Navjot Singh Sidhu's journey to the pinnacle
Navjot Singh Sidhu
“Through laughter, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”
The legendary American comedian Bill Cosby does make sense. Doesn’t he? Perhaps, the story of a gutsy Sardar, who has excelled outstandingly in various walks of life, will better demonstrate Cosby’s words.
He pairs up spectacularly with Kapil Sharma, the ‘Comedy King’, to entertain us to no end. With the commentator’s mike in hand, he unleashes the best of ‘Sidhuisms’. The daring Sardar being referred to here is indeed ‘Sherry’ a.k.a. Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Navjot Sidhu the cricketer, in his early days, was a different character altogether. His forte lay in tremendous concentration and unremitting doggedness. His journey from being an astray young man to being one of the most accomplished bats in Indian history can truly inspire a million.
‘Sherry’ learnt the first lesson of his cricketing career not in an academy but from his own father, Bhagwant Singh, the then advocate general at Chandigarh High Court. At a tender age of 11, he asked his father to buy a motorcycle for him. His father didn’t refuse; instead, he approved the request subject to the condition that he must come 1st in his school’s athletic meet. He had to wait for three long years to achieve this goal. Thus, despite belonging to a wealthy family, he was made to earn his first belonging. Sidhu, in an interview with the BBC, acknowledged this incident as a ‘learning curve’ for him.
He never wanted to be a cricketer. It was his father who wanted him to be one. Out of great respect and the self-induced pressure to not disappoint his father, he took up cricket as a profession, although he struggled to keep his focus on the game. He was supposed to get up at 5 in the morning to be at the ground for practice sessions. Siddhu, though, would bribe his servants in a bid to fool his father and have his ways.
Following a ton for North Zone against the visiting Caribbean side, he made the cut to the Indian team. His stint with the national side didn’t last long, as he was dropped following an ordinary show in the 2-match Test series against the West Indians.
After his disappointing show in the debut series, a leading sports journalist Rajan Bala penned down an article on Sidhu referring to him as a ‘stroke-less wonder’. The Indian Express article saddened his father a lot and even reduced him to tears. He didn’t let his son know about it, though, but he wasn’t quite effective in doing it. Sidhu managed to figure that something was wrong. The tears in his father’s eyes traumatized him; never in his life before did he witness his father in such a state.
After his father left for Chandigarh on duty, he picked up the newspaper and scanned through the column where Bala had ruthlessly torn him apart. The image of his father crying brought about an incredible transformation in him. He had that article of him cut out and fixed in his wardrobe. He collected the tears trickling down his eyes and took vows to prove his doubters wrong. From that day onwards, his schedule was characterized by sheer discipline. He would get up at 4′o clock sharp in the morning and proceed to the ground for practice.
He would ask his servants to accompany him, not to help him cheat but to keep a watch on him. He would clean the pitch, furnish it with water and even roll it himself. A rekindled Sidhu was back on track. Henceforth, he would never go to parties, watch movies or follow any other despicable habit. He would entice the children in the neighborhood with money to bowl at him even during the nights. On a 16-yard strip, these children would bowl at him as fast they could. This was Sidhu’s very own way of preparing to counter the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.