I still remember
how I was inducted to the cricket team which we fondly call it as
Rockerzzz. I do remember how the name
Rockerzzz came into being. We were playing one day Red FM came into the ground and asked us to vacate it so that they conduct a cricket tournament there. As we were leaving we were called back and they requested us to nominate our team and participate in that tournament. And that was it, we chose 2 set of 11 players and without much thinking named our team as Rockerzzz 1 & 2. Yes, we do rock as much as we enjoy playing our game of cricket. It was a knockout tournament and we kept on winning that day (probably 3 matches on trot), only to realize it was quite late that day and all of us were pretty tired. However, that's a different story kept for some other day.
Tomorrow I might be playing my last game of cricket with these wonderful people. I thought let me bid them good bye in a different way. I believe they deserve to be appreciated for whatever they have done to me and my life. I owe them, and I would like to give them tribute such that it is recorded and here they are (in alphabetical order):
One of the quick bowlers in our team. A bowler to whom I would always go to open the bowling and give me some wicket. He has a lengthiest run up among all of us. Legend says that Shaimir bhai completed his graduation while he was completing his over.
A committed guy always juggling between his passion, i.e. cricket and love, i.e. family. He looks like a bachelor but isn't a bachelor ;). "gupach le bagha" was once said by him and from that day he is known as Afaque urf Bagha. A brilliant bowler by skill but he has an achievement of a batsman in his CV, scoring a six of the last ball to take his team to victory.
A prolific batsman, bowler with quickest delivery and multiple variations to keep the batsman in check mode, brilliant keeper, superb finisher of game, successful businessman of a conglomerate, father of 2 cute kids, sponsor to our first ever team t-shirt and what not. He is "The Package" one would want to be
30 runs needed in 2 overs, call Afsal bhai may be
I once picked up his slower ball (which is not very easy btw) and hit him for a six, and I was over the moon for the full next week :)
Afzal bhai
The batsman most feared. Sehwag-esque style of play. You bowl I will hit you is his attitude. When he is in his groove, no bowler can bowl to him. One of the very few player in the team with honesty which might touch the sky. He doesn't wait for umpires to give him out, if he feels he has nicked the ball, he wouldn't wait. I respect him a lot. I learnt from him how to be spiritually and religiously passionate even if one tries to enjoy life or pursue a passion
Most consistent batsman of the team. Out of touch Vicky bhai !? Ah! You must be kidding me. When I was out of form for a couple of months, he told me that he would want me to come back to form as soon as I can, he gave me few tips how to handle that situation and it was quite motivating. Frankly speaking that really helped me gather some courage and score some runs. He is that kind of batsman who will destroy any bowling attack. He has all kinds of shots in his armoury. If he gets going his team can relax and enjoy.
Ameen bhai
Ameen bhai is the one for whom I would love to come back to Bangalore again and again. A local Bengaluru boy and a big Arsenal FC fan. Such humility, such simplicity, I once mistook (during my initial days) him to be a college student :P, later did I realise that he was way too many years senior to me. A calm and composed batsman, not taking risks, always being a team man, giving the team much needed impetus. But he does get carried away sometime. He tries to hit the ball out of the park which is beyond his scope. I believe not every batsman is made to hit sixes. I have always advised Ameen bhai to not to try for sixes. I think this fact should act as a guide to him. "Do you know how many sixes have Bradman hit in his remarkable career? Only 6"
Buland bhai
The man with the brain. This guy would never follow instinct. He will always have reasons to back any decision. I envy him. He knows how to and when to use pitch, bowler, batsman. Sometimes it do backfire, but tries his best. Always to look to for sincerity and honesty. His love for the game can be understood when one hears from his room mates that he gets up at the middle of the night to watch a game of cricket
Faisal bhai
Form is temporary but class is permanent. We say this more than often to Faisal bhai. If we can give someone to compare to Rahul and Laxman it would be Faisal bhai. Team's top order batsman, a regular fielder at point position. Once set he can take any bowling team apart. Off late he his out of touch but like I said he is a very classy player. He has improved his fielding a lot in recent days. In batting he could be somewhat similar to batsman of class (as mentioned earlier) but in fielding nowhere near.
