The Kapil Dev of Delhi that India denied

November 17, 2012
KapilNew Delhi, November 17: His achievements for Delhi are comparable with Steven Gerrard's for Liverpool and Ryan Giggs' for Manchester United. He plays with the same heart and passion as a Leander Paes for India in the Davis Cup. He has worked day in and day out, burnt midnight oil, given it all he has and taken Delhi to the pinnacle through his sheer commitment, hardwork, dedication and determination.


The unassuming and grounded old war-horse - Rajat Bhatia is a man of few words who lets his performances on the field do the talking. An extraordinary all-rounder, his feats speak for themselves. In 74 first-class matches, he has scored 4242 runs at an average of 48.20 with 11 centuries. A member of the MRF Pace Foundation when he was young, his efforts with the ball have been equally impressive. He has picked up 88 wickets conceding just 28.39 runs per dismissal.

He was the unsung hero of Delhi's Ranji triumph in 2007. He scored a whopping 512 runs in 7 matches and also picked up 26 wickets at an astonishing 12.65 per wicket. Despite turning the match on its head with a brilliant, fighting and counter-attacking 139 in the 1st innings in the Final, which was actually the performance of the match, much of the credit went to the skipper Gautam Gambhir for his 2nd innings ton and to Pradeep Sangwan for his 9 wickets.

Bhatia spoke to Cricbuzz about how he felt about the same. "I have never looked for rewards and accolades. I just go there and give my 100% every time I turn out on the cricket field. If my contributions are recognized, I am grateful and if they are not, I take it as a part of life and move on. No point holding any grudges."

He started his career at Tamil Nadu as he had completed his education from there and had joined the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai under the guidance of TA Sekhar. He found it a bit difficult to get admission into a Delhi College as they were not willing to grant him leaves to practise his cricket. Moreover, coming from a humble and modest background, he wanted to establish himself financially and the clubs in Chennai were offering him a good deal.

Perhaps, Bhatia was India's answer to the elusive all-rounder that the national team so desperately seeked after the retirement of Kapil Dev. He may not have had the talent the great Indian all-rounder was gifted with but certainly deserved a chance to prove his worth. Many tipped him to break into the senior Indian team at various points in the middle of 2000s but the selectors ignored this all-rounder of great potential and turned their backs on him - a true and deserving cricketer lost in the politics of the Indian Board. When asked about when he thought was the opportune time for him to make that cut to international cricket, Bhatia said, " I feel the opportune time for me was in 2001 when India toured Zimbabwe. But I was ignored. Despite performing consistently well in domestic cricket, I wasn't even selected for the Challenger Trophy and never received a call from the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. My state Board did not back me." The disappointment was quite evident in his voice.

"The most the Indian Board has done for me is to send me to an India-A tour of Israel when I was left out from the national team's tour to Australia." Then almost changing the tone, he remarked humourously, "At least they did send me for that promotional tour to Israel. I must thank them for that. I got to see Jerusalem as a tourist and absolutely loved it - so much history and culture".


On what kept the motivation going even after the frustration of not being selected for the national team, Rajat said, "Of course there was frustration and a tinge of sadness. But there was no time and no point in regretting. I had to move forward. I love the game and that is what kept me going day in and day out. I wanted to set an example to other youngsters who if faced with a similar situation, should not give up but just continue to work hard and spread the positive energy. There is a lot of pleasure in playing domestic cricket."


Bhatia also spoke about the dwindling fortunes of Delhi after the Golden Era between 1976-1991. "Collectively, I think we did not get a bunch of good players together during this period. There were a few good cricketers but 2-3 players can't win you a game alone"


On players that have motivated him the first name he mentioned was that of Yuvraj Singh. "He was my room-mate when we played for India Under-19. I have seen many talented cricketers, but Yuvi is perhaps the most gifted. I always knew that he would come back with a bang from the illness as he has always been a fighter. When he won the World Cup in 2011, I told him that he was born to win us the Cup. Now he is desperate to prove himself and leave a mark in Tests as well. I wish him all the best"


"Of course, Sachin has been a great source of inspiration for all of us. We literally worship him. Another cricketer for whom I have a lot of admiration and have shared the dressing room with in the IPL for Kolkatta Knight Riders is, Jacques Kallis. His physical fitness amazes me. His dedication and love for the game is unparalleled. He has taken so much burden on his shoulders and come out with aplomb"

Amongst domestic players, he said he could relate to Amol Muzumdar and Mithun Manhas amongst others, who have done remarkably well for their respective states but have been unlucky having not made the cut to the senior level.

