Meeting West Indies legends in real and tales of greats with Indian origins

By K.R. Nayar
From Providence Stadium, Guyana

Meeting legends in real life after having seen them only in photographs or drawings is a totally different experience. The effect of that delight is doubled if you have also read and known a lot about them. Until the legendary pacer Wes Hall came to Kensington Oval and presented his book "Answering the Call" to Rahul Dravid, I had only seen a drawing of Hall in the Shyam Bhatia cricket museum in Dubai.

 Wes Hall presented his book to Team India coach Rahul David at the Kensington Oval  

In Bhatia's museum, there are drawings of Lance Gibbs, Clyde Walcott, Andy Roberts, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers, and almost all the West Indies legends. There is much to learn from these cricket legends. Most of them came from humble backgrounds, but it was their devotion to the game that made them the greatest cricketers in the world.

A hand-created portrait of Wes Hall at the Shyam Bhatia cricket museum

Sobers was the fifth among six children, and his father died at sea when he was only five years old. His father’s ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1942. U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany during the first and second world wars. Andy Roberts was one among 14 children.

Rohan Kanhai's autographed portrait in Bhatia's  museum 

Some of the greats in West Indies cricket were of Indian origin. Rohan Kanhai's full name was Rohan Bholalall Kanhai. Alvin Kallicharan was of Tamil origin. Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s parents’ names are Kamraj and Uma. Mystery bowler Sunil Narine follows the Hindu religion and even got married in an Indian style ceremony to Nandita Kumar in 2013.

The statue of Sonny Ramadhin in Trinidad 

The first Indian to play for the West Indies was Sonny Ramadhin in 1950. His parents worked in the sugarcane fields but died when he was very young, and he was raised by his uncle and grandmother. Ramadhin’s statue can be seen in Palmiste Park, Trinidad and Tobago.

Courtney Walsh's Jamaica is not a world cup venue 

Although we talk about West Indies cricket, very few know the different island nations make up the West Indies. They are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States Virgin Islands. It is surprising that Jamaica, the land of Chris Gayle, Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh, and Andre Russell, is not hosting any World Cup matches this time. According to reports, the Jamaican government is no longer keen on cricket.

Winston Reid - curator for the final 

Barbados is very particular about having a very good pitch for the final. Their preparations began long before the matches were to be held at this venue. Winston Reid is the lead curator for the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA). Incidentally, Reid is a cricketer who has played over 100 matches at the regional level for Barbados. He joined the staff two years ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2007.

South African left-arm pacer Marco Jansen, who destroyed Afghanistan’s top order in the first semi-final to ensure his team's victory, owes his success to Indian cricket. At the age of 17, he was picked to bowl at the nets against the touring Indian team and impressed Virat Kohli. He then got picked to play in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.