Past imperfect, so present tense

During his playing days it was tough to convince a player to become the temperamental Sherry8217;s roommate. He was jovial most of the times but the mood swings too were frequent. Being the son of an advocate general, who grew up in a palatial home crowded with domestic help, ensured a privileged upbringing but it also meant that house-keeping wasn8217;t his area of interest. On field his riotous beard, loosely fitted trousers and the obnoxiously protruding thigh pad crudely tied to his waist didn8217;t quite make him the best-dressed cricketer around. But in the evening one would find him fussing over the turban-tie mismatch.

Cricketing experts too recall with nostalgia Sidhu8217;s dour defence and also the sudden 8216;bolt from the blue8217; attacking streak. They talk about his 11 hour 201 against Ambrose and Walsh at Port of Spain in 1997 in the same breadth as they do about those 47 fours and 7 sixes he hit while demystifying Shane Warne during the Australia series next year. He has a history of snapping, too. He gives the reason for the walk out from the England tour in 1996 as an embarrassment for being dropped at the last minute while coach Sandeep Patil calls it miscommunication. All this means that the reasons for the road rage at Patiala are self-explanatory.

During his playing days Sidhu8217;s status meant that his cricket never suffered because of the road mishap. During the 1999 World Cup when the Indians were to make an unexpected visit to Sri Lanka he travelled without proper documents 8212; possibly the only case ever 8212; as the court order prohibited him from doing so. Though his popularity hasn8217;t decreased but it remains to be seen if such leniency would be forthcoming now.

It is ironic that the 8216;red mist8217; moment of his youth has come to haunt Sidhu when he has sobered down. It was at the fag end of his cricketing career that the metamorphosis happened. During he last tour in 1999 he started meditating and when someone gifted him the entire volume of Swami Vivekanand8217;s works the change was complete. Post-retirement he had it all perfectly planned. Married to doctor with the same name as his, the happy family portrait was complete with a son and daughter. An early riser he remains a teetotaler but his well-stocked bar greets all guests. As a commentator he was an instant hit but soon the Sidhuisms became unfashionable among the high-brow. But despite that it was tough to switch to channels for anybody when Sidhu made a point by turning the phrases upside down. He got ejected from the commentary box after an off-the-cuff remark but he was back this year on another network. Once again that old Bollywood formula of having a parallel comedy story within the original plot had worked. TRPs still skyrocket when Sidhu pops his eyes, moves his hands and raises his voice to out-shout someone during a cricket discussion. While his political entry and the television show have received wide publicity, the equally profitable venture as self-help gurus for corporate executives hasn8217;t.

In the days to come Sidhu8217;s 8220;bouncibility8221; will be tested once again. If he does, that old Sidhuism about parked bicycles 8212; if one falls, the entire row collapses 8212; will have to be turned upside down.