Farooq bhai
You take down Farooq bhai, the team is reduced to half. The bowler and the fielder, which raises many eyebrows, with the antics and talents he has up his sleeve. A Shaun Pollock-esque attitude, remarkable captain cum bowler cum fielder. It's rare to see him drop any catch or misfield any ball. He has is own way of batting - hit or miss. A leader, always inspiring his troops with his performance, sending out motivational shouts to his team mates. I have always felt at ease when he is around. I have learnt slower ball from him, tried to emulate him by turning the ball with the pace
I cannot possibly take their name separately. They are like Laurel and Hardy, Thomson and Thomson, Shin and Chan, actually wait Shin Chan is the one same character and Gaj relates to it more than anyone else in the team. These people have brought that element in the team Rockerzzz that was missing for a very long time and that is sledging. The way they do it is entertaining. I will always remember the aaaawww!!! done by Yuvi paaji whenever he takes out Gaj from the crease. Yuvi, we hardly call him Arunesh, but trust me he look and act way similar to the real Yuvraj Singh. His short run up, his pace, his 5 sixes in an over, nahi bhulunga main, jab tak hai jaan! Gajju, the man we always trust who can score some amount runs when all his team mates are back in the pavillion. The never say die attitude shown by Gaj, always smiling, never to get bogged down, always keeping the spirit of the team high makes him the most wanted in any team. Thanks for all the fun guys!
Imtiaz bhai
We fondly call him cheel (the eagle). And why not? The way he fields is astonishing. He is short in stature, but the way he fields and catch will put Ishant Sharma to shame. He has taken wonderful catches, one being a single handed one while jumping over the boundary. As brilliant he is in the field, he is quite good with the ball. Taking wicket is his bread and butter. He might get hit due to his slow pace, but most of the time batsman tend to get decieved and lose his wicket.
Iqbal bhai
The Rohit Sharma of the team, no not because of all the untapped hidden talents, but because of the attoricities he shows to the bowler once he gets going. He might take all the time he need in the world but he wouldn't spare single bowler, be it Farooq bhai or Afsal bhai. He is famous for scoring 18 runs in last over and a last ball six to take his team to victory. Despite all these he is afraid of a simple headly ball. He would bring with himself a batting gloves, keeping gloves, abdomen guard, sunscreen, A-frame white goggles and what not. If not a batsman, he would surely been a scorer. If Iqbal bhai is in the team, one can forget to count the number of runs, balls, overs and many other such things.
Another family man, much appreciated by the team for taking out time to play with us. His child like behavior of asking batting and bowling every now and then keeps the atmosphere light
Maaz
Maaz - what a beautiful name! and what an inspiring person (companion of prophet) after whom he is named.
Probably the youngest in the group but a heart throb! It was a privilege to have him in the group, all thanks to Ameen bhai. With all the number of "friends" he have it's difficult for him to even take a sip of tea, leave alone playing cricket. Hence it was great to have him in the team.
Maaz is a bowler who can be trusted. His deceptive bowling style is always irritating for a batsman and he always uses it to his advantage. Like Gaj and Yuvi, Maaz too help the team to be in light mood
Mehran
The sleeping beauty! Yes you read it right. He is fond of sleeping, he can sleep any and everywhere; in the bus, in the ground (even during an intense edge of the seat situation), on the bike, during Afaque bhai's stand up speech, anywhere and everywhere you will find Mehran either dozing off or warming up for the sweet nap.
Jokes apart, he is a very good bowler. Always a good student, any captains first choice bowler, he would give his heart to perform his best. He has seen his worse days with the ball (Sumit bhai should be having an evil laugh here) but more than that he was part of better days under the sun. He has slower ball in his arsenal, and he mixes it well with his pace.
