A smiling face at every corner, adulation that reminds you of family and to top it off, a spicy and delicious dish of ‘chhole bhature’. West Indies cricket great Brian Lara loves India and for a change Bollywood has nothing to do with it. The 55-year-old, who is in the country providing commentary for Star Sports in the ongoing IPL, took time out to visit the PTI headquarters for a relaxed interaction with its editors and made no secret of his affection for the country where cricket is an obsession .
“I’m not a big fan of Bollywood. I come from a country with a majority Indian population… So there’s a lot of interest in Bollywood. I’m not even a fan of English films. Unfortunately… Harry Potter and stuff like that, I haven’t really seen ,” he joked with a wide smile on his face, using the charm offensive.
“But what I like about India is unconditional love,” he quickly added.
Arguably one of the greatest batsmen of all time and one of the most internationally recognized cricketers, Lara said that what makes his love for India lasting is the warmth with which he is received here.
“I think when you come to India, the way you are treated, you know, and when you turn any corner there is a smile on someone’s face just seeing you. very positive,” he said.
“It has a positive effect on me being in India, being loved in a foreign country and the way they… Walking in Miami, in South Beach, everyone is pushing you out of the way.
“But in India it’s a totally different story, everyone pushing you,” he said as he tried to explain what makes India so special to him.
“So, I think from someone who started playing for the adulation of my father and my brothers to have the adulation in India is something that I love, but it’s also the serenity of the people,” he added.
However, not all of his experiences in India were pleasant. Lara has no qualms admitting that the way his coaching stint at Sunrisers Hyderabad ended was quite “bad”, but the West Indies icon still picked him as one of his favorites to reach the IPL qualifiers this year.
Your other three choices are Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings.
“…I have to make this very clear because sometimes people will think that your relationship with SRH was really bad, but I would love to see SRH do well. I feel like it’s a continuation of something,” Lara said.
Coming back to ‘chhole bhature’, Lara said the popular North Indian street food is very similar to something he is used to eating at home.
“I like it and it’s very similar to a dish in Trinidad called Doubles. Yeah, so look up, Trinidad Doubles and look at chhole bhature and it’s something very, very similar,” he said referring to a popular at-home breakfast option.
“And I can say that when Indian players come to Trinidad, they have our pairs, they love it,” he revealed.
Training instead of comments
Lara is currently enjoying her stint as a commentator, but it has its fair share of challenges.
“One of the things, the challenge I have is to stay excited and create excitement for the crowd when I believe something average has happened,” he said quite frankly.
“So a guy plays a big cover drive and he’s inside the lead for four and I have to get excited about that, it’s kind of tough,” he explained.
But there are moments he also enjoys.
“But being part of the IPL and a cricket game and say, for example, when Shamar Joseph took those seven wickets in that Test match in Australia, and being able to end that period is exciting in itself,” he recalls having referred to the seven-wicket haul taken by Joseph while bowling with a broken toe.
What he really wants to do, however, is coach young players. “You know, my number one experience, I think, is coaching. I think working with young players and watching them grow is wonderful… I don’t like to be too critical of players and I like to keep my opinion sometimes. behind closed doors, so it’s a learning experience for me to be a commentator,” he said.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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