Navjot Singh Sidhu's journey to the pinnacle

Navjot Singh Sidhu

“Through laughter, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”

The legendary American comedian Bill Cosby does make sense. Doesn’t he? Perhaps, the story of a gutsy Sardar, who has excelled outstandingly in various walks of life, will better demonstrate Cosby’s words.

He pairs up spectacularly with Kapil Sharma, the ‘Comedy King’, to entertain us to no end. With the commentator’s mike in hand, he unleashes the best of ‘Sidhuisms’. The daring Sardar being referred to here is indeed ‘Sherry’ a.k.a. Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Navjot Sidhu the cricketer, in his early days, was a different character altogether. His forte lay in tremendous concentration and unremitting doggedness. His journey from being an astray young man to being one of the most accomplished bats in Indian history can truly inspire a million.

‘Sherry’ learnt the first lesson of his cricketing career not in an academy but from his own father, Bhagwant Singh, the then advocate general at Chandigarh High Court. At a tender age of 11, he asked his father to buy a motorcycle for him. His father didn’t refuse; instead, he approved the request subject to the condition that he must come 1^st in his school’s athletic meet. He had to wait for three long years to achieve this goal. Thus, despite belonging to a wealthy family, he was made to earn his first belonging. Sidhu, in an interview with the BBC, acknowledged this incident as a ‘learning curve’ for him.

He never wanted to be a cricketer. It was his father who wanted him to be one. Out of great respect and the self-induced pressure to not disappoint his father, he took up cricket as a profession, although he struggled to keep his focus on the game. He was supposed to get up at 5 in the morning to be at the ground for practice sessions. Siddhu, though, would bribe his servants in a bid to fool his father and have his ways.

Following a ton for North Zone against the visiting Caribbean side, he made the cut to the Indian team. His stint with the national side didn’t last long, as he was dropped following an ordinary show in the 2-match Test series against the West Indians.

After his disappointing show in the debut series, a leading sports journalist Rajan Bala penned down an article on Sidhu referring to him as a ‘stroke-less wonder’. The Indian Express article saddened his father a lot and even reduced him to tears. He didn’t let his son know about it, though, but he wasn’t quite effective in doing it. Sidhu managed to figure that something was wrong. The tears in his father’s eyes traumatized him; never in his life before did he witness his father in such a state.

After his father left for Chandigarh on duty, he picked up the newspaper and scanned through the column where Bala had ruthlessly torn him apart. The image of his father crying brought about an incredible transformation in him. He had that article of him cut out and fixed in his wardrobe. He collected the tears trickling down his eyes and took vows to prove his doubters wrong. From that day onwards, his schedule was characterized by sheer discipline. He would get up at 4′o clock sharp in the morning and proceed to the ground for practice.

He would ask his servants to accompany him, not to help him cheat but to keep a watch on him. He would clean the pitch, furnish it with water and even roll it himself. A rekindled Sidhu was back on track. Henceforth, he would never go to parties, watch movies or follow any other despicable habit. He would entice the children in the neighborhood with money to bowl at him even during the nights. On a 16-yard strip, these children would bowl at him as fast they could. This was Sidhu’s very own way of preparing to counter the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Sidhu has tried his hand at different roles: Cricketer, Commentator, Politician

Come hell or high water, he would make it a point to hit a mind-boggling 300 sixes every day. As a result, he earned himself the nick-name ‘Sixer Sidhu’. The self-proclaimed advocates of Test cricket belittle six-hitting abilities: it is just an inept cricketer’s short-cut method of winning the crowd support, they believe. Perhaps, the trauma Sidhu underwent should change their thought process a wee bit. Sidhu would return back to home in the night with his gloves completely submerged in blood and sweat, only to get up at 4 on the very next morning, get his pads on and undergo the rigorous exercise again.

His comeback tournament was the World Cup in 1987. The stage couldn’t have been any bigger! Sidhu had undergone a massive changeover, though, to be daunted by all the hype surrounding his team, more so when they were the defending champions. Technically solid yet ruthlessly punishing, he blasted his way to 4 consecutive half-centuries including a record 29 sixes in the entire tourney. More importantly, he played a crucial role in his team’s successful campaign before the semi-final exit.

While Sidhu was on his way to Dubai for a tri-series, Ravi Shastri threw a newspaper towards Sidhu saying that something nice was written about him; in fact, it was an article written by Rajan Bala titled “Sidhu: From Strokeless Wonder to a Palm-Grove Hitter”, acclaiming his splendid performance in the World Cup. Sidhu was a relieved man now. It was the most important day of his life. He felt as if a burden was off his chest. Coming back home, the paper cutting in his wardrobe brought back memories of the old. He hoped that his father who was in the heavens by then was proud of his son’s deeds.

Sidhu was able to express himself on the field more than ever before in the days that followed. He scored over 500 Test runs in 1993, 1994 and 1997. A paradigm of fearlessness, he dealt with immense success against the deadly bowling attacks of his time. Sidhu was one of the few opening batsmen who could negotiate pace and spin equally well. He relished playing spin bowling a great deal in particular. It all started from the World Cup in 1987, when as soon as a spinner would arrive, he would put his dancing shoes on. It wasn’t blind slogging by any stretch of imagination. He was a master at picking the ball from a tweaker’s hand.

It was a time when the Australian legend Shane Warne was making the best bats in the world bow down to his artistry. ‘Sixer Sidhu’ wasn’t the one to fall under his spell. As a matter of fact, he always had the upper hand over the ‘Sheik of Tweak’. Indian fans would have the 1998 Indo-Aussie series distinctly etched in their minds. It was indeed Sachin Tendulkar who sealed the deal for India. Sidhu’s 221 runs in 5 innings pales in comparison with Tendulkar’s 446 runs in 5 innings. Having said that, Sidhu was the cynosure of all eyes in that series as he took on Warne and read his variations as beautifully as they were bowled, dispatching him into the stands virtually every time he came on to bowl.

Despite having a calm disposition, Sidhu the cricketer did find himself plunged into a controversy when he decided to opt out midway through the 1996 English tour. Differences with skipper Mohammad Azharuddin was perhaps the reason for his departure; however, Sidhu created no fuss, accused nobody and returned back to the squad after the tour. This decision didn’t not affect his form in anyway as it was only in 1997 against the West Indies that he scored the sole double century of his career.

Sidhu’s memorable moments were always overshadowed: be it during the 1998′s Border-Gavaskar Trophy when Tendulkar grabbed the spotlight or in his debut game against the West Indies when Gavaskar became the then all-time highest run-scorer in Tests.

In the early phase of his career, Sidhu was dubbed as a burden on the side due to his slow legs both on the field and between the wickets. However, he worked hard on his fitness to earn the title of ‘Jonty Singh’ thanks to his athleticism and commitment as a fielder. Sidhu’s second innings as a commentator has been quite refreshing. His laughable yet thoughtful ‘one-liners’ has enlivened the viewers’ experience of watching cricket telecast. All in all, he has been a thorough ‘entertainer’ in the true sense of the word.

The gist of the inspiring tale of Sidhu is that one should never chasten the aspirations; furthermore, learning to persevere despite limitations is of utmost importance.

Here’s a look at Sidhu’s career statistics, as stats reveal more than they hide.