Cricket in Genes

Bhushan,now settled in Belgium and coach of their Under-15 cricket team,instead decided to take a stroll towards the pavilion end where the two teams were doing their warm-ups. After all,unknown to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kumara Sangakkara,here was a coach making mental notes to take home,back to a team of school boys — including members from the Indian and Pakistani communities.

Bhushan is no stranger to Wankhede. He is the son of Madhav Gothoskar,82,one of India’s best-known umpires in the 70s. He stood in 15 Tests and also officiated in India’s first home ODI,a historic game against England.

Bhushan had booked the last air ticket available the minute India defeated Pakistan in the semifinal. Having informed “his team kids” and drafted a quick letter to his chairman and board,he left for Mumbai for a match “worth every penny”.

What did he pick up? “Their warm-ups had a technique and the choice of exercises showed the level of mental fitness and long-term fitness theory,” he said,recalling his early days in Mumbai when warm-ups meant “three laps around the cricket ground and some push-ups”.

When the Indians played handball and the Sri Lankans practised ‘coordinated hurdle jumps’,Bhushan was excited: “These are two exercises we adopted in our team last year… These may be simple exercises for those watching,but are actually mental and physical exercises. It’s all about outsmarting the opponent,something Dhoni did on field later… I will now go back and tell my kids this.”

Meanwhile,the senior Gothoskar was watching the match at his Shivaji Park home,recounting cricket trivia to wife Leela and later regaling friends with more.

Towards the end,he could not believe what he saw on his television screen: a slow procession of men with Yusuf Pathan carrying Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders as firecrackers going off across the city and outside his home.

Gothoskar spoke of an era when ‘special seats’ at Wankhede meant “bare benches with pillows kept on them for comfort” and a “cricket space where six VVIPS would not mind sharing a bench meant for four”. And as a nation watched every run taken by the Indian side,Gothoskar had his eyes on the umpires. “During our time,an umpire was the final authority. We were never tense… Today with the review system,things have changed. You have so many levels of review now,and the umpire on field has to face the pressure.”

Of all his anecdotes,there is one he recounts repeatedly: of a festival match at Tarapur that he umpired with Sachin at the striker’s end. “The ball went like a rocket to the stands. It was a short arm pull by Sachin. Those were his early days. And Mohammed Azharuddin who was at the non-striker’s end yelled,‘Arey chotte,yeh bada haath kahaan se lagaya?’ Now,things have come a full circle.”