I can’t thank cricket enough for all that it has given me. Whatever I have is because of cricket. Life has come full circle from the time I took Harbhajan Singh’s autograph as a kid. Now, we have fans showering their affection.
I had fans in school and then slowly had a following in the city. I got to meet more fans when I went out. When we travel, the interactions with local Indians are quite memorable. When I had recently gone to New Zealand with the India ‘A’ team, we met a person who was a big fan of the Kings XI Punjab. He looked after us really well.
He owned a restaurant so he took us there often. He was a huge fan. All that he wanted was a KXIP or India ‘A’ T-shirt, so a few of us signed a T-shirt and gifted it to him. Similar things have happened in Australia as well.
When we travel abroad, fans try to ensure that we feel like we belong and not feel left out or home sick when we visit another country. Sometimes on tours some might have problems with food so the locals help. They are always keen to help and guide us. They look forward to cricketers visiting from India. They know the exact dates, places and timings. It is fun.
When you meet someone from the same community away it always feels good. I am a Punjabi so when I meet another Punjabi there is a bit of an emotional connect when they come talk to you in Punjabi. The first time you meet it’s just a casual greeting. Once when that person comes to watch a match, you meet as you feel he is a genuine fan.
The person I met in New Zealand was from Jalandhar and since I also belong to Jalandar, the emotional attachment happens. When we go to a place we know little about, it helps to know someone from your own land who can guide you around.
When we were in Australia as part of an Under-19 India team a few years back, we went to a restaurant and the first time they didn’t pay too much attention. When we went there again, they had found out that we were part of the India Under-19 team and they took extra care of us and even offered discounts. It was I guess a South Indian restaurant in Perth. They took pictures and we gave them a T-shirt with our autographs.
That’s what you cherish – the affection the hospitality. I feel proud of that. Being able to travel to other countries, the fame and everything else is because of cricket.
