Sport Today

> of Australian cricket.

> With great sadness, I write the sad demise of my student as well

> as my very good friend Mr Venkatesh Babu, who IMHO, was one

> of the greatest fans of Australian cricket.  Venkatesh had

> never been to Australia in his life which was cut cruelly short

> by a freakish motorcycle accident yesterday on our campus, but he was one of the most ardent and never-say-die fan of Aussie cricket.  He was one

> of the most disappointed of fans in the recent 0-4 loss of the

> young inexperienced Aussies in Bhaarath and I had never even

> seen a real Aussie grief struck on the plight of its cricket.

> Of course he did have an affection for the cricket of his own country

> but that always came after his passion for Aussie cricket. Because I had lived  in Australia for 14 years, he always used to ask me about life there.    And his

> dream was always to do his higher studies in Australia and of course

> to watch live games at the MCC.  And his other dream was to at least

> meet the spin genius Warnie in person.  He was also a great

> fan of Punter.  But all this can never happen now for my friend.

> I'm going to deeply miss animated discussions with him, esp

> pertaining Aussie cricket. But I have to admit that I'm

> crushingly disappointed at the cruel workings of fate.  

> In his demise Australian cricket has lost one of its greatest

> non-Aussie fan.

> RIP Venky.  Since We  Hindus believe in re-birth, I'm sure U

> will be reborn in the great sport loving nation of Australia

> and realize all ur dreams which were unfulfilled in this short

> and sweet lifetime.

> Shiva IYER

> 080413

> KrishNaarpaNam

> Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

>> of Australian cricket.

>> With great sadness, I write the sad demise of my student as well

>> as my very good friend Mr Venkatesh Babu, who IMHO, was one

>> of the greatest fans of Australian cricket.  Venkatesh had

>> never been to Australia in his life which was cut cruelly short

>> by a freakish motorcycle accident yesterday on our campus, but he was one of the most ardent and never-say-die fan of Aussie cricket.  He was one

>> of the most disappointed of fans in the recent 0-4 loss of the

>> young inexperienced Aussies in Bhaarath and I had never even

>> seen a real Aussie grief struck on the plight of its cricket.

>> Of course he did have an affection for the cricket of his own country

>> but that always came after his passion for Aussie cricket. Because I had lived  in Australia for 14 years, he always used to ask me about life there.    And his

>> dream was always to do his higher studies in Australia and of course

>> to watch live games at the MCC.  And his other dream was to at least

>> meet the spin genius Warnie in person.  He was also a great

>> fan of Punter.  But all this can never happen now for my friend.

>> I'm going to deeply miss animated discussions with him, esp

>> pertaining Aussie cricket. But I have to admit that I'm

>> crushingly disappointed at the cruel workings of fate.

>> In his demise Australian cricket has lost one of its greatest

>> non-Aussie fan.

>> RIP Venky.  Since We  Hindus believe in re-birth, I'm sure U

>> will be reborn in the great sport loving nation of Australia

>> and realize all ur dreams which were unfulfilled in this short

>> and sweet lifetime.

>> Shiva IYER

>> 080413

>> KrishNaarpaNam

> sorry to hear that, you seem to be a nice guy! Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

> >> I thought that rsc deserves to know of a virtually unknown fan

> >> of Australian cricket.

> >> With great sadness, I write the sad demise of my student as well

> >> as my very good friend Mr Venkatesh Babu, who IMHO, was one

> >> of the greatest fans of Australian cricket.  Venkatesh had

> >> never been to Australia in his life which was cut cruelly short

> >> by a freakish motorcycle accident yesterday on our campus, but he was one of the most ardent and never-say-die fan of Aussie cricket.  He was one

> >> of the most disappointed of fans in the recent 0-4 loss of the

> >> young inexperienced Aussies in Bhaarath and I had never even

> >> seen a real Aussie grief struck on the plight of its cricket.

> >> Of course he did have an affection for the cricket of his own country

> >> but that always came after his passion for Aussie cricket. Because I had lived  in Australia for 14 years, he always used to ask me about life there.    And his

> >> dream was always to do his higher studies in Australia and of course

> >> to watch live games at the MCC.  And his other dream was to at least

> >> meet the spin genius Warnie in person.  He was also a great

> >> fan of Punter.  But all this can never happen now for my friend.

> >> I'm going to deeply miss animated discussions with him, esp

> >> pertaining Aussie cricket. But I have to admit that I'm

> >> crushingly disappointed at the cruel workings of fate.

> >> In his demise Australian cricket has lost one of its greatest

> >> non-Aussie fan.

> >> RIP Venky.  Since We  Hindus believe in re-birth, I'm sure U

> >> will be reborn in the great sport loving nation of Australia

> >> and realize all ur dreams which were unfulfilled in this short

> >> and sweet lifetime.

> >> Shiva IYER

> >> 080413

> >> KrishNaarpaNam

> > sorry to hear that, you seem to be a nice guy! Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

> christ, you must be one old SOB

> > Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

> Interesting. The zeitgeist of my childhood had lots of GR Viswanath,
> Bedi and such other players who then seemed way better than they
> probably actually were (video clips that I see now fairly confirm it
> too). I'm not overly nostalgic or anything but even when our team has
> been mediocre - and let's face it, bar brief spells in which they
> could hold their own on the international stage, India has generally
> been an underperforming nation in cricket - there was *no* other team
> I could get myself to root for. Ever. There's never for me been a
> 'wrong time' to root for India, and that's how it'll be on even the
> day Bangles beats us in a Test series.

> Ramapriya

>>>> I thought that rsc deserves to know of a virtually unknown fan

>>>> of Australian cricket.

>>>> With great sadness, I write the sad demise of my student as well

>>>> as my very good friend Mr Venkatesh Babu, who IMHO, was one

>>