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Despite cricket being a
game of talent and mind, the players often need something 'extra' to
sustain their self-belief. It might not make much sense, but the
cricketers do not mind it. Not just the teams, but the countless
fans watching the games on television also have their own
superstitions. People have their lucky seats, lucky corners. And who
can blame them if their idols and teams deliver. After all, they can
not be denied of an opportunity to contribute to the success of
their favorite team. Many cricketers refuse to shave in the midst of
a good run. It is all in their beard, they believe. And some others
wear the same trouser for several matches together. Their fear being
washing them may end up washing their luck as well.
During a league
encounter against Zimbabwe in 1983 World Cup, India were in the
specter of a humiliating defeat before Kapil Dev began the assault
that brought a ray of hope in the dressing room. And that prompted
the team manager Man Singh to instruct: "Nobody would move from his
seat". Srikkanth was standing outside the dressing room on a cold,
windy day, with a cup of coffee in his hand. And he had to bear it
for the next two hours or so!
One more such incident
happened in Sydney in 1985. During the semifinal against New Zealand
in the World Championship of Cricket, India were in a spot with the
asking-rate getting stiffer. As Dilip Vengsarkar and Kapil Dev
pulled out strokes of extraordinary brilliance to fight it out, rest
of the team did not budge from their seats in the dressing room,
keeping alive the lucky charm. Vengsarkar and Kapil not only won the
semifinal for India, but triumphed in the final also.
It was the final of the NatWest Trophy in Lord's in 2002. India, chasing a big total of 324,
were in deep trouble with collapse of the top order. But the young
duo of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif had a different agenda. They
staged one of the most remarkable recoveries as skipper Sourav
Ganguly instructed his team members not to budge from their seats in
the dressing room. Ganguly who had kept his leg on the fence of the
room, was seen in the same position for hours till India finally
ended the drought of a trophy in foreign soil for long.
Indo-Pak cricket in the
'80s and '90s was full of superstition. Playing a final on Friday
means Pakistan's victory and Saturday suits India. The Indians were
supposed to be gentle souls, firmly vegetarian though there wasn't a
formal veg/non-veg head-count. They generally ended losers if they
had non-veg meals on eve of the matches. Pakistan, on the other
hand, were boisterous, ate everything, had factions in their team
and more captains than one could count. But they always won.
Many cricketers have
their own superstitions. To begin with, K. Srikkanth says he used to
look into the sun as he went in, wore his left pad first, and always
walked to the right of his partner, while opening the innings. It
made him feel comfortable. He had been following them from the
beginning of his career and was successful. It stayed that way till
the end of his career with only one exception. Gavaskar, before he
played his final Test innings against Pakistan, desired a slight
change! India were chasing a stiff target, considering the nature of
the track. Gavaskar asked Srikkanth: "Chika, can I walk to your
right this time?" How could he ever say no to the great batsman.
Gavaskar produced a masterly innings on a square turner. By his own
admission, one of his best knocks, considering the pressure, the
situation, and the pitch.
Neil McKenzie, the
32-year-old South African opener is another example. McKenzie used
to believe he could not score runs unless the sporting gods had been
brought on-side through various rituals including him decreeing
toilet seats be closed before he left the dressing room and taping
his bat to the changing room ceiling before each innings. Before the
bowler runs in, he likes to look to square leg, to fine leg, and
then back at the bowler. But the South African says if he doesn't do
that once, he doesn't think something bad is going to happen. He
says it's just like a trigger movement.
Sri Lanka's veteran
opener Sanath Jayasuriya hits his pads with his bat before every
ball.
Sourav Ganguly has used a number of lucky charms during his long
career.
Sachin Tendulkar always wears the right pad first.
Mohinder Amarnath and Steve Waugh always carried a red handkerchief
in their pockets.
“If a black cat crosses
your path, you will have bad luck”. Who said this, where and why and
when, nobody knows. In India, it is also a byproduct of the above
superstition that you need to take a few backward steps if a cat
crosses your path. When I was a college student, one of my close
friends was traveling in his bicycle when he saw a cat crossing his
path. He took a few back steps by braking suddenly and rolling the
bicycle backward; one car hit him from behind. He got injured.
