Date: December 22, 2009
Calcutta: Sachin Tendulkar rules the world of cricket, but Sourav Ganguly is still king in these parts. Indeed, a bat autographed by Sourav fetched the highest bid (Rs 1,50,000) amongst all the individual items up for auction at Vaani’s fund-raiser late on Tuesday. A pair of gloves worn by Sachin, during the recent series against Australia and in the on-going face-offs versus Sri Lanka, made the Deaf Children’s Foundation richer by Rs 1,10,000. The No.1 spot went to a bat to be signed by the Indian and Sri Lankan teams, which was picked up for Rs 2,00,000.
It should have gone for much more, though. Sachin, Sourav and stand-in Team India captain Virender Sehwag (a T-shirt of his raised Rs 1,20,000) held the maximum attention during the event at Taj Bengal. A number of Indian and Sri Lankan players turned up, with the in-form Tillekaratne Dilshan doing his bit by parting with the T-shirt he’d been wearing, thanks to a nudge from Arun Lal. It got Vaani Rs 1,00,000.
Lal was, of course, ready with a replacement and, so, Dilshan didn’t really turn red in the face on the stage. The cause proved a big winner, with Vaani collecting Rs 8,60,000 from the auction alone. It included Rs 50,000 for the Babolat racquet used by Leander Paes during his doubles win (with Lukas Dlouhy) at this year’s US Open.
Incidentally, Harbhajan Singh was one of the bidders, but he went no further than Rs 80,000 for Sourav’s bat. The initial interest was, perhaps, one way of showing respect to the captain who revived his career, in early 2001. Harbhajan’s own T-shirt went for Rs 60,000, which was Rs 10,000 less than what Gautam Gambhir’s gloves fetched. With the teams’ baggage delayed, most of the items were auctioned in absentia, so to say. Not that anybody minded.
The Big Three spoke a bit about fatherhood and, well, a bit about cricket. Sachin, for example, revealed that being a father had taught him to be patient, something which comes in handy in Test cricket. He added: “I have, in the past 20 years (of international cricket), learnt to give direction to my life… I’ve learnt a lot both as a cricketer and as a person.”
Earlier, Sachin told The Telegraph: “This is a special place and I’ve always enjoyed playing at the Eden… We haven’t played here for two years (not since the Test against Pakistan) and it’s wonderful to be back in Calcutta…” Referring to wife Dona and daughter Sana, Sourav quipped: “When you have two women in the house, you just shut up!” A tad more seriously, India’s most successful Test captain asked Sehwag to show the lesser mortals how to “defend.” Why? “Because it seems we come from a different planet,” is how Sourav put it.
A huge compliment from somebody who, during a phase in his career, gave stroke-making on the off a new meaning. Sehwag, who grew up idolising Sachin, saluted his icon. “Comparisons are made, but I’m not even a quarter of Sachin… I’m trying to come close to him …”
Two days away from the next ODI, versus Sri Lanka, he said: “The Eden Gardens is a great venue to play at… We’ve done well in the past… Hopefully, we’ll do well this time as well.”
Sehwag knows that’s one sentiment shared by a good many
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