Banerjee back among friends

He8217;s come here to meet up with his old friends. And of course that little kid who he has seen grow up from his own playing days...

He8217;s come here to meet up with his old friends. And of course that little kid who he has seen grow up from his own playing days 8212; today they were all playing at the Ferozeshah Kotla against Pakistan.

Subroto Banerjee, former India pacer, who is now based in Sydney is here on a holiday with his family. 8220;It8217;s always nice to be back, and be present at the stadium,8221; he confesses. 8220;Bus mere time se sirf do-teen hi reh gaye is team mein,8221; he paused, and then mentioning the names 8212; Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Maharaj Sourav Ganguly. 8220;Ganguly went with us to Australia on that 1992 trip, before he arrived in the real sense four years later. But I knew him because I played a lot with him for East Zone as well.8221;

And he then revealed his plan of action. 8220;I told Sachin that I am coming, and he asked me to come to Delhi and Kolkata so that we could catch up. I am staying with Saba Karim, and very soon Prashant Vaidya former India pacer will also join us. And we will all have some dhamaal,8221; he assures.

8220;Sachin is still such a simple man, and he remembers all his old friends. That8217;s what makes him so special,8221; he said.

Pakistan batsmen, meanwhile, were creaming the Indian pacers. 8220;They need to try something different. At this pace, you are making it easy for batsman on such wickets,8221; Banerjee said.

Banerjee is still playing club cricket and coaches the under-15 group in New South Wales and readily agrees to offer insight on the expected pitches there. 8220;They have re-laid the wickets just before this domestic season and they are now quick, and the bowlers will get great bounce too. That8217;s the reason why suddenly Brett Lee has started getting 18 wickets in a two-match series. I think the Perth wicket is likely to be true to itself, and not like it was during India8217;s tour back in 2005,8221; he warns.

The talk then veered to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Banerjee, a member of the 1992 World Cup squad, played first class cricket for Bihar and lived in Jamshedpur. 8220;Dhoni was just a little kid then8230; No matter how much we told him to bat in a particular manner and curb his strokeplay, he never listened. He had his own ways, and even today he bats in the same way,8221; he added.