Probably this was an
exception. We all follow implicitly or explicitly some superstitions
here and there. We all need what we call confidence to success in
this highly competitive World. To boost our confidence, we tend to
do various things in our variable thought process. Today, sports
have taken the shape of a profession. And every sport has been
subjected to competition of a very high order. Cricket is no
exception.
As an ardent cricket
lover, it amuses me about superstitions of cricket players. If you
are a cricket fan, you will definitely enjoy knowing superstition of
your favorite player. I quote below some superstitions about a few
cricket players which I know:
1) The cricket legend
Sachin Tendulkar wears his left pad first.
2) Krishnamachari Srikkanth used to look at the sun, always wear
the left pad first and always walked to the right of his partner
while going to bat.
3) Michael Clarke of Australia listens to loud music before going to
bat.
4) Sunil Gavaskar always use to ground his bat first before bringing
his right foot in to position, while taking guard.
5) Sourav Ganguly use to carry the photo of his Guru in his pocket
while batting.
6) Steve Waugh carries a red handkerchief in his left pocket which
was given to him by his late grandfather.
7) Phil Simmons of West Indies use to have a cross attached to his
sweater.
8) Mahela Jayawardhena kisses his bat while batting.
9) Roshan Mahanama use to muster some mantra and kiss the tip of his
bat’s handle before every ball.
10) Jonty Rhodes of South Africa used to keep himself neat and tidy
while padded up.
11) Craig Evans always use to put his left pad ahead of right.
12) When Grant Flower and Mark Dekker use to go to batting together,
one use to say the other “I hope you get hit on the head” to which
the reply used to be “same to you”.
13) During the 10 wickets haul taken by Anil Kumble at Delhi
against Pakistan, Sachin Tendulkar used to hand over Kumble’s
sweater and cap to the umpire before he was to bowl an over and
kumble use to take an wicket.
14) Mahammad Azharruddin use to wear a tabeez in his neck and use to
circle his head twice before taking starike.
15) Mahender Amarnath used to wear a red handkerchief while
fielding.
16) Sir Geoffrey Boycott used to be alone in his changing room
giving a deep thought on issues before going out to bat.
17) Imran the great Khan wore a tiger T Shirt in the finals of the
World cup finals in 1992 purely part of a superstition.
18) Sanath Jayasuria searches something in his pocket while batting.
19) Rahul Dravid, the wall of Indian cricket, is very careful while
putting his right foot first on the ground.
20) Indian cricketer Reetinder Sodhi is quite explicit and chants
“japji sahibji” before a match.
21) Nikhil Chopra loves the colour yellow or black in his attire in
which he bats.
22) Batting sensation Yuvraj Singh believes that the bandanna which
he wears has changed his batting fortunes.
23) Neil McKenzie of South Africa saw his fortunes changing by
resorting to some strange things. He used to decree his toilet seats
be closed before leaving for the dressing room. Not only that. He
then strikes the bat to the ceiling and then tapes the bat in the
dressing room ceiling before every innings.
24) Hemu Adhikari use to look at the sun first while coming to bat.
He then justified this habit that it helps him to adjust to the
light on the field.
25) The great England cricketer Sir Leonard Hutton always use to
carry a five shilling coin given to him by his grandfather’s friend
with an advice never to part with it.
26) Bill Edrich and Sir Jack Hobbs use to put on the left pad
first.
27) John James Warr of England had different ideas when desperate to
take a wicket. He used to run inside the pavilion and then stroked
his belly of a koala bear presented to his team.
28) Huge Tayfield of South Africa use to kiss the springbok in his
cap when in need of luck to get a wicket.
29) Denis Compton of England used to carry a silver four-leaf clover
with him.
30) Sri Lankan star pace bowler Chaminda Vass while marching back to
the start of his run up before delivering the first ball, is seen
pausing to cross himself like a devout Christian.
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