He added that his brother who played club cricket was a big source of inspiration for him.

Bhatia is from the old-school of thought and he firmly belives that Test cricket is the purest form of cricket and what one learns from playing the domestic seasons for their state sides can't be compared to the IPL or T20 cricket. He says, "A good Test player can be a good T20 player but the contrary is not always true."


He added that the experiences of the IPL and the CLT20 had been memorable and he had learnt a lot from sharing the KKR dressing room with the likes of Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee and Sunil Narine.

On what his future plans are, Bhatia replied, "I just want to enjoy my cricket and not think about anything else. I do not set any goals for myself anymore. I don't want to end with any regrets."


He also had a message for the youngsters who are passionate about cricket and want to pursue it as a career. "The first message I would like to give to all budding cricketers is to have passion for the game and then strive hard to work towards your goal. There is no substitute for hardwork. Be a good student of the game. Try and play for the same team and don't frequently change states for minor interests. Be disciplined and keep reasonable goals for yourself."

He may not have the flamboyance of Virat Kohli, the sheer gift and ruthlessness of Virender Sehwag or the aggression of Gautam Gambhir, but one thing was sure - that with a lot of hardwork, passion and determination , even the less talented mortals can dare to dream and in Rajat's case, even the so called 'ordinary' can achieve the 'extraordinary'.

May be the fortunes of Delhi would be revived, when one of her most faithful and loyal servants, Rajat Bhatia makes a comeback, for the team would be desperate for someone of his experience and guile to take them to the top again.



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News Network
March 26,2020

New Delhi, Mar 26: As India continues its fight against coronavirus, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly pledged to donate rice worth Rs 50 Lakhs to the needy people.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), in its statement, said Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice will provide rice to people who have been put in government schools for safety and security.
"#Sourav to provide Free Rice to the Needy It is heartening to note that Sourav Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice has come forward to provide free rice worth Rs 50 lacs to the needy people who have been put in government schools for safety and security. Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state. #CAB," CAB said in a statement.
CAB President Avishek Dalmiya has also lent support to the needy people as he donated Rs 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund.
"CAB President donates 5 lakhs to the Government's Emergency Relief Fund to fight against #CoronaVirus/#Covid19," CAB said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to contain coronavirus.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has slammed UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for not allowing recreational cricket to resume.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had described the cricket ball as a 'natural vector of disease' and ruled out recreational cricket's return in the country.

Hearing Johnson's argument, Vaughan tweeted: "Hand sanitiser in every players pocket. Use every time you touch the ball ... SIMPLE ... Recreational Cricket should just play from July 4th ... utter nonsense it's not being allowed back ... #Cricket."

Johnson was responding to a question from Conservative MP Greg Clark in the House of Commons, and it was then that Johnson said that it is too soon to lift current restrictions to allow the return of recreational cricket.

"The problem with cricket as everybody understands is that the ball is a natural vector of disease, potentially at any rate. We've been around it many times with our scientific friends," ESPNCricinfo had quoted Johnson as saying.

"At the moment, we're still working on ways to make cricket more COVID-secure but we can't change the guidance yet," he added.

Johnson had announced various relaxations on Tuesday, but the return of recreational cricket was not a part of them.

However, this statement given by Johnson will have no impact on the Test series between England and West Indies, scheduled to begin from July 8.

However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said that it is looking to resume recreational cricket in the country around July 4.

The board has also said that cricket is a low-risk sport as it is a non-contact sport.

"We believe that cricket is a non-contact sport, with very low risks of exposure, and that it can be played as safely as many other activities being currently permitted," the ECB said in an official statement.

