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This is an archive article published on September 25, 2007
Abdullah is back 145;home146;
At the lobby of Taj Residency in Ahmedabad, South Africa8217;s A team player Yusuf Abdullah is frantically trying to arrange a local sim card for his phone.
Written by Swarupkarpurkayastha
Ahmedabad | September 25, 2007 12:00 AM IST
2 min read
2 min read
At the lobby of Taj Residency in Ahmedabad, South Africa8217;s A team player Yusuf Abdullah is frantically trying to arrange a local sim card for his phone. He wants to tell his folks back home in Dondee, three hours from Durban, that he woke up this morning in the land of his mother.
8220;It is a sort of homecoming for me. My mother8217;s side is from a place near Surat. My father is also from India. Though I don8217;t know any of my relatives here, I am very excited about this maiden trip to the sub-continent. I always thought that India was a place to go. India to me was a land of loving, humble and caring people. It8217;s much like Durban where there is a huge Indian community,8221; says an ecstatic Abdullah.
That8217;s not his only connection with the state. He looked up to Mahatma Gandhi since his schooldays. 8220;I have been reading about him since my childhood. I really admire the way he fought for India, handled critical situations and got things right for Indians. And at the same time, he was polite and humble. I would love to visit the Gandhi Ashram here,8221; says Abdullah.
The left-arm seamer8217;s wish could well be fulfilled as the manager of the team Khan Mustapha is planning to squeeze in a trip to the ashram into their tight schedule.
The southpaw was never into serious cricket till he was 17. 8220;In my place, people are more into farming. So as a kid I never thought I could make a career in cricket. A coach spotted me while I was playing a local game there. He told me that I have a potential to play the game. Things changed after that,8221; informs Abdullah.
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