Hirwani reaches a gritty half ton

Today, there are several cricketers who have made it big after starting off in small towns. Leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani, it can be said, was one of the first

It doesn't feel like 22 years since I sat in Narendra Hirwani's room at the Karnataka State Cricket Association guesthouse, interviewing him after the 1996 Irani Cup match in Bangalore. The then discarded India leg-spinner had claimed eight Karnataka wickets in the game and was eyeing a comeback after not figuring in any of the three Tests on the 1996 tour of England. He had played his last Test a little less than a year ago and probably feared his international career was in decline.

However, nothing could take away the fact that he had clinched the man-of-the-match award in that 1995 Test against New Zealand at Cuttack. In Bangalore, his Rest of India team had lost the Irani Cup to Karnataka, but his sacrifice in the form of a fast, done prior to the season-opening match had paid off because he achieved some success on the Chinnaswamy Stadium strip.

We spoke about how he couldn't live up to expectations after his dream debut against the West Indies at Chennai in 1988 when he claimed 16 wickets. No other Test debutant, save Australia's Bob Massie (at Lord's in 1972), claimed so many on debut. Pundits reckoned his deliveries were too slow and he lacked the kind of variety a top-class leggie should possess. He took all that criticism in his stride and only occasionally did he rubbish the theories.

He also related his life story that I found amazing. Today, there are several cricketers who have made it big after starting off in small towns. Hirwani, it can be said, was one of the first. He took his first steps in the game at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. He happened to tour Indore for one of his junior games and decided that this was going to be the town where he will try and fulfill his cricketing promise. At 14, he left his Gorakhpur home and told his parents that he would only return after becoming a first-class cricketer.

He stayed in a small room near Indore airport and cycled daily to the Nehru Stadium for practice. Ramu, a domestic help in his parents' home, was sent to accompany Hirwani on his journey. Ramu was three to four years elder to him and is still around the Hirwani household in Indore. Sanjay Jagdale, the former national selector and BCCI secretary coached at the Nehru Stadium. He found him overweight and so a determined Hirwani soon lost 23 kg.

By December 1984, he made his debut for Madhya Pradesh against Rajasthan at Bhilai, where he claimed five for 101. Jagdale managed to house Hirwani in a room at Nehru Stadium. "Room No 6… how can I ever forget that number? It is bitterly cold in winters here and I did not have much protection. I started doing skipping exercises to keep myself warm. I trained for most of the day. Watching me work out, people started calling me a hamaal (porter). And when I said I'm training hard to play for India, they started calling me paagal (mad)," Hirwani told me on a visit to his home in 2006.

Room No. 6 Nehru Stadium was his Indore address even after he became a Test player until the MP government rewarded him with a piece of land and R1 lakh in cash to build a home. For someone who claimed 732 wickets in first-class cricket, Hirwani deserved more than just 17 Tests. He came to be known as a domestic toiler, who'd never give up and he profited from playing for Air India on the inter-office circuit in Mumbai.

Yes, he yearned for a chance to bowl in India colours, but he also wanted to rip through opposition teams while bowling in tandem with Anil Kumble. Hirwani went on to be a national selector, and now coaches young spinners at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. He is not the type to brood over the past in a hurry, but could have been happier with more opportunities.

He was initially part of the Indian squad for that epic 2001 series against Australia and remembers saying in a team meeting that Harbhajan Singh should go round the wicket to quell the aggression of the Australian batsmen. Harbhajan ended up with 32 wickets, but Hirwani didn't get a game, despite him getting eight wickets in a tour game for the Sourav Ganguly-led Board President's XI against Australia played in between the Mumbai and Kolkata Tests. Venkatapathy Raju was included in the side for that memorable Eden Gardens Test, but not Hirwani.

Another flame of hope emerged when he was told by then India coach John Wright that he could be needed for the home series against the West Indies in 2002-03, but the call did not come. And so the start and end of Hirwani's Test career was in complete contrast - 16 wickets against Viv Richards's 1988 West Indies and wicketless against Hansie Cronje's 1996 South Africans in Kolkata. Apart from seeing his trainees prosper and lift their game, Hirwani has something else to look forward to - son Mihir, a leg-spinner as well, who has represented Madhya Pradesh. Mihir's proud dad turns 50 today.

mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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