The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Unsung heroes behind Kotla success

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Monday, Apr 18, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Unsung heroes behind Kotla success

Vijay Lokapally

Chetan Chauhan, Radhey Shyam win highest accolades for their professional approach

NEW DELHI: The Kotla never looked so lovely. As everyone patted each other, they remained the unsung men of the grand show at the Ferozeshah Kotla. Chetan Chauhan, veteran of many a cricket battle, and the battle-scarred Radhey Shyam Sharma, who emerged as a reliable curator. They were the happiest individuals at the Ferozeshah Kotla, of course with the exception of the Pakistan contingent.

The successful conduct of the match meant so much to these two men, who stood up to the challenge of getting up the cricket stadium with the backing of the Delhi and District Cricket Association president, Arun Jaitley.

Barring those ugly moments, when a section of the crowd showed its fangs by pelting missiles on the Pakistan fielders and forced a brief stoppage of play, the contest progressed smoothly.

For Chauhan, this was far more challenging than facing Jeff Thomson on a bouncy track. "There I knew where the ball was coming from. Here, our own people were pulling us back. There were efforts to sabotage our mission. It was scar for some time but we took some right decisions, identified our soldiers and battled on," Chauhan said, adding that the curator did a fantastic job.

Never for a moment did the former Test opener believe he would lose the race against time as Kotla, with an army of workers, underwent a complete restructuring. "We got timely support from the State and the Central governments. We thank Delhi Chief Minister, Shiela Dixit, for her support. We needed this game because we needed the money for the stadium," said Chauhan.

Dedication pays off

For three months now, the 70-year-old Radhey Shyam had dedicated himself to the Kotla, visiting home only to sleep for five hours. Last night, he sacrificed this luxury and stayed at the ground.

"It was a matter of life and death for me. Experts and novices all seemed united in condemning my effort. No one was prepared to believe me when I said the pitch would last the match. I am so happy that the Match Referee and the umpires had no complaints about the surface. My mission stood accomplished," said Radhey Shyam, who added with a smile: "I don't need a bodyguard now."

It was only three days ago that Radhey Shyam was given the independent charge of the pitch. Radhey Shyam was told "do what you want." Until then he had worked in tandem with the Grounds and Wicket Committee, which also deserved compliments with its chairman, Venkat Sunderam, the driving force behind the project.

Adopting safest way

"The binding was a problem but I adopted the safest way. My staff did nothing but watered and rolled the pitch. We all had our reputation at stake and necks on the block. Had it been a five-day match, probably I may have fled but we were sure we could prepare a pitch worthy of staging a 100- over contest," gushed Radhey Shyam, who was also the curator when Anil Kumble took 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan six years ago.

"This is the most momentous day of my life. My devotion paid off," said Radhey Shyam. He is also a professional coach who is constantly on the hunt for young talent, not to forget his capacity to organise tournaments in the Capital.

The two deserve the highest accolades from the DDCA, which did a superb job in its race against time. It was professional all the way and the organisation stood to gain Rs 6 crores from this venture.

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