India’s cricket stars may have turned down fancy English county contracts this season but for hundreds of second-stringers, this is the time to pile up the Pounds. Since the pay packet for Grade II cricketers in England isn’t exactly princely, they also moonlight on week days — from waiting at tables, minding petrol pumps, tending to pitches, playing chauffeur to any other odd job that gets them that extra buck. While some admit money is the main motivation, for many it’s a profitable option to get over boredom and homesickness. For instance, Delhi off-spinner Harender Chaudhary — a traffic assistant with Indian Airlines at home — is a groundsman while in England. The reason: ‘‘Extra cash’’. Playing for the Bloxwich Premier Division for over five years now, Chaudhary maintains the ground for his club. ‘‘It’s easier to be a groundsman here since everything, from rollers to the mopper, is mechanised.’’ Or, take the case of Asjit Jayaprakash, an all-rounder who has played Ranji cricket for Delhi and Bihar. He worked as a car driver for a couple months until he found it too taxing. ‘‘I quit the job because I had to get up at four in the morning. My game was suffering,’’ says Asjit who plays for Somerset’s Deson Club. While lesser players opt for the second-job, big players don’t need to. Mumbai batsman Amol Muzumdar, who has been a county regular since 1995, has gone through both the phases. At the start of his English sojourn, Muzumdar worked at the Royal Mail (Britain’s postal service). Sitting behind the counter, Muzumdar used to help out with pensions at a centre run by his friend. Playing in the Durham League for Bishop Auckland, the Mumbaikar has now shifted to coaching. Another Durham League regular Pathik Patel, who plays Ranji cricket for Gujarat and led the state side some years ago, had a nine-to-three job at a departmental store counter: ‘‘One tends to be a little homesick. Besides, it’s fun doing these odd jobs. Those extra-pounds are a bonus.’’ Former India speedster Atul Wassan endorses Patel’s views and recalls his experience in the late 90s: ‘‘I worked as bouncer in a club, helped in a butcher shop. since domestic cricketers in India are always hard up on cash, this is the best option to be financially secure.’’ Extras always count Cricketers going to England are graded on two counts: professional and amateur. Someone who has played at least five first class matches in the last 16 months is considered a professional and is well paid. But amateurs, who take the first flight to England without having cut their teeth in first class cricket, look for alternate jobs: • A second division overseas player in England is paid £2000 to £3000 for his four-and-half month contract • Work at a gas station can fetch up to £200 per week • Work at a departmental store fetches around £4 per hour Retired Baroda cricketer Mukesh Narula, a Ranji-county regular throughout his career, points to another pressing need for the extra money: ‘‘If you don’t drink with your team mate after the game, you are labelled as unprofessional. And one needs money to be at the club every evening.’’ While these people are game discussing their parallel lives, not many actually own up to it. The reason, across the board, is the work permit they get before travelling and the need to honour it. Ranji level cricketers from Bengal, for example, told us how one of them waited at tables at an Indian restaurant ‘‘six evenings a week’’ and another worked at an Indian handicraft store. ‘‘But this wasn’t legal, as work permits say that we can only earn money from cricket while in England.’’ There’s also the case of a UP Ranji player, who with his elementary knowledge of shlokas and the Vedas, seconds as a Hindu priest in England and presides over weddings. — (S Santhanam, Ajit Bezbaruah, Chandresh Narayanan and Shamya Dasgupta contributed to this report)
