The Dressing Room at Lunch

It is the place where Kapil Dev hijacks Yashpal Sharma’s food in England and Australians insist on bananas with an inch-long stem

Adidas stands for All Day I Dream About Sports. How many times have we heard this in our growing up years? How many times did this myth give us a welcome opportunity to correct someone? “You are wrong, my friend, Adidas comes from Adi Dassler, the founder of the company,” we told the messenger of this fallacy. (Health experts believe that saying ‘You are wrong’ to a friend makes the skin look better.)

‘All Day I Dream About Sports’ is not Adidas. It is you at a certain point in your life. The phrase is accurate in that sense. At such a stage, sports is a mania. We do not stop thinking about our favourite athletes. Television unites us with them when they assemble in an arena for a contest. At some point, the cameras go off. But then the cameras of our imagination come on. They ride with World Cup footballers on the team bus and measure the tension between bitter tennis rivals after a Wimbledon final. They take particular pleasure in following cricketers into the dressing rooms for what Law 15 under Standard Test Match Playing Conditions calls the Luncheon Interval.

Cricket’s lunchtime combines two Indian passions—cricket and food. Besides, there is the human curiosity to know how and what famous people eat. Lunchtime, therefore, remains a subject of much interest to us. As Australia and India take each other on once again, there are many fans who like to imagine the scene at lunchtime. Those at the stadium and near the dressing room even crane their necks to peek inside.

Asked to give a hint about what transpires in the dressing room at lunchtime, Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, says, “We would discuss different aspects of the game.” And they would eat. “We were big guys, so all of us were good eaters. If we didn’t eat, it was like an insult, so we ate whatever was there.”

Says Michael Bevan, the former Australian batsman, “The atmosphere in the dressing room would be pretty light-hearted during lunch. I would tend to eat more than less. I would get carried away with the taste. If it was a tasty lunch, I would eat a bit. It depended on what you were doing. If you were batting, you did not feel like eating. You had a small snack, an energy drink or a bar.”

About lunches in India, Bevan says, “You have to like spicy food to enjoy lunches in India. The longer the tour goes, the more you get used to it.”

He was trying to avoid saying he did not like the food here. Told that he doesn’t have to be politically correct, he says, “Probably they did not have as much variety. I liked the flavours, but not the spice.” The same could be said of Bevan’s colleagues, who improvised so they could taste the flavour and still stay away from spice. Hasmukh Rathod, a waiter at the Cricket Club of India (CCI), says, “Shane Warne would eat naan and soya sauce. Matthew Hayden would roll up malai kababs in a naan. Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting did not seem to mind Indian food. Brett Lee would eat Indian and continental.”

Australia are not playing in Mumbai on this visit. But they have done so in the past and CCI chef Yogita Kothakar is familiar with their dietary particulars. “They did not eat Indian red meat, spinach and lettuce,” says Kothakar, who has been with the CCI for over 12 years. An expressive woman who, during matches, can be found in the clubhouse in an apron taking a quick look at the cricket, she says that “the bananas have to be yellow and need a specific inch of stem”.

At least the Aussies are not as finicky as the South Africans. “South Africa are particular about the temperature of the food,” Yogita says. “Their manager has a thermometer. Food has to be 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They gave me a bit of a tough time.” There is no telling what the temperature in a dressing room can be at lunchtime. But it is liable to rise anytime, given that eleven egos share a relatively small space. And if the team’s top player is feeling affronted, tension will spread. It will act as a mute button. The meal will be eaten in silence.

“After the declaration in Multan (which denied Sachin Tendulkar a double hundred in the 2004 series against Pakistan), the atmosphere was tense,” says Aakash Chopra, who opened for India in the match, scoring 42. “Today, we see a trend where music is played during lunches to help players relax and calm the atmosphere down, whereby it is intense yet relaxed.”

Hasmukh Rathod, the CCI waiter, says, “Michael Clarke was once given out leg before and crashed his bat into a plastic chair. It broke into two pieces. I moved away. Adam Gilchrist would throw his helmet to one side, bat to the other. Ponting would abuse. But within minutes, they would be okay.”

There was an era when a certain unspoken hierarchy prevailed at lunchtime. Fragments of it still exist. Says Dilip Vengsarkar, the former India captain, “It is mandatory to serve the two not-out batsmen in the dressing room or main bowlers who would be bowling at the time. Those days it was the duty of reserve players, but not anymore I guess.” Players of the current generation deny any rigid protocol.

“The hierarchy is long gone,” says batsman Wasim Jaffer. “Today, it’s more of a first-come, first-serve basis. And since cricket has gone professional, the differences in hierarchy have gradually become irrelevant.” Aakash Chopra says, “It doesn’t happen anymore, even in firstclass cricket or even the Indian team.”

