On Friday morning, Mumbai’s 26-year-old medium-pacer Usman Malvi finished an early breakfast only to find himself getting into a serious argument with his cable operator. The service network in the western suburb Andheri, where Malvi stays, wasn’t available. Frustrated that he’d miss Sachin Tendulkar scoring those all-important, Malvi was losing his cool.
“I got to see it much later when a news channel was flashing it,” he said, irritated that he missed his idol surpassing Brian Lara’s record. All the bowlers in Mumbai’s Ranji squad, or even those at the fringe level, have bowled to Tendulkar in the nets at some point. Malvi is no different. In fact, when Tendulkar was preparing for the Australia series after recuperating from his elbow injury, Malvi was among only three bowlers invited to have a go at him.
He remembers how he wore his spikes and dashed to the Bandra-Kurla ground, wanting to be played by the man himself. “Usman, zyaada bahar mat daal, nahi toh padegi (don’t bowl too wide off the crease or you’ll get hit),” Tendulkar had told him. Malvi bowled a couple of overs by the time Tendulkar found his rhythm, began shuffling his feet well at the crease and lofting him all over the park. “Imagine how frustrated I was today when I couldn’t see him break the record. As much as I was desperate, I missed it,” he said.
Tendulkar’s home in Bandra was surrounded by a huge media contingent. His wife Anjali had no choice but to come down the building and address them. “It’s a reward to his dedication, patience,” she said.
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