Saturday, August 2, 2008

He lived the dream, only to see it shattered

SHALINI GUPTA

ONCE known as the Pied Piper of Patiala and hailed as India's Gen Next cricketer, Reetinder Singh Sodhi got to live his dream but could not hold on to it for long. He promised much, got a chance to play for India but an injury at the wrong time put paid to his ambition. At 27, Sodhi has already kissed goodbye to the mainstream cricket. He was merely 15 when he stood at the Lord's balcony with the Under-15 World Cup. Add to that the fact that the Indian skipper was also the man of the final against Pakistan with figures of 3 for 34 and an unbeaten knock of 82 and Sodhi soon became a household name. Four years later, Sodhi stood on yet another podium, this time as member of the Indian team which won the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka and along with the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Ajay Ratra the Patiala allrounder was ushered into the Indian team that very year. He was being touted as the next genuine all rounder India possessed and who could ably fill in the number 6 slot after Robin Singh and Ajay Jadeja. Sodhi did not quite live upto the promise and scored just 280 runs from 18 one-day internationals at a modest average of 25.45.. He could just pick up five wickets at 73 runs apiece. Sodhi suffered a fracture on his back during the Challenger Trophy in January in 2002 and was forced out of cricket for almost six months. He spent over two months under a rehab programme in Mumbai where Dr Anant Joshi treated him. After that Sodhi could never make a comeback into the Indian squad and his performance at the first-class level too didn't quite reach towering heights. "Due to my back injury I missed on cricket a lot, for almost two years. I was doing light practice after 7-8 months of rehab but could not produce the results needed. I guess, the competition got fiercer and I lagged behind others. Though, I tried my best throughout and when I was included in the 14-man India A team for the Euro-Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi in 2006, I reckoned that I would make a comeback in the National squad but I did not," Sodhi recalls the period. "I was really keen on playing alongside international cricketers, and when the Indian Cricket League (ICL) was launched I had my eyes on it. Being part of ICL has made me an accomplished cricketer and I don't regret the fact that I joined it. I wish BCCI and ICL join hands one day, though it looks highly unlikely at this point of time," Sodhi, now facing a ban from the BCCI for playing in the rebel league says The athletic allrounder is attending a 10-day physical conditioning camp in Bangalore as part of the Ahmedabad Rockets. Sodhi knows days of being an international cricketer are behind him now. But cricket remains the No.1 love still: "My future is with ICL. So what if I could not make a comeback in the Indian squad; I am rubbing shoulders with best in the business."

Reporter with The Indian Express in Chandigarh