Ajit Agarkar, at his peak a competent all-rounder for India, says, “Fortunately, I have never come across such a custom during my playing days. Whichever team I’ve represented, juniors and seniors are treated equally, and the same applies for eating habits too, especially during lunches.”

“We all eat together,” says batsman Rohit Sharma. “The senior players always made me feel comfortable.”

One cannot, however, rule out a subtle code of respect to seniors. It is hard to imagine a youngster reaching around Rahul Dravid to help himself to more peas curry. There must exist at least a watereddown version of the protocol seen in the 1980s’ film Satte Pe Satta, where the ravenous pack of brothers has to wait until Amitabh Bachchan, the eldest brother, has served himself.

Francophile author Peter Mayle, famous for his books on Provence, holds an unflattering view of food in England, his homeland. England’s limited culinary range played no small part in Mayle’s romance with France, where lunch will not be forsaken even if a reborn Mussolini attacks. Where Mussolini himself might be tempted by the aromas, drop his gun and tuck a napkin under his collar. But dreary England, Mayle would be surprised to know, scores highly with cricketers for its food.

Agarkar says, “I feel Lord’s serves the best lunch in the world. They serve a serious lunch there. I enjoyed my days at Lord’s both as an Indian cricketer and while playing for Middlesex.” England’s cold weather helps. Says Bevan, “The lunches in England would be hard to resist. They would often have a roast. The weather would be cold and a large hot meal would feel good.”

Vengsarkar, however, does not have great memories of the food in England, even though he played some of his best cricket there. “On my first tour of England in 1979, it was difficult to adjust to cold salad and cold chicken in a cold country.”

The other nation where players look forward to lunch is Pakistan. In fact, that it is not the first choice is a surprise. The sheer meat ratio in their dishes and the generous helpings are known to conquer hearts. Just don’t say Kashmir belongs to India. Ramesh Powar, it is said, was thrilled to travel to Pakistan because he had heard so much about its food.

Wasim Jaffer says, “I didn’t play much during the 2006 tour to Pakistan and got a chance to indulge a little. During off days, and if you are a reserve, you tend to eat well. I remember feasting on treats like nihari and halwa puri they would put up for lunch.”

Australia is popular for its food. Rohit Sharma and Vengsarkar rate it among their favourites. And a country where the food is difficult to enjoy? “Hands down, West Indies,” says Rohit Sharma. Wasim Jaffer agrees, “West Indies. Their food isn’t something we’re used to, especially the type of meat they use.”

“West Indies was an extremely difficult place to tour from a food point of view. Mainly because I am a vegetarian and there were hardly any vegetarian meals on offer during lunch,” says Aakash Chopra.

An appetising meal at the end of a work day is a reasonable, human expectation. When cricket players walk into the dressing room after a tiring first session, they want food that will hit the spot. For Rohit Sharma, that food is egg curry. He loves eggs. Soon after returning to Mumbai after the World T20 win in 2007, he and a few friends ate 48 eggs at the home of his coach Dinesh Lad.

Bevan likes the sight of seafood. “When I was with New South Wales, they would have lots of calamari and chips. That was my favourite lunch.”

Syed Kirmani, the former India wicket- keeper, says, “I ate to live and not the other way round. We also had our beloved expats everywhere who would invite us home or to their restaurants. We never missed Indian food. So in the dressing room I ate whatever had been arranged. But someone like Ravi Shastri enjoyed food and was a hearty eater. Sunil Gavaskar had his favourites, like nalli curry and mutton korma.”

Vengsarkar says, “It depended upon whether I was batting, already out or fielding. If I was batting then I would keep it very light. If I was already out, then it was a full meal of whatever nonvegetarian was available.”

Says Agarkar, “As an active cricketer, I prefer something high on carbohydrates. When playing, I tend to eat less. I prefer sandwiches or curd rice. When playing in India, I avoid masala.” Wasim Jaffer says, “I like to see some chicken and mutton curry for lunch along with roti or naan. It is tasty and healthy too.”

Asked to name the big eaters in the current dressing room, Rohit Sharma says, “In the Ranji Trophy team, it would be Abhishek Nayar, and in the Indian team, Irfan Pathan.” Sharma himself is known to be a food enthusiast.

Nayar also figures in Agarkar’s list of dining table heavy-hitters. Vengsarkar names Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar. Bevan says, “The big fast bowlers were the best eaters. Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie… they didn’t mind a feed.”

Yashpal Sharma would support the observation that bowlers are borderline gluttons. Vengsarkar reveals, “On the 1979 England tour Yashpal would get vegetarian lunch organised from Indian families, only to be eaten by Kapil (Dev) even before he would get to know of its arrival.”

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