Banerjee back among friends

He’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...

He’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 — 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. “It’s always nice to be back, and be present at the stadium,” he confesses. “Bus mere time se sirf do-teen hi reh gaye is team mein,” he paused, and then mentioning the names — Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Maharaj (Sourav Ganguly). “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.”

And he then revealed his plan of action. “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,” he assures.

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“Sachin is still such a simple man, and he remembers all his old friends. That’s what makes him so special,” he said.

Pakistan batsmen, meanwhile, were creaming the Indian pacers. “They need to try something different. At this pace, you are making it easy for batsman on such wickets,” 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. “They have re-laid the wickets just before this domestic season and they are now quick, and the bowlers will get great bounce too. That’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 India’s tour back in 2005,” 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. “Dhoni was just a little kid then… 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,” he added.