As I try and recollect the crazy time we have had over the last two weeks, I find it difficult to remember exactly which city I was in last Thursday or the four hour wait at the airport was for my connection to which destination. But what I do remember clearly is the moments of pain and of joy, of feeling down at a loss and the thrill of wins. It becomes a lot more personal when the characters involved on the field are friends who you have gotten to know well and who you judge beyond the statistics that everyone else sees. Andar ki Baat brings to you some personal favorite stories of despair and redemption involving some of his friends.

Despair and Redemption I: Mandeep Singh

The IPL is a great platform for youngsters who are toiling hard in domestic cricket and who have yet to catch popular attention. Mandeep Singh, a bubbly nineteen year old and the universally popular baby of the group (the other baby is the equally popular David Miller) is one such talent in KXIP. Mandy is an explosive batsman and has never failed to impress in practice matches and in the nets. He works really hard, never missing a session and even spending extra hours facing bowlers in the net. Mandy suffered a minor injury to his fingers when the campaign had just started and only the team management knows if he missed out on a spot in the team early on because of that.

As it turned out, Mandy had to wait for a long time to finally get his chance in the playing XI. In the meanwhile he kept impressing us all with his dedication and positivity. He along with Bipul are the entertainers in the team bus and play a significant role in keeping spirits high. Anyway, when he finally did get his chance, Mandy did not get off to the most auspicious of starts. In a rather disappointing overall performance against the Pune Warriors, he struggled to break the shackles and then was disappointingly run out in the win against MI. However, when we lost Karthik and Marsh in quick succession against KTK, Mandy partnered with another Mr. Nice David Hussey and played a very mature knock to see us through to victory. He still has a long way to go, but Mandy has taken steps in the right direction and here’s hoping that we can keep relying on him for contributions on and off the field.

Despair and Redemption II: David Hussey

Huss also goes by the name of Bomber which is an expansion of Brother Of Mike (Michael Hussey). Huss came into the IPL a couple of games late having just become a proud father. By the time he joined us we had hit our first winning form and he had to wait a few games to get into the team as there was no need to tinker with a winning combination. The IPL is rife with stories of prima donnas throwing their toys out of their prams when made to sit out but Bomber is Mr. Right Attitude in every way.

It must be remembered that he is our most expensive player and with that value comes a lot of pressure. So when he had some not so impressive performances with the bat, eyebrows started raising and question marks about his form were raised. What people who are not behind the scenes will never realize is that Bomber is worth a few runs and wickets just by his presence and attitude on the field and the dugout. Ever willing to cheer the boys on, praise good efforts and pat backs when a bad ball has been bowled, he is a model professional who will never be heard complaining or being negative.

Thus it was a pleasure to see him deliver the first signs of recovery along with Mandy in a knock which took place in a pressure cooker only because the pair was expected to do the job while they did not really have match form going for them. In the style typical of the David Hussey we all know, he finished the game with a boundary followed by a massive six that send us Lions roaring into delirium.   Of course, Bomber is hardly satisfied and is itching to go again, but as a friend it was pleasing to see   a great team man finally make a significant, visible contribution to an important win.

Despair and Redemption 3: Bhargav Bhatt

Bhatt is a very likeable young chap of incredible honesty with a desire to do very well. In one of our first conversations he demonstrated how well his feet were firmly planted on the ground by saying that he did not look at being part of an IPL team as a milestone in his career. His emphasis was on delivering performance and striving for higher goals just to be able to retain what he had.

His trip in life is getting his picture taken with everyone. Whether in the pool or just chilling in the lobby or at the end of a net session, he’ll seek the guy with the camera out and loves to pose and then pester the photographer till he has seen his shots. Completely devoted to his family and friends, Bhatt was delighted when two of his closest friends traveled from Baroda to Indore to be with him on his birthday.

Bhatt’s bowled some great spells for us throughout the tournament and is learning new tricks of his trade under the guidance of Jason Gillespie as well as senior bowlers and other coaches. Not that he is not already a master of his craft having emerged as the leading wicket taker in the Ranji super division last season. Yet, all his skill and flair seemed to desert him when Yuvraj Singh plundered him for runs to seal victory for Pune Warriors on Yuvi’s return to Mohali. Bhatt was clearly shaken up as his last delivery showed which ended up pitching twice before Yuvraj dispatched it yet again.

The big question that was facing him was if he could erase those memories and focus only on the job to be done or if he was going to mope around and wallow in self doubt. The team helped with pep talks as well as by lightening the mood mainly by pulling his legs over his unique wicket-taking celebration style that led to a lot of laughter. Bhatt, showed his mettle and his mental strength the next day by getting hold of the Mumbai Indians and terminating their innings in style as he finished with a magical spell of 4-22. Which KXIP fan will ever forget Bhatt’s leap of joy when the match was won as Adam Gilchrist rushed to embrace him.

It’s true his very next outing was not equally spectacular but Bhatt has taken it in his stride and is now better prepared to deal with the ups and downs of professional cricket. Here’s hoping that there are more ups than downs.