Kolkata: From Sachin Tendulkar taking a liking to buying good clothes on foreign tours to Navjot Singh Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja staying dishevelled, dressing room secrets of former India cricketers tumbled out in a talk show at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly revealed that batting maestro Tendulkar would just “bat and shop” during his playing days.
“He (Tendulkar) would only bat and shop. He would get a Test hundred and the next day you would see him shopping in an Armani or Versace store and you will see them hanging in his wardrobe. He was very fond of his clothes and had a great wardrobe,” Ganguly revealed.
Talking about V.V.S. Laxman, Ganguly said the elegant Hyderabadi batsman was a perennial latecomer.
“You would see him taking a shower even as the No. 4 and 5 batters were at the crease. He would even be the last to board the team bus,” Ganguly said.
The show also featured India coach Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag.
Kapil spilt the beans on two batsmen “most handsome batsmen staying rough” in the dressing room.
“You won’t believe the two most handsome men in our team stayed the most unclean,” said the legend.
“He (Sidhu) would somehow pack his bag throwing the clothes inside it. And Ajay too was not the most cleanest.”
Kapil also lamented that during his cricketing days, selectors used to call the shots and not the captains as it happens nowadays.
Answering points made by dashing former Sehwag that behind every successful players is the backing of his captain, Kapil, who captained India to World Cup glory in 1983, said, “I think during our time, behind a successful player there needed (to be) a successful selector.”
“It happens now that the captain is the boss. In our time, in one generation 6-7 captains were playing. I hoped selectors would have changed during that point and new selectors would come who would give the responsibility to the captain and his job is over,” Kapil said.
“You play one bad shot and you’re out of the team. Now you play 10 bad shots but still have your chance because the captain is backing you. This can happen now, but not in our time.”
Earlier, the former all-rounder rung the bell just before the Indian and New Zealand teams walked out for the national anthem on the opening day of the second Test yesterday. The ringing of the five-minute bell, introduced at Lord’s, is a ritual started in 2007.
