If it hadn’t been for the protracted celebrations of ‘Wedding of the Year’ where the rich and famous from across the globe descended into Mumbai and then the shocking assassination attempt on Trump in the US, that kept the media enthralled and in total awe up to it’s ears, India’svictorious march in ‘Cricket affairs’ that continues (A 4-1 Sweep against Zimbabwe in T20’s, Ind. Women beating SA, Legends win Champions Cup, Bumrah& Smriti declared ICC Player of Month) would’vegot wider coverage !
But for a change let’s reflect on some of our own Bank colleagues & friends who could wield the bat and turn their arm over with dexterity on cricket maidans in their heydays. We had all heard that Test stalwarts like Chetan Chauhan (ZO, Delhi) and Ajit Pai (Estate Mgmt, CO) worked in BOB,I hadn’t actually met them. Sports in general was encouraged in our Bank.
I recall in early 1980’s the Bank’s Sports Club in Lucknow was active and ROs & branches would allow interested staff to leave early for net practice, and participate in inter-bank matches and tournaments after selections. As young sporty officers we’d try to be part of the cricket scene & from our batchmates Prabhat Agarwal and Sudhir Pant jiwere good, keen players but a name that comes to my mind is of Rakesh Singh, a brilliant left arm spinner in ‘Jadeja’ mould who’d win matches for BOB ! There were also lot of talented boys from Kanpur and the hinterland of West UP.
During my tenure in RO, Allahabad in second half of 1980s, we were lucky to have NRC Panicker as our RM, always supportive and a wonderful Boss. We had among other things, built a fairly good cricket team (no Dream 11 then !) of veteran cricket players led by Sushil Mishra, VK Vig (later Ex-GM), Deepak Dhar & Ashish Gupta (WK) among others and I too was part of a bunch that beat the fancied SBI in Finals of local Inter-Bank League !
We didn’t really get involved in sporting activities later on in our careers and if I’m not wrong, interest in sports dwindled in managers and bosses, maybe due to work pressures, challenging targets & practice of late sitting. Life style changes and technology (as in preoccupation with social media) have played their part, it’s more fun watching the IPL than being on a field. Considering the amount of affinity old friends share for most sports and some magnificent ‘cricket’ obsession (albeit only post retirement), it’s fair to say – if anything unifies andcreates bonding,it’s our love for sports !
Working on Living 