From Bombay to Mombassa - The story of a cricket lover from Kenya with Indian roots

The history of Indians in East Africa can be traced as far back as the 15th century when Vasco da Gama was recorded to have encountered Indian merchants along the coast. Thereafter, a significant influx of Indians to the East Africa Protectorate (present day Kenya), took place in 1895.

It was the colonial era and a majority of the Indian migrants were brought in as workers to build the railway line. Leaving their homes, they would take the long journey in ships from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Mombassa (a port city in Kenya).

Through this, apart from the historical trade link, the British rule became a common thread connecting India and Kenya. And like in their other colonies, the Britishers brought the game of cricket to both the countries. Slowly, as both nations got their freedoms, among other things, this beautiful game stayed on as a unifying factor.

In the 1970s, several teams from India made unofficial tours to Kenya. During these tours, the Indian players would enjoy the hospitality of businessmen of Indian origin settled in the African nation. One such man was Ramesh Chander Bhalla, a cricketer who had represented the Kenya A team and has been a constant figure at the Nairobi Gymkhana. Some of the biggest cricketers from India have been guests at his home and even today he still maintains good friendships with them.

Bhalla with Sunil Gavaskar

“My father was partially blind, and they have seen tough times. But now Kenya is our home”

His family has been here for close to four generations and currently they own a variety of businesses ranging from restaurants, service stations, garages, petrol stations etc. But it wasn’t always like this. “My father was partially blind, and they have seen tough times. But now Kenya is our home”, he said.

Later on, he took up various roles with Kenya Cricket like Assistant Coach, Manager and Selector among others. He has also been the liaison manager for the Indian cricket team on few tours. During his tenure, he has seen some of the best days of Kenya cricket. Reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup ranks up as one of the landmark moments both for him as well in the history of cricket in Kenya.

“I told the team to just go and enjoy the game. Play your own game”

Remembering that match he said, “When we reached the semi-finals, we only had an outside chance of beating India. So, I told the team to just go and enjoy the game. Play your own game. Don’t get into any pressure”. As per him, coach Sandeep Patil was also a very good motivator for the team.

With the Kenya Cricket Team

In fact, not just Patil, if we look back in the history of cricket in Kenya, Indian cricketers have played a significant role in the development of the game in the African nation. The likes of Hanumant Singh, Chandrakant Pandit, Sandeep Patil and Roger Binny, to name a few have been the coaches of the Kenyan team at different points of time. So Bhalla wasn’t off the mark when he said that Kenya cricket should owe it to the Indian foreign coaches.

“Future of Kenya cricket is bleak”

Given the progress that was made in cricket, he sounds very disappointed at the current state of affairs of the game in Kenya. As per him, the country had talent, but money and politics led to its downfall. “Future of Kenya cricket is bleak”, he lamented.

Surprisingly, for a man who has been so deeply involved with cricket, it is not his first love. “Motor rallying and speed was my first love. I would do rallying whole night and then go for the cricket match in the morning. I am also a keen golfer. My other love is deep-sea fishing”, he quipped.

Bhalla with one of his catch in deep-sea fishing

And now away from cricket, whenever he gets time, he spends it in pursuing these hobbies along with charity work. He still loves Test cricket and often rings up his cricketer friends in India (who call him RC) to have a chat reminiscing about the good old days when they used to tour Kenya.