While India's present and future stars will be busy preparing for the IPL this year, there will be a group of 16 oldies from the country, over 50 but young at heart, trying to bring another trophy home. India will make it's debut in the Over 50s World Cup to be held in South Africa between 10-24 March and will start their campaign against England on 11 March. They are placed in a tough Pool B with the likes of Pakistan, England and South Africa. The team will be led by film producer and sports and brand expert Shailendra Singh who has also played County cricket in the United Kingdom. Firstpost sat down with Singh to talk about the preparations, challenges of playing competitive cricket at an advanced age, team's strengths, goals and much more. Excerpts from the interview below:
What was your reaction when you first heard about the Over 50 World Cup?
I was super excited when I heard about it from my secretary at the Bombay Gymkhana cricket section in August. It was seemingly out there on social media that they are looking to make an Indian team since the month of May or June which I didn't know at all. I was super excited because I've played cricket all my life, it's one of my most loved sports. I've played it professionally to a level where I was to be picked for the Ranji Trophy but I didn't choose it at that time because I had to travel by train from one state to the other, so I got disheartened, I was just sad because I should have done that. So there was always that desire to play more. I played in the minor County League and I've been to England, Scotland. When you turn a certain age, your mind is still active but your body needs a different mindset altogether.
Luckily in the Bombay club cricket circuit, age is no criteria. At this age, I am regularly playing opposite a 21-year-old bowling bouncers at my face or I've got a U-19 Bombay batsman batting against me so he has no mercy on me and vice versa. But the beauty is once you step onto the field, your hard disk, which is your 35 years of experience of playing, all comes alive. The body repents it the next day (though). So the excitement was unbearable. I was travelling every year, I spent close to 21 days in England and Scotland. I travel from India every summer to play close to 13-14 games in 21 days. And these are 60, 75 over one-and-a-half-day games, very gruelling but I've been doing this all my life for a club called Free Foresters which is a moving club. So when the opportunity came to represent the country, I threw my hat, soul, body, and mind into it.
At your age, you are getting a chance to enjoy a competitive environment. What does that mean?
First of all, I take inspiration from people like Albert Einstien, MF Husain, Narendra Modi, Donald Trump, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan. These are all 50 plus. In their own crafts, age is not a limit, not a barrier, so why should it be in sports?. It is a different ball game in terms of training because these people are not playing a physical sport. But like say Salman Khan has done something in Sultan or Amir Khan in Dangal, it takes a lot on your body. Salman will tell you what it took, or Devgan does a Tanaji at 53-54 or Amir right now is doing Lal Chhada, he is running across the country, he is running 12kms a day, at 54. He is taking pain killers, he is taking a hell of a lot, but wow right! So I feel it's a challenge worth taking because you've seen life, your brain is very matured so your skills are damn good, all you have to do build is your stamina, endurance and ensure you don't get injuries because at this age it can be dangerous. So there is a lot of scientific vs impulsive training required for this.
How were the players selected?
There was a camp of 36-37 players who came to Mumbai, where we picked the 16 and announced the squad.
How has life changed after this whole Over 50 cricket has come about?
I am going through a semi-depression (laughs). Depression is a very harsh word. I will say denial, withdrawal. It's a painful experience. I train a lot. By god's grace, I am a little bit of a mad man in terms of training. I do Taekwondo, 15-day camps at this age but this training is completely different as it's scientific. I've just come back from a 4-hour training. It's painful, oh god! It's the worst experience of my life. I am like crying, am frustrated but it's for a greater purpose, it's 20 days more to go, so I have a physio, a sports doctor who is creating a certain balance in my spine and joints because I am a fast bowler and bat middle order. And he says I don't know how you will last. Because the last 3-4 years have been all T20s other than the English trip where I get 7-8 games.
The other activities are taking backstage?
Everything. Previously I used to work 18 hours a day. At this age, I work 7 hours a day but now it's come down to 3-4 hours a day max. All the focus has gone into this because you are going to represent your country, the sport that is called religion, irrespective of how many people watch it or what the result is your effort has to be 2000 percent. You can't cheat. You can't sleep at night knowing that you cheated.
As a team, have you trained together? What have the preparations been like?
We trained together for eight days, which was during the camp. These are cricketers who came from all over the world to our camp. But what happened in the camp was, because they were all of Indian origin, there were a lot of emotions also other than qualification. So everyone really bonded well. We know who is doing what training where right now on videos and everything and we also have a doctor in the UK who is overlooking everyone's health, nutrition, so it's pretty wired up with the technology aspect. I felt those 7-8 days together were sufficient and we also have four days when we land. We have a practice match against West Indies on 9th March, 8th and 10th are net sessions and 11th is the first match against England.
What's your daily schedule right now?
