The year is 2002. The Prince is still King of all he surveys and the dramatic fall from grace has not yet begun. With the 2003 World Cup in South Africa just a few months away, I managed to have a chat with the man affectionately known as Saurav Da. Below is the complete transcript.
AJ: Saurav, your thoughts on the match today.
SG: Yeah, it's been a good outing, i thought under the conditions the batsmen and bowlers did a good job, some of the youngsters showed a lot of promise, and we're happy with the way things are shaping up.
AJ: But you lost by 200 runs.
SG: Yeah, i mean you've got to take the positives out of each game, we're a young side, we've been a young side for about 10 years now, and consistently under-performing while still being adored and worshipped by a million fans is no mean feat. I mean, this is the kind of thing that Houdini would be proud of.
AJ: How’s it looking for the future?
SG: Well, like i said, some of the young boys are shaping up really well now, and as long as the seniors keep showing up and collecting their match fees and the endorsements keep coming in, things are looking good for Indian Cricket.
AJ: And the World Cup?
SG: Oh that, yeah...i mean, we look at each World Cup as practice for the next one, and from that perspective we're looking forward to 2007. it will be a good opportunity to blood some more youngsters who will then hit form by 2025. By then most of the seniors would have served their respective terms as Chairman of the BCCI and i will serve in the capacity of 'Technical Consultant to Left-handed Batsmen with Fundamental Weaknesses in Technique'. It shoud be a good challenge.
AJ: What were the reasons for today's poor performance?
SG: Like i said, i don't think it was a poor performance at all; we put up good fight under difficult conditions. The stadium facilities were inadequate, we were not provided practice pitches, the actual pitch was poor, our hotel rooms were inordinately small, and we were up against a team who've got some momentum going for them in the last few months. Given all that, i think the boys came up with a really good performance and i am proud of them.
AJ: But this was Mumbai and you were playing Kenya.
SG: That is irrelevant.
AJ: Earlier this season, you had a run-in with Glenn McGrath; can you tell us what happened?
SG: Well, it's very disappointing that things actually got to that point, Glenn is normally a professional but on that occasion he kept bowling short into the rib cage and would then laugh at me after each delivery. I mean, can you imagine that? it was very disconcerting and it was the main reason why i could not play my shots. It just got to a point where i couldn't take it anymore so i decided to take things into my own hands and stand up for myself, like a man.
AJ: So you complained to the umpire.
SG: Yes i did. I wish i didn't have to, but it's the only way to keep things like this from happening again. It brings the game into disrepute and it's just not cricket.
AJ: So just to get things straight: Taking your shirt off, swirling it around your head, and shouting the 'F' word over and over again like a retard, while standing atop the visitors gallery at Lord's is perfectly acceptable, but being amused as a fading, past-his-prime batsman tries in vain to hook one of the games' great fast bowlers is just not cricket?
SG: Precisely.
AJ: Thanks for talking to us.
SG: Always a pleasure.
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