when Indian PM Modiji met Guayana Cricketers !

IPL is big money and IPL auction is crazy – still today it was dizzy with Rishab Pant reaching newer heights at 27 Cr by Lucknow Super Giants, eclipsing the one a few minutes earlier of Shreays Iyer.  Then Venkatesh Iyer too went for 23.75 Cr.   Punjab Kings had a busy start to their IPL 2025 auction with big names in Shreyas Iyer (26.75 cr), Arshdeep Singh (18 cr), and Yuzvednra Chahal (18 cr).  No post on big money or IPL auction !?

 

A post on our Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modiji visit to a Caribbean Nation – and something of Cricketers of yore ! – and one would be surprised to know that the man with the mike is a famous cricketer of 1970s – can you recognize him ?

 

Back in 1975, when limited overs Cricket was nascent, in a Group match between WI & Australia, with WI in a spot of bother, walked a short leftie,  shirt unbuttoned and bare-headed on an overcast day. Protective gear was limited to the gloves, abdomen guard and pads for batsmen, the other aids of safety like the helmet, elbow protector and chest and rib guards unknown then. Dennis Lillee, the aggressive Aussie pace bowler, was fearsome those days but in a 10-ball assault Lillee was thrashed for  35 runs, with seven fours and a six, the sequence running 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 4, 6, 0, 4.  He eventually fell for 78 off 83 balls with the total at 153 after easily outscoring Roy Fredericks, a savage hitter himself, in a stand of 124.  Remember seeing  this 5’4”-  score 51 and getting run out in that Pongal test of 1975 – 4 years later in another Pongal test, he captained and made 98 bolwed by Venkatraghavan. 

Guyana   is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic mainland British West Indies. Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the country's largest city. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil,  Venezuela and Suriname.   The official language of the country is English, although a large part of the population is bilingual in English and the indigenous languages. It has a wide variety of natural habitats and very high biodiversity. The country also hosts a part of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rainforest in the world. 

Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji  arrived in Guyana on Wednesday (November 20, 2024), making it the first visit by an Indian head of state to the country in more than 50 years.

Between the early 19th and early 20th centuries, colonial Britain moved Indian labour to the Caribbean to farm the sugar plantations. Nearly a million people of Indian origin live in the Caribbean today and in some states like Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname, they form a sizable section of the population and contribute to nation-building.  Given its proximity, a rising America in the 19th century displaced the Europeans to dominate the ebb and flow of commerce and the sea lines of communication that connect it to the rest of the world.  The Modi government’s focus on the diaspora and its ambitions for a larger global Indian role have combined to focus much-needed Indian strategic attention on the region. In 2019, PM Modi held the first summit with CARICOM leaders on the margins of the UNGA. The Covid-19 pandemic saw the Modi government extend its vaccine diplomacy to the region and build goodwill. Together, the PM’s visit to Guyana, engagement with the Indian diaspora, and the second summit with CARICOM, mark an important moment in India’s engagement with the Caribbean. The Caribbean is a good place to demonstrate that Delhi means what it says on its new commitment to the Global South.   

In 2015, a company discovered 11 billion barrels of oil in Guyana and that set the country on the path of double-digit growth and a better future. The new discoveries of oil equivalent amounted to 18 per cent of total global oil and gas discoveries and 32 per cent of discovered oil.  India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is looking to diversify its crude sources, and Guyana offers a good opportunity. India wants to sign a multi-year oil purchase deal with Guyana and acquire stakes in the South American nation's exploration areas.  Recently,  Union Cabinet had approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India and the Ministry of Natural Resources, Guyana, on cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.  Guyana also offers a lucrative defence market to India. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) delivered two Dornier 228 planes to the Guyana Defence Force in April this year. The deal was part of a Line of Credit (LoC) Agreement, the first ever defence LOC that India has signed with any Caribbean nation. Guyana also plans to purchase patrol vehicles, radars and armoured vehicles from India, according to reports.  Indian companies have also expressed interest in bio fuel, energy, minerals and pharmaceuticals.   

The subject matter of this post is not emphasizing Guayana’s importance on trade front, but about PM Modi ji meeting prominent Cricket personalities during his visit.  Cricketers Clive Lloyd, Alvin Kallicharran, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Devendra Bishoo, Steven Jacobs, and Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop were among those present. Speaking about people-to-people ties, PM Modi noted that cricket binds India and the Caribbean like no other medium.

 

After interacting with PM Modi, cricket legend Clive Lloyd said, "We had a good discussion...The conversation went very well...I think 11 of our players will now be training in India. So, it has been a very good decision by them. We are thankful to them for that...He is interested in cricket, and that is very good. He is doing things to help boost cricket. So, we would like more Prime Ministers like him." 

In case you still remember the 3^rd para of this post – the man is Alvin Kallicharran, a great batsman of 1970s – of Indian origin.  Kalli said about the meeting :    "Everybody in India knows cricket. But his (PM Modiji’s)  knowledge is special because he knows when we went to India. He knows us by our first names...To meet the Prime Minister today personally is magic...The connection is tremendous. The kind of help to work with our young cricketers is very kind of the Prime Minister and India." 

A key figure in the West Indies’ World Cup victories in 1975 and 1979, Lloyd scored 7,515 runs in 110 Tests at an average of 46.67, with 19 centuries and 39 fifties.  Kallicharran, a pivotal player in the West Indies’ 1975 and 1979 World Cup triumphs, scored 4,399 runs in 66 Tests at an average of 44.43, with 12 centuries and 21 fifties. His best score was 187. In 31 ODIs, he scored 826 runs, including six fifties, with a top score of 78. Alvin Isaac Kallicharran BEM  is a former Indo-Guyanese cricketer of Tamil origin who played Test cricket for the West Indies between 1972 and 1981 as a left-handed batsman and right-arm off spinner. Kallicharran was born in Port Mourant, British Guiana (now Guyana).  

Earlier to Kallicharran, there was Rohan Kanhai,  a Guyanese, was the first Indian-origin player to captain the West Indies, and the second after Sonny Ramadhin to play for the West Indies. Rohan Bholalall Kanhai from Guyana played for  the West Indies in 79 Test matches. He is widely considered to be one of the best batsmen of the 1960s.  His highest  256 coming against India in a Test at Calcutta. He played in the inaugural World Cup 1975 and scored 55 in the finals, his last match !! Sunil Gavaskar named his son after him.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
24.11.2024