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Time of India
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
When Sunil Gavaskar was denied entry at Lord's!
Sunil Gavaskar Mumbai: One can never be tired of listening to anecdotes revolving around the life of Sunil Gavaskar . It was, therefore, interesting to hear a few tales of Gavaskar during the legendary opening batsman's 76th birthday celebrations, organised by the Legends' Club at the Cricket Club of India on Wednesday evening. Yajurvindra Singh recalled an incident during the 1979 Lord's Test between India and England when a steward refused entry to Gavaskar at the iconic Lord's Cricket Stadium as the cricketing great didn't have a 'pass,' even though he was a superstar by then. "It so happened that Gavaskar had promised passes for the Lord's Test. So, he came out of the Lord's gate to give the passes to his friend while wearing slippers. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! However, afterwards, the steward at Lord's refused to let Gavaskar in. So, I went there and I told that security guard: 'This is Mr Gavaskar and he's going to be opening for us. He needs to come in!' (However), till he didn't have a ticket or a pass, the steward wasn't going to let him in at Lord's. And Sunil had naturally forgotten his pass. So, I had to ring up the secretary of the club. He came, and we finally made that chap understand. Although people were taking (Gavaskar's) autograph. The British guy knew exactly who he (Gavaskar) was, but he harassed him right there at the gate." In the same Lord's Test later, Gavaskar made fun of the whole incident in his own inimitable way. "We were playing against the MCC at Lord's. I remember that Dickie Bird was the umpire. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Thong Nhat: Nhà tiền chế lắp đặt chỉ trong 1 ngày Prefabricated Homes Tìm hiểu thêm Undo To indulge in some fun, Sunil had got one of those ugly masks, which he wore while standing at second slip. So, Dickie Bird (the umpire) told him that 'Mr Gavaskar, you are disturbing the batsman.' Gavaskar responded to him by saying: 'Which rule says that I'm not allowed to wear a mask while standing at second slip. ' 'No, you are disturbing everybody,' Bird replied. 'I'm not disturbing anyone. The batsman is concentrating on that (the other) side,' Gavaskar retorted. 'No, you are disturbing me!' Bird replied! That, you know, was Sunil.' Virat Kohli on why did he retire from Test cricket: 'It's time when you...' For the record, Gavaskar scored 42 & 59 in that Test, which was drawn. Who is Sunny? Yajurvindra revealed a recent meeting of his and Gavaskar's with Amitabh Bachchan , in which the duo asked the Bollywood icon to resolve an old 'feud' between them about who held the 'rights' to the name 'Sunny' since both were fondly called by this name. "I told Amitabh Bachchan: 'We always have this problem that both of us are called 'Sunny.' We have been trying to solve this fight over who actually is Sunny for a long, long time. I've always told him that you are Sunny because the Englishmen couldn't call you Sunil, whereas I've been Sunny, because my name Yajurvindra is to do with the Sun God.' We decided that the learned Bachchan would be the right man to approach (with this issue) and settle this issue for once and all. Unfortunately, we did so at Sunil's annual party," the 72-year-old said. Bachchan, of course, wisely chose to let the ball 'zip past his off-stump,' so to say. "Bachchan was very smart. He didn't make any decision. Although I told him that I watched him bowl left-arm spin in a benefit match, etc. I tried everything, but to no avail because it was Sunil's party. But I did tell Amitabh that he was very fortunate that Sunil didn't take up acting, although he did do one movie, because this chap imitates you, and can definitely imitate anyone anywhere in the world. I said that if he had taken up acting, you'd have had to play cricket!" chuckled Yajurvindra. Catch Manika Batra's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 3. Watch Here!
