Summary
Mishti doi, birthday song liven up Knights' day out with youngsters
Three Indian and three international players from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad spent around 40 minutes at Narayana School in New Town
An auditorium in New Town turned into a slice of the Eden Gardens on Wednesday as the afternoon air reverberated with roars of “Kay-Kay-Aar”.
Three Indian and three international players from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad spent around 40 minutes at Narayana School in New Town, interacting with students.
Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, David Wiese and Tim Southee talked about their struggles, aspirations and the KKR journey.
“What was going through your mind while bowling to a legend like (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni in the death overs in Chepauk, the CSK’s den,” a student asked Arora.
On Sunday (May 14), KKR defeated the Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in their own backyard to keep the chances of making it to the play-offs of this year’s IPL alive, though largely mathematically.
Arora, a lanky 25-year-old pacer, bowled a tight final over against Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. Before he dismissed Jadeja, he castled the stumps of Dhoni but on a free-hit, since the previous delivery was a no-ball.
“My parents and friends still congratulated me after the game. It would have been my dream wicket. He (Dhoni) is a champion player, a legend. It (bowling to him) was a real challenge. I just wanted to keep things simple and execute what I had been practising in the nets,” said Arora.
The cricketers were part of The Telegraph presents Chat With Champions, a campaign where the Knight Riders interact with their fans.
On Wednesday, the loudest cheer awaited Gurbaz, the swashbuckling keeper-batsman from Afghanistan.
“The girls love his eyes and smile,” said radio presenter Jimmy Tangree, the moderator of the discussion.
Gurbaz was asked about his “journey and the secret of his success”.
“Hard work, self-belief and the dream of becoming a cricketer have kept me going,” said Gurbaz.
When Tangree asked Southee if he enjoyed “mishti doi and rosogolla”, the veteran Kiwi seamer seemed a tad lost. But almost immediately, Gurbaz raised his right hand, triggering another round of applause from the teachers and students of the school.
The audience sang Happy Birthday to You after learning that Wiese, the South African-born Namibian cricketer, would turn a year older on Thursday.
The players were felicitated by the teachers and posed for several pictures with the students before and after the interaction.
Last updated on 18 May 2023