That responsible guy, who could die for the team. That guy is Misbah bhai. Well, name is not just the similar thing between him and the Pakistan cricket team ex-captain. Calmness and serenity are others. Experience can be found in his eyes. A wonderful player of both bat and ball. The way he carries himself around is inspirational. He enjoys life. "Shauq badi cheez hai" he told me once. He bid farrwell almost a year back and went back to his hometown Kolkata but was an integral part of the team when he was with Rockerzzz and I enjoyed a lot while playing with him. He is going to tie the knot of marriage soon, I wish him all the best for future
Rakib bhai
How can I forget the best catch Rockerzzz history and how can I forget the man behind that catch? A flying man, not worried about his almost 80 kg weight diving to his right on a hard red soil ground. Nearby crows were put to shame that day. They must have felt some kind of complexity after watching Rakib bhai giving a dive like no one would have ever thought of.
His uncanny style of bowling, almost bringing Agarkar into the mind. He was the captain's go to bowler when the team needed a wicket. He retired from cricket when he thought his bachelor time is up. Yes he is the youngest entrant to the married club of Rockerzzz. The reason he quit cricket way before his marriage is still unknown. Rumors are that he left cricket because he could possibly get tan and his loved ones wouldn't recognize him ;)
One of the genuine allrounder of the team. I guess he is the only player in the team to have scored 4 sixes in an over and taken a hattrick of wickets. He was the captain before me, and the way he showed aggression along with inspiring performance was quite commendable. Leaving aside the anger he emits, there's lot to learn from this young man. Motivation level is high, even if he's out of form, he will make sure team doesn't get affected by that. I have learnt a lot of life hacks from him, not quite successful in many. He's a gadget freak, off the field he is surrounded by gadgets, either physical or virtual, he either owns some or is planning to own them some day.
My partner in crime. He captained one team while I captained another. Although there is a huge age difference between us but we had fun, arguments, fights, handshake and went back home as a happy brothers after every other game. To me there is no other batsman in Rockerzzz who can calculate the chase as effectively as Reyaz bhai. There are other batsman who would hit a boundary every other ball and make mockery of the chase, while others would crumble but Reyaz bhai would know whom to target and how much to target in each over. He can make the opposition captain think twice when he is in the crease. Other than being a good captain and good player, he is also a very good in making biryani. I will miss the days and the biryani :(
His favorite quote which still rings in my ear is, "Gussa humko bhi aata hai" I too can get angry was the words spoken by him, eyes almost popping out, shouting at Shaimir bhai when there was some arguments between them. Man that was so funny, I kept smiling from the sidelines
An RF and a ManU fan. By the pattern I can safely guess he could be fan of Alonso (never asked him though). Always a winner and rooting for winners is in his traits. Latest entry to our team, openner by chance, always played a handy role (much to my surprise). Never thought how such an intelligent human being can be so calm and play so well. I would love to see him captain a Rockerzzz team one day
Oh, what do I tell about this man. He is elder to me but looks younger. Perhaps all those creams, dances, wearing fashionable clothes do work :). (Just kidding Shaimir bhai)
He too bid farewell to Rockerzzz team when call of duty came from his hometown Kolkata. But you never know, he might come back again to Bangalore. He has is own fan following, that can be verified from his Facebook page. It was damn impressive when he used to bowl. He used to bowl his heart out. Batsman wanted a helmet when he was bowling. I always wanted him in my team. Always vocal in the ground, chirping and sledging the oppositions. His favorite opposition was Rakib bhai. Whenever Rakib bhai was in fielding side, Shaimir bhai would sledge him so that Rakib bhai miss fields. And more often than not that worked. Magical indeed! "Chhor de Rakib" Leave it Rakib was just he used to say. Whenever he wanted entertainment, he used to add some masala in arguments. He used to say, If he hadn't done that, weekends would have been utterly boring and no body will have a talking point after reaching home. I almost completely agree with him.