Mint
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Mint
Say hello to padel, the racquet sport everyone's playing
Stop with the pickleball mania already. There's another racquet sport whose star is rising and anyone who finds pickleball boring loves it. Say hello to padel—the hottest game in town today. 'It's impossible to find a court in the mornings or after office hours on any given day in Mumbai. Everyone wants to play it and despite a dozen or more courts, I cannot find a free slot if I don't book way in advance," says Tunali Mukherjee, 38, a screenwriter from the city. The padel boom, according to Mukherjee, is insane at the moment. 'There is a luxury club coming up in Worli and another one is in the works in the office district of Lower Parel. There are more than a dozen padel facilities in South Mumbai alone. And most of the legacy clubs such as Radio Club, Cricket Club of India and Bombay Gymkhana have set up a padel court for their members and guests," she adds. Padel courts have also mushroomed in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Gurugram. Mind you, this demand for padel is not in metro cities alone. People in smaller cities and towns, too, are keen on having a go at this sport that is a mix of tennis and squash. Nikhil Singh, 44, who runs a pickleball facility in Jamshedpur, is looking to start a padel court as he feels the steel city has a healthy demand for it thanks to the sport's omnipresence on social media and YouTube. Suraj Juneja, 46, founder of Alt Sports that sets up pickleball and padel courts, says tier 2 and 3 cities want to try out the new racquet sports as much as people in cities want to. 'I am setting up padel courts in Siliguri at the moment," says Juneja. IS PICKLEBALL LOSING FANS? Pickleball has enjoyed a phenomenal rise in popularity across India in the last couple of years. It owes its popularity to the fact that it is an easy sport to learn irrespective of one's racquet skills, athleticism, fitness or mobility. 'Pickleball is a very easy sport. Its learning curve is not at all steep. Even those who have never played any sport ever or aren't sporty or athletic can pick up, and are playing, pickleball without much trouble. A couple of sessions and anyone will appear natural at the game as the pace is manageable and it doesn't involve too much running around or require special skills," says Aarish Ansari, 31, a digital content manager from Mumbai. Ironically, the very reasons that made pickleball popular are now stunting its growth and the sport is drawing a fair bit of flak. Since it is so easy, those who are active or fit are not challenged by pickleball, explains Juneja. As a game, it is slow and people can easily grow bored of it, and the only skill one needs to learn to become good at it is volleying, says Mukherjee. Another thing that goes against pickleball is the noise. Residential complexes across India that have installed pickleball courts have been flooded with complaints from inhabitants about the noise caused by pickleball, which is made of plastic. As Mukherjee notes, it is because pickleball is played with a plastic ball that it is not taken seriously. Among its detractors, pickleball is largely seen as an activity for people who aren't active, have limited racquet skills, and are old. The fact that long retired tennis stars such as Andre Agassi (55), Steffi Graf (56) and John McEnroe (66) are the face of pickleball doesn't help shake off its association with older people. In contrast, padel recently ran a campaign with current tennis stars Iga Swiatek and Daniil Medvedev. It helps matters that several high profile footballers including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are often spotted playing padel in the media. WHAT MAKES PADEL A SERIOUS, ELITE SPORT Padel sits perfectly in the gap between tennis (not as technical and difficult) and pickleball (not as slow, easy and boring). As padel is much faster and more skilful than pickleball but a lot less technical or difficult than tennis, it is challenging enough for players to upgrade their skills and also fast enough to ensure a good workout. 'Padel is a more serious sport and elite. You need skills to play it," says Ansari, who admits he would switch to padel if he finds three more friends to play it with. That shouldn't be a problem given the meteoric rise the sport is enjoying across the world these days. Floating padel courts have been launched in Miami, Dubai and Switzerland, ski resorts have also set up courts for padel, luxury brands from Chanel and Prada to Balenciaga and luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet have added padel accessories to their offerings and plenty of padel retreats have appeared in Spain, Thailand and Indonesia. Closer home, Mukherjee says the number of people in Mumbai who want to play padel is huge. 'There are thousands of people on all the WhatsApp padel groups that I am a part of." As a sport, padel is relatively more expensive than pickleball. Setting up a padel court is about five times more expensive than setting up a pickleball court, points out Juneja. That means renting a pickleball court is significantly cheaper than renting a padel court. Typically, a pickleball court charges between ₹ 500 to ₹ 1,500 per hour as compared to ₹ 2,000 to ₹ 4,000 per hour for a padel court. Even the pickleball racquets and balls are significantly cheaper than a padel racquet and balls. Padel coaching is also more expensive than employing a pickleball coach of a similar calibre and standing. Mukherjee pays ₹ 30,000 for three months of hour-long sessions two times a week in groups of four. One-on-one coaching can cost anything upwards of ₹ 4,000 per hour. According to Juneja, people who crave a faster pace of play choose padel as it is a much more challenging sport and it feels like a better workout. 'Anyone who is used to playing tennis is more likely to enjoy padel as the scoring system and the balls used are similar. The game requires a certain degree of racquet skills and agility to cover the court. But besides that, the set of people who choose padel over pickleball are those who want to be seen playing a cooler, much more expensive sport that is on the rise, " he says adding, 'Padel is huge in Dubai and many people want to be associated with a sport that is trending in richer countries." Mukherjee belongs to the group with a tennis background and that is what attracted her to padel in the first place. 'What appeals to me about padel is that I can keep upgrading my skills in the sport unlike pickleball, where all you really do is volley. The glass walls add an extra layer of challenge. The cage, hitting the ball off the walls and the faster pace make padel a lot more enjoyable as a sport despite it being a lot less technical than tennis," says Mukherjee. There's also the social aspect of playing padel that she enjoys. 'Playing padel is a lot more fun and productive than sitting in a restaurant or a bar for a couple of hours eating and drinking. Padel is addictive," she confesses. Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.
