by: Sahil Manzoor
I was always smitten by the allure of cricket. Watching players like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid always fascinated me. For an odd four years or thereabouts it was the enthusiasm for body building which took over but Cricket never completely left me. Now that the cricket world cup is going on I was reminded of my own fascination for Cricket.
I started watching cricket on television in 2003. The event was co-hosted by South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe from February 9 to March 23, 2003. This was the eighth edition ofCricket World. I was studying in the sixth grade.
It was a match between India and Pakistan. Before a weeks’ time of this mega match between the two neighboring countries, cricket fans used to predict the strength of two teams, predict the score, and many more discussions were going on – on shopfronts, on scaffoldings where masons would work, in educational institutions, in the flea market as well as in government offices. Cricket fever had everyone in its grip. Finally, on March 1st, 2003, both the neighboring countries met face-to-face. The stadium was full of crowds. Fans were chanting slogans in favor of their favorite teams and encouraging their favourite players.
From beginning to end, I watched the match. At that time, I had no favorite team, no favorite player, etc., but as I noticed our elders were taking an interest in cricket, something stuck in my mind, that is why I am still liking this game of cricket. In our country, cricket is one of the most popular sports.
When I started playing cricket with my friends, I used to prioritize laying my hands on things like my bat, gloves, pad, thigh guard, etc. I was taking a huge interest in playing cricket. Amar Singh college ground was our home ground at that time, and we were used to going to play cricket at various venues like the ground on the periphery of Srinagar International airport in Humhama, AmarSingh College ground, Kashmir University ground and Khaadmill Allocha Bagh. Most of the time we spent discussing cricketing things.
One fine morning, absolutely out of the blue, my mind shifted towards bodybuilding. SeaRock Gym, SD Colony was like my second home. I practiced there for 4 years as I believed in a natural diet, so I could not build a lot of muscles as compared to someone who used dietary supplements during my 4 years of practicing. I believed in fitness, etc.
Today we are in 2023, which means two decades have passed since then, but my favorite sports activity is still cricket. Sometimes I used to play cricket with friends and kids in our area, but I did not enjoy it as much as I did with my friends 10 years ago. Whenever your mind gets engaged in any sport; you change in a great way. Getting involved in sports activities has no age bar, and it will boost your fitness level and let you know your body status. How fit are you?
So far as my opinions are concerned, I have observed that those who take much interest in sports activities are good at heart and full of good qualities. Sports teaches you philanthropy: Qualities like sharing your equipment with each other, helping your friends in various ways like giving them what they need, keeping them away from drug abuse, and suggesting nice and fruitful ideas with each other, but it depends on your company.
We can provide our friends with counselling at our level if they are struggling in their lives and are involved in bad habits like drugs, etc. If we stop sitting among the bad ones, how will they become good ones?
Now that the World Cup is going on, I remember the days I would be hooked to Television watching matches for hours together.
The author can be mailed at sahilmanzoor0401@gmail.com
