont even protest, you will cuss teammates , and they will cuss you and themseves. Through this all, you will be marking the next day in season when you meet that school again in the return game. If the intensity of your cussing and pride hurt leads proportionally to your performance and you win,The more Khadoos you are , You love winning, and it shows when you lose.

great story....what happened the next time you guys met up??

[Guest HariSampath]

^ won by 32 runs

[ludhianvi]

shehezaada, are you part of a club in the gta?

[Shehezaada]

shehezaada' date=' are you part of a club in the gta?[/quote'] yes...are you part of Sher E punjab EDCL?

[sm332]

sure Sameer..where do you live...we practice at Qasra Sports Nets' date=' 7 AM Saturday mornings[/quote'] I am near Yonge and Sheppard.

[Shehezaada]

I am near Yonge and Sheppard.

do you have a team to play for this summer?