Economic Times
13-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Economic Times
Celebrations of youthful wisdom
Last week we attended the 80th birthday celebrations of a gentleman whom I regard as my lifestyle guru and invariably refer to as the "Calcutta Connoisseur". The invitation card, however, invited us for his "18th" birthday. It was an ode to his evergreen spirt and indefatigable zest for life-and living it well. Not for him the cold comfort of age-related relaxation and abdication of joy but rather, a recalibration of his mode of the news of a champagne brand just launched by an Indian elicited the same piercing questions last week that he used to throw at me decades ago to see if I knew "my onions". And with his trademark impish grin he challenged me to guess who the chef was for his birthday-eve dinner at home just by tasting the canapes. Which shishya would not be intimidated by a guru's impromptu test? A familiar face at dinner indicated I had guessed right; if only I had the gumption to say so! A few days later at another megapolis at the other end of India, I had the pleasure of meeting a lady who is nearly a decade older than that "18 year old" and whose mobility is somewhat restricted by age-related wear and tear, but whose mind and wit is razor sharp and as agile as the Calcutta Connoisseur's. My schoolfriend's mother in law is truly a grande dame of a "Bombay" that now only survives in secluded pockets amid the raucous political and financial din of Mumbai. In the course of a delightful conversation over nimboo-pani that continued over a light lunch in the spacious family flat overlooking the Cricket Club of India, I was transported to Karachi of the 1940s and the final move of her prosperous Kutchi Hindu clan to the city where they used to come during the holidays-Bombay- which became their new home and sanctuary. Among the precious mementos they brought from Karachi were, intriguingly, a grandfather clock and a carved wooden elephant. Her fond reminiscences about life in Karachi were interspersed with searching questions about today's India, including changing perceptions of the heroes of the freedom struggle and the early decades of Independence. She was also amazed and amused by the divergent paths of two "siblings" separated in 1947- no bitterness, just a deep interest. If only younger Indians - a billion of our current 1.4 billion people were born after Partition after all-had the same equanimity! In many ways this elegant and articulate Bombay matriarch reminded me of my 101-year-old uncle in Kolkata whose curiosity about the world around him - from politics and world affairs to culture, sport and personalities - increases with every parikrama of the Sun. Even this time in Kolkata he couldn't wait to discuss the Trump-Musk fallout and why the US seems to be once again backing Pakistan after Operation Sindoor. Their happy engagement with the present complimented by their experience of the past reminded me of an observation by a younger friend of the Calcutta Connoisseur while wishing him on his "18th" birthday. Expanding on the well known aphorism "We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing," he remarked that teen years are the best companions for wisdom as youth is wasted on the young, and wisdom is wasted on the old. Here's wishing more people will be also blessed with both simultaneously.
Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
‘1BHK here is 1 lakh per month': Netizens troll ‘SoBo' as luxury sinks in Mumbai rains
As Mumbai 'sinked' under heavy rainfall on Monday following the early onset of the southwest monsoon, netizens flooded social media with videos of submerged roads, swamped markets, and waterlogged vehicles — especially from posh 'SoBo' or South Bombay. Some even posted clips of gaping potholes that had appeared across the city's streets. '1 BHK rent is 1 lakh/ month here, welcome to SoBo!' wrote one user on X, alongside a video showing rainwater gushing across roads in South Mumbai, with vehicles wading through the deluge. In another clip, a man was seen floating on what appeared to be a makeshift raft amid stranded vehicles. The caption read: 'Mumbaikars office jathe hue' (Mumbaikars while going to office). Another user shared visuals of waterlogged Mumbai streets, where taxis crawled through submerged roads, highlighting the daily struggle of commuters. Taking a dig at the government, he wrote, '4th Largest Economy but water logging, pathetic roads and BMC issues alerts to stay safe home after everyone has left already for office. What's the point of GDP? What's the point of taxes?' A separate video captured the Brabourne Stadium and the Cricket Club of India (CCI) completely waterlogged after the downpour that began late Sunday. More clips showed knee-deep water in areas like Dadar and Colaba. One video featured a submerged bank, while another showed cars stuck in flooded streets. 'Waterlogging in South Mumbai, specifically in areas such as Bhendi Bazar, Mohammad Ali Road, and near JJ Signal. The water has not yet receded,' the user wrote in a tweet shared in the morning. Several users posted more visuals from across SoBo, capturing the relentless rain and the city's struggle to stay afloat. Operations on Mumbai's Metro Line 3 between Acharya Atre Chowk and Worli were suspended on Monday after heavy rainfall led to waterlogging at an underground station, officials said. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) halted services after floodwater entered the newly constructed Acharya Atre Chowk underground station. Viral videos on social media showed extensive flooding inside the station — from platforms and ticket counters to staircases and circulation zones. One clip showed rainwater leaking along the escalators, with the false ceiling collapsed and equipment scattered across the station. In other videos, muddy water was seen gushing down staircases and seeping through escalators, surrounding the access control systems. The incident has sparked concerns over construction quality and the monsoon preparedness of the 33-km-long Colaba-BKC-Aarey (JVLR) underground metro corridor — Mumbai's first fully underground metro line, which is still under phased construction. Even by 7 pm, services from Acharya Atre Chowk remained suspended, with MMRC yet to confirm when operations would resume.
