The 35-year old Gaurav Dhiman can be forgiven if he thinks life has been like a half-hearted genie trying to materialise but giving up. When he was a teenager, it seemed that it would burst out to do all his wishes: two U-19 World Cups in 2004 and 2006, second-highest run getter in the latter as an attacking opener, happy memories of playing with Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ravindra Jadeja, spanking Kemar Roach for boundaries that still linger in his mind, IPL selections— before suddenly the genie went limp and folded inside.
An injury went out of control with lack of proper guidance and so did his mind. The crack created by a personal heartbreak was filled by liquid spirits before the genie started to stir again to save his life. A chance meeting of his father in a metro train with a young lady, who eventually became Gaurav’s wife, turned his life around. The bottle was kicked, the desire to play cricket resurfaced, a surgery was eventually done, an intense physical regimen was kickstarted — and today he has entered his name in the IPL auction fray, hoping for a minor miracle.
He has been playing in first-division in Karnataka, still belts the ball around and bowls medium pace, coaches kids, pursues coaching credentials, but the flame is burning brightly for one final chance at redemption on the field of play. The hope is some talent scout has seen him and put his name forward. “It happened to Pravin Tambe, didn’t it? 35 isn’t that old. I am the fittest I have ever been and I have confidence in my talent,” Dhiman says.
It seems best to start with some sonic memory. The sound of a ball on a square cut off the very pacy young Kemar Roach in the 2006 U-19 World Cup. “By the time I had finished playing that shot – as in my bat flow came to a stop – the ball had crashed into the boundary. That sound of the ball on the bat I can still hear.”
Another whispered voice-note seeps in. “I remember telling Pujara to let me take strike to Roach, I like his pace and bounce,” Dhiman laughs. Pujara made 97, Dhiman smashed a 56-ball 74 in a 110-run opening partnership.
He talks about happy times spent with Rohit Sharma and later with the likes of Luke Ronchi and co. in the IPL years. He was selected for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, but his body began to betray him in both stints.
A ligament tear on the left leg at RCB put him out of business. Didn’t anyone tell him how to recuperate? “Bharat Chipli had the same injury, but he returned to play soon. I thought my case would be the same. No one told me otherwise.” It began to worsen. Next year, when he shifted to Mumbai Indians, the other leg too went. “My knee swelled up and once again I was naive, trying to play through pain.”
