In my recent trip to Himachal, I was surprised to find the craze amongst people for the current IPL; even in the remotest of the villages. Further, I was surprised to find the fan following for and backing for Kings XI Punjab. Though I live in Delhi, but through out the series, I haven’t supported the Delhi Daredevils. Instead, my affinity has been with Kolkata Knight Riders, not because of SRK, but because of Saurav Ganguly. I just like him and am crazy about him. I’ve been his die-hard fan through thick and thin of his career.
But what makes Himachal support the Kings XI? I asked the kids around. So pat came three answers. Priety Zinta, neighbourhood and Yuvraj Singh. The teenage girls are just mad about Yuvraj Singh, particularly after he hit the six sixes in an over in the T20 World Cup.
Two, Punjab is the neighbour, and so obviously it has to be the favourite. It goes without saying that Priety Zinta – one of the owners of the team – is the home girl. Even her tenant – Saleem of Fine Drycleaners – in Sanjalui, Shimla, was there to support “Priety Baby’s” team in Mohali for the team’s first match against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, April 19.
But very few people know, that the team represents Himachal too. The banner, on the team’s logo, just over the crest, has ‘K.J.H.P.H.’ inscribed on it. The letters stand for Kashmir, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana (in the same sequence as they appear on the map of India).
At the same time, the media in Himachal is gaga over “The Great Khali’s” (Dileep Singh Rana) home-coming on May 15. Well, both instances do not surprise me. One, there is no cricketer from Himachal playing in the IPL. Had there been any cricketer from Himachal playing for any other team, I’m sure, the affinity would have been with that team. They have just Priety to boast off in this tournament.
After Suman Rawat, I don’t think there has been any formidable name that has come up in sports from Himachal. There are plenty otherwise, like Shamsher Singh (shooting) but they don’t have a mass appeal and fan-following. So if Khali takes on the Undertaker in the WWE, in the USA, entire Himachal goes beserk. Though it’s a different thing that nobody recognised Rana’s talent when he was in Himachal. He did petty jobs like working as a coolie in Rohru. It had to a be a Punjab Police officer to see potential in him and not surprisingly he is on the payroll of Punjab Police (and not Himachal Police), before he became the WWE champion.
Are we really encouraging sports in Himachal? No. I had a cousin, who was as lethal as Shoaib Akhtar – even with a kapde ka ball – in bowling. Batsmen feared him. But his talent went unrecognised. Nobody in school pushed him to play the Ranji or other state matches. Lack of infrastructure and even basic playing grounds. Schools are mushrooming but there aren’t any playing grounds.
In Shimla, there are two public schools just next to my house (Monal Public School and St. Xavier). While St. Xavier manages to have a small playground, Monal Public School (the North Oak branch) has none. I wonder, how these schools get licences, when it is mandatory to have a laboratory and a playground to get an affiliation from the education board. Every time I go to Shimla, I find that St. Xavier has a new physical instructor, starting all over again with the basics of Kho-Kho or volley-ball. No other games. If you are serious in sports, you have to figure out a way to get an entry into the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
I wonder when Himachal will root for its player and not back Kings XI, because of a Bollywood star. She could have been the best brand ambassador of the state, but she has just given a royal ignorance to the state. There are stories (real or rumours, I don’t know), that she affiliates herself more with Delhi and Rajasthan, than Himachal. I wish, she’d done something for the state.
So will Kings XI win the series? Himachalis are just hooting for that.
Update 2025: The team was renamed as Punjab Kings XI in 2021, and does not represent Himachal and other states any more. It just represents Punjab now.
The kapde ka ball brings out an interesting childhood memory.
In Kotgarh, during winter vacations, playing cricket with kapde ka ball was a favorite past time. All cousins with other village boys used to play in an open space among village houses. Our matches went well till the time a few Yuvrajs popped out and nearby window panes started disappearing. One fine day, the village elders put their foot down and stopped us from playing in the village courtyard.
This was not to put a dampener on our bat-ball skills and we zeroed down at an open space, a little away from the village. But there was a little problem. This site was just adjacent to the local murdghat and as kids we were wary about disturbing the “spirits”. The team came out with a fantastic solution and named ourselves as Yamraj-11 to keep the “spirits” in good humor.
There was no looking back then. The Yamraj-11 was a force to reckon in the local VPL (Village Premium League). The format of the tournaments used to be a T-15 back in the 80s. Mind you we have already undergone all the excitement in a 15 overs match.) The Champion Yama’s-11 won almost all tournaments in successive years till the time we all moved in life.
Now, seeing the next generation slugging it out at the same ground, we the original, Yama’s chosen 11, can’t stop grinning, remembering how it all started.