The Hindu
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Rohit Sharma, the Test player, took his time. Then made it count
'I understand that I haven't done justice to my potential and abilities. It's okay. I want to stay positive and keep looking forward to every challenge that lies ahead.' These words, spoken in October 2014 during an interview at the Cricket Club of India for ESPNcricinfo — my then employer — were Rohit Sharma's response to a question about having played just seven Tests in seven years since his international debut. Despite being one of the all-time greats in limited-overs cricket, Rohit's record in the whites has long been debated. Has he truly done justice to his talent in the Test arena? That question has followed him ever since his name first emerged on the maidans of Mumbai more than two decades ago, when he was seen as a potential torchbearer of the city's rich batting legacy. His retirement from Test cricket earlier this month reignited that very debate — among connoisseurs, critics and fans alike. The writing had been on the wall since he sat out the deciding Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the New Year week. Perhaps age had caught up, evident in his movement. Or maybe he had gone too far in trying to lead by example, pushing India's batting approach in white-ball formats into red-ball territory. In that sense, the last five months of his career mirrored the long wait he endured after his First-Class debut. Back then, the questions were 'when will it happen?' Later, they became 'why isn't it happening?' and then 'will it ever happen?' The doubts of 2025 weren't very different from those between 2006 and 2013 — especially from 2010 to 2013. His Test career can be viewed in three distinct phases. The first was the frustrating wait for a debut, made more painful after he injured himself minutes before the toss in what would have been his first Test in Nagpur against South Africa in 2010. It would be three more years before he got his chance against West Indies. During that phase, in various conversations — formal and informal — you could sense the weight of the 'mera number kab aayega' (when will my turn come) mindset. When the opportunity finally came, he made an instant impact with consecutive hundreds in his first two Tests. But the next five years saw him struggle to hold down a place. Injuries and India's preference for five specialist bowlers meant Rohit was frequently in and out of the side. That stretch also saw him competing with his close friend Ajinkya Rahane for a middle-order slot — Rahane often getting the nod. It wasn't until 2019, when then-coach Ravi Shastri promoted him to open in Tests, that Rohit finally found stability. Contrary to the widespread belief that he was merely a flat-track bully at home, Rohit excelled for almost five years. During a period when most Indian batters were seeing their averages dip, Rohit averaged over 50 in the 32 Tests he played in that time. No other opener scored more centuries during that stretch. But the end came swiftly. The final few months saw a marked decline, and his time at the top quietly came to a close. Rohit belongs to a generation — alongside Virat Kohli, Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja — that grew up dreaming of the Test cap. And though his body didn't always cooperate at the peak of his Test career, Rohit the batter still scaled some significant highs. He has every reason to walk away satisfied. Beyond statistics, Rohit has also had to contend with the recurring tag of being a 'gifted' or 'naturally talented' cricketer. In that same 2014 interview — just weeks before his record-breaking 264 in an ODI against Sri Lanka — he responded sharply when asked about this label. With his trademark casual flick of the forearm to his forehead, he countered the idea. 'I wasn't gifted,' he said. 'Everything has come through sheer hard work.' He spoke about how much effort it took to make his batting look effortless— especially after transitioning from being an off-spinner. His on-field nonchalance may sometimes be mistaken for swagger, even a ' tapori' vibe in Mumbai cricket slang. But those close to Rohit know his emotional core has remained intact across phases of his career. Even when competing with Rahane for a place in the XI, their friendship never wavered. After being called up as Yuvraj Singh's replacement for the 2011 West Indies Test series, Rohit told me how difficult it was to take the spot of someone he considered an older brother — even as he longed for that elusive debut. In 2025, the roles had reversed. Rohit had become the elder statesman, looking out for the next generation — firm, yet caring. As a captain in Tests, Rohit may not have had the same impact he did in limited-overs formats. But for a boy from Borivali who once dreamed more about donning India's whites than owning luxury cars, 67 Test caps and five years of elite batting represent a fulfilling journey. Whether his Test career is seen as a case of glass half full or half empty will remain a matter of perspective. What's certain is that Rohit gave it enough for the conversation to be worth having. Related Topics Rohit Sharma
