IPL 2017

Spreading the love Tahir style

by Kritika Naidu • Last updated on

Tahir discussing legspin with opposition bowlers has been a common sight in IPL 2017 © BCCI

Fifteen minutes after Rising Pune Supergiant's narrow three-run win over the Mumbai Indians last week, Imran Tahir was on his knees at the Wankhede Stadium. And the eccentric South African leggie was rolling his arm over from the same unusual position on the pitch adjoining the one that had witnessed the match. The ball pitched perfectly on a length and turned the other way. It was the perfect googly. He then turned to Karn Sharma, the Mumbai Indians legspinner, who was next to him and also on his knees, as if to say, "now, that's how you bowl a googly". Karn tried his hand at what he had just been shown. The two then jumped back to their feet and continued with the impromptu leg-spin tutorial for a while longer.

It has become quotidian to spot Tahir with an opposition bowler at the end of the game in the tenth edition of the IPL already. Two days prior to Karn, it was Rashid Khan's turn to spend time with Tahir, amidst all the mayhem of the presentation, post-match interviews and the six-hitting challenge. They exchanged words and tips before dispersing to either ends of the pitch and bowling at each other. Rashid did most of the bowling, while Tahir stood collecting balls with a word of advice at the end of every delivery.

Tahir would know all about not having anybody at the other end to receive balls. There was a time in England, in his early years, where he would go onto grounds and bowl all by himself. He'd send one down, run to the boundary to fetch it and that would continue on repeat. He did that endlessly to hone his skills, revealing his unbridled love for the game, which hasn't changed even at 38. He is still as much a self-professed tragic of the sport, as he was when younger. He has never stopped short of expressing his passion or junoon for it with brazen assurance, also acknowledging the hard yards that he has to put in to now be considered among the most sought-after bowlers in limited-overs cricket. But still at the heart of it, he remains as humble as ever. Even when it comes to admitting that he could still learn a trick or two from a legspinner some 20 years his junior.

"Rashid is bowling not just better than me but a lot of others too," said Tahir. "Actually I went to ask him something (in the dressing room), not to tell him anything. Then he asked me something that I knew and I told him that."

Back in the 90s in Pakistan, a 16-year-old Tahir used to work at a retail store in Lahore's Pace Mall in order to support his family, having been the eldest child. Following the coaxing of a friend, he went in for Under-19 selection trials, and life as he knew it has never been the same again.

His journey from that selection trial to the 27 teams across the world that he has been a part of, hasn't been easy, but has been fulfilling to say the least, warranting why his approach to the sport is all about passion, love and learning, rather than the sumptuous eccentricities that come with it. One doesn't have to look too far; it is glaringly evident in his animated sprint of celebration with arms stretched out after picking up a wicket, or in his magnanimity in sharing the secrets of his craft.

On the eve of the RPS' clash against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, at the end of the training session, only three of Pune's players were in the nets at the Maharashtra Cricket Association - Tahir, 17-year-old Rahul Chahar and 23-year-old Milind Tandon. Once again, Tahir seemed to be sharing the tricks of his rather skillful trade with the youngsters from his own franchise.

"Nobody told me these things early on in life," Tahir said. "I'm going to say this openly today; I'm going to be as truthful as possible...because I am only human and we can tend to lie sometimes. Nahi toh hum farishtey hote [Otherwise we'd be angels]," he added in his affluent Urdu.

"I'm of the belief that I can't play on forever. Whatever the almighty has written in whoever's destiny, if I can tell them things that will help in that pursuit, I will definitely do that because nobody ever gave me that chance," he said. "I used to go to people and ask them things....I wont take names but nobody told me anything (when I was younger). So I want to tell people, who want to know, as much as I can."

Tahir, who was the No.1 T20I and One-Day International bowler at the time of the IPL auction in February, had no takers then, much to universal surprise. The legspinner eventually was roped in by the Pune-based franchise as replacement for Mitchell Marsh, and after nine games, stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. But while he doesn't waste any opportunity to express his delight at getting another shot at showing his class at the IPL, he's also all about spreading the love.

"I do it from my heart. Even last year I helped a couple of Gujarat Lions players. I won't take names but I do it from my heart. Even now I go to their room and discuss things with them. Bataane se zyaada hi milta hai, kam nahi.. [By sharing you get more, not less]."

© Cricbuzz

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