Sumit bhai
Sumit bhai has two people living inside him. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't talking about physical looks. He might look healthy by the grace of Almighty but I was talking in terms of a metaphor. If you have seen Lord of Rings then relate him to Gollum and Smeagol. They were the same person a kind of alter ego. And similar in nature is our Sumit bhai. One day he can tear apart any bowling line, on other day he will crumble like an old lady. He is like a soldier fighting 100s of enemies and killing them all while being killed by a boy in his hometown. He would drop as many catches he would want as if he has done a rigorous training on dropping catches while he would take some stunner behind the wickets or at short leg which will make the batsman drop his jaws. Nevertheless, a simple human being, patience is the key to him, when he bats he bats well.
Bengali in nature, hard core KKR supporter and SRK's fan of highest order. He is that guy who adds fun element in everything. Every week till eternity he will have interview to attend. All the wrong number calls and texts happen to him. People (read attractive females) from insurance company and banks sends him messages through their personal contact numbers.
I would recommend Imran Tahir to have a look at him once, the way he celebrates after taking an important wicket. His slower ball is slower no more. He has increased his run up since the day we started to play. Gone are the days when batsman would take him lightly. He has learnt the art of bowling well and if given a chance would probably show how to hit the ball into the orbit (If given a chance!)
Tausif bhai
A handsome hunk. A batsman of Tausif bhai's calibre is hard to find and if he is the one who can never let the ball pass by him then any captain would want him in his team. I can still imagine him standing at long on position and holding on to one of the difficult catches - a skyer which others could easily drop. Bowlers fear of not bowling a short ball to him, otherwise they would need to send 2 fielders to fetch back that ball. Others are afraid of coming near him as they could meet with fatal injury after getting in contact with his body, yes masha Allah he has got a strong body. Sweet and smart in nature, never getting involved in any arguments, one of the many reasons for me staying back in JP Nagar after the game.
Vikash bhai
The phirki waala of our team. Man, I have never seen anyone turn the ball for so many degrees on a red soil and with a green headley ball. Vikash bhai is any team's trump card. A great wrist spinner, who can turn the ball both ways. An added talent of batting is an extra advantage. Always a team player, sending out words of encouragement to his fellow teams is what everyone needs. A very good addition to Rockerzzz team.
Vishal bhai
A very good batsman and a keeper. The batsman who can be trusted for the top order position. The beauty of Rockerzzz has attracted Vishal bhai as well. And boy, he has done remarkably well in gelling with the team. Not too loud spoken, he let his bat talk, always safe with hands, not dropping too many catches, he has all the ingredients to be a brilliant player and be a part of Rockerzzz team.
Naushad, Kashif, Ehtesham and Salman bhai
(top left - Naushad bhai, top right - Kashif bhai, bottom left - Ehtesham bhai, bottom right - Salman bhai)
These people are the roots of our team. They laid a beautiful and strong foundation. The tree is full grown now with lots and lots of amazing fruits and branches. They started the team without any intention of making it this big and even after they are not in Bangalore anymore their legend still lives on, the team is still there. I started my journey in Rockerzzz under the captaincy of Naushad bhai and Kashif bhai. All the tricks and trades, how to win, how to fight, what to do when the situation is against you, when you are swimming against the tide, anything and everything under the sky where the headley ball is the sun. Naushad bhai taught me how to be passionate about things, how to display your emotions, how to be competitive and show that you have achieved something. I learnt how to be sincere and dedicated towards work from kashif bhai, he showed how to manage between work, family and recreation, awesome guy he is. Salman bhai is the manager of our team, he rarely comes but he comes with an aura which is unavoidable. Ehtesham bhai had enough passion towards cricket, a guy with a smiling face even when he is out of form is always bound to bring the happiness to you
We spent the evening in Fort Kochi, enjoying the cool breeze at the beach, watching the ships pass by, wandering the lanes and peering into the local shops. Here also we got a chance to pray Maghrib in one of the mosques from 13th century.