"It is our strong desire to work with Government to see the return of recreational cricket on or around 4th July, as they continue to lift other restrictions more broadly across society," it added.

All international cricket has also been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, it is set to resume to from July 8 as England and West Indies will lock horns in the three-Test series.

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News Network
March 10,2020

New Delhi, Mar 10: Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) and world number one Amit Panghal (52kg) were among three Indian boxers who secured Olympic berths by advancing to semifinals of the Asian Qualifiers here on Monday, taking the total number of the country's Tokyo-bound pugilists to eight.

Second-seeded Mary Kom notched up a comfortable 5-0 win over Philippines' Irish Magno in her quarterfinal bout for a ticket to her second Olympic Games. She won a bronze in the 2012 London Olympics when women's boxing was first introduced at the showpiece.

The 37-year-old will square off against China's Yuan Chang in the semifinals. Chang is a former Youth Olympics champion.

Earlier, world silver-medallist and top seed Panghal edged out familiar foe Carlo Paalam of Philippines in a 4-1 split verdict to be assured of his maiden Olympic appearance and a medal at the qualifiers.

In the last Indian bout of the day, world bronze-medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) upstaged second seed Namuun Monkhor of Mongolia 5-0 to secure her first Olympic place.

With this, the number of Indian boxers securing Olympic berths went up to eight after Satish Kumar (+91kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Ashish Kumar (75kg) advanced to the semifinals on Sunday.

"I dedicate my Olympic quota to my uncle Raj Narayan, it's his birthday and he is someone who gives me a lot of courage," said Panghal after his bout.

World bronze-winner and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Manish Kaushik, however, lost 2-3 to third seed Chinzorig Baatarsukh of Mongolia after an intense battle but is not out of contention for an Olympic berth just yet.

Kaushik has to win the box-off between losing quarterfinalists as the top six boxers will claim Tokyo tickets in the 63kg category. He will face Australia's Commonwealth Games champion Harrison Garside in the box-off. The two clashed in the CWG final in 2018 with Garside ending up on the winning side.

Panghal started India's winning run on Monday by managing to pull off a close win.

The 23-year-old, who is the reigning Asian Games and Asian Championships gold-medallist, had earlier beaten Paalam in the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games and the quarterfinals of 2019 world championships, which were also split decisions.

"I followed the instructions given by my coaches. I ensured that he didn't get on top of me. I think I was pretty consistent in all three rounds," Panghal said.

Next up for Panghal is China's Jianguan Hu, who stunned world bronze-medallist and fourth seed Kazakh Saken Bibossinov 5-0.

"I have beaten him in the Asian Championships and I know how to get the better of him," Panghal said of his next opponent.

The Haryana lad didn't exactly look at his best during the bout but his trademark counter-attacking game fetched him the desired result against a rival, who is challenging him more with every fresh encounter.

Mary Kom, on the other hand, put out a near-perfect performance against the very spirited Magno. The Manipuri dictated the pace of the bout, drawing from her huge reservoir of experience to put Magno on the backfoot with a very effective counter-attacking strategy.

Simranjjit, also an Asian silver-medallist, will face third seed Shih-Yi Wu of Taiwan in the semifinals after a fine performance against Monkhor. Simranjit's right hand connected accurately all through.

Kaushik, who was up against an Asian Games silver-medallist, started well but lost steam in the face of relentless body shots by Baatarsukh, a two-time podium finisher at the Asian Championships.

Baatarsukh had lost to Kaushik in the second round of the world championships last year and he exacted revenge with an aggressive takedown of the Indian, especially in the final three minutes.

However, former junior world champion Sakshi Chaudhary (57kg) failed to secure an Olympic berth after going down to Korea's Im Aeji in the quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old Chaudhary lost 0-5 to Im, who is also a former world youth champion. Only the semifinalists are entitled to an Olympic berth in the women's 57kg category of the ongoing event.

Her next shot at Tokyo qualification would be the world qualifiers in May, provided she is selected for it.

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