One hour of cardio and preferably no aggressive running because at 50 plus, the joints are an issue also so you can't do impact training. Then martial arts training which is sort of Taekwondo meets kickboxing which is 25 minutes, then around 25-30 minutes on the stretches which I had never done in my life, I never knew these tissues, muscles existed. Then half an hour with my physio who uses different kinds of techniques to recondition the muscles that have been used in the morning. Then lunch, work till 5-5.30. Then I spend time with my sports medicine doctor who does scientific training like the alignment of the spine and all that jazz, it's very intense and joint-focused training for an hour and 10 minutes and then watch movies. I have Day and Night games on Tuesdays and Thursdays which I am playing regularly for Bombay Gym through which I am getting a lot of competitive practice. On Sunday's I am playing a 50-over match. I don't do nets, I am a fan of match practice but in the last 10 days, we are starting nets from 1.30 to 5.30 at Bombay Gym. We have a yo-yo test on the 8th, we will be testing the physical abilities first thing because the biggest casualty in this tournament will be the physical abilities, to be honest. The test is just to know your potential, not to say you are bad or good, so no one's pushed beyond his potential.
There might be players in your team who might now have played competitive cricket continuously?
Most of them have. 90 percent are fully competitive because they are playing 50-plus county leagues in Australia and other countries. They are probably playing more cricket than me in this format because they are playing in countries where 50s Counties are going on. They are playing Sussex and all. Ranji Trophy player from Bombay Iqbal Khan is playing in England for 15 years. He is killing it. All the players are wired up and fully in the zone. They are hardcore cricketers.
Who is the one player to watch out for in the team?
Ashwin Arora. He is a middle-order batsman and a right-arm Chinaman bowler. He is brilliant, next level. He is intelligent, lives in Bangalore but every year since the last five years, he spends six months playing in the County. Arora came for the Mumbai Premier League at Khar Gymkhana last year and got a hat-trick, all three bowled dismissals. His wickets were a 19, 20 and 21-year-olds.
What are your strengths as a team?
We've got six to seven all-rounders which I think in this format is very handy. Secondly, we have surprise elements in our spin bowling attack which is critical in 45-overs and at 50 plus age. The third factor is an important one, we have a world-class keeper in Parak Ananta. He is extremely fit, I felt like I had a 20-year-old behind the wickets while bowling, fatt, fatt, full-on (really fast). And that is bloody good, just like Dhoni, a wicketkeeper becomes the lifeline for the captain. He can oversee the field arrangement and he also becomes the energy of the team.
What are your goals as a team from the World Cup?
The first thing is I want our team to make it to the semis, I don't want to be overambitious.
There are teams that actually have former players playing for them...
There are 20 Test/ODI cricketers, 72 first-class/List A players and three world-record holder wicket-keepers.
How much have you researched about the other teams?
Because I am not super educated, I am not an IIM Ahmedabad pass out, I turn my weakness into an opportunity for myself every day. I do my homework beyond your imagination in everything I do. So I have all the player profiles of all countries. I got their Facebook profiles, who is married, who is just recently divorced, has he put on weight or lost it. I wanted their past information and present as well. So when I land on the ground I can say, 'hey mate, hope your new marriage is doing well', or whatever. So we are fully wired up.
So you have a plan of sledging also?
I feel that we should do everything on the field that the law of the sport permits you to and not break the law. I am a very law-abiding citizen. But what the law is, I will fully use it. I have three warnings. I know my rules yaar and I will use them all to the fullest of my capability because cricket is also played in the mind. Virat Kohli does it, Aussies do it, everyone does it. If somebody is batting very well, you have to get into their mind, but within the laws. Full research is done.
What will be your biggest challenge in the World Cup?
To be able to stick to a plan that we have in mind and not get intimidated by big names on the field because the moment can get to you. You can easily lose your focus by the moment itself. For that, we've kept a lot of sessions for brainstorming in the evening. We are all staying in the same complex called Icon Apartments in South Africa. The itinerary is also locked for what we will be doing and when. We just want to stick together as a unit through the entire process of the tournament. Also, it's a 45-over tournament and we are allowed a substitute player so we have to use all our skillsets to win.
What will be the key for India in this World Cup?
India's attitude, not arrogance, should be one of confidence. Because Indian cricket is at that level today. If you see Virat Kohli and Dhoni, this era has been a very dominant era of performance, not just in India but also overseas. So we should carry the energy of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni and flamboyance of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. We have a DNA which dominates cricket, so if all of us believe that, our energy will be totally different. Amidst England, Pakistan, South Africa in our group, we are the underdogs but we can't behave like underdogs.
Indian squad: Shailendra Singh (captain), Parak Ananta, Ashwani Arora, Sanjay Beri, Verinder Boombla, Deepak Chadha, Aadil Chagla, Dilip Chavan, Thomas George, Mayank Khandwala, Iqbal Khan, PG Sunder, Preetinder Singh, Srikanth Satya, Pradeep Patel, Tushar Zaveri
Coach: Ajoy Roy
Dr/manager: Parag Pandya
Selector: JK Mahendra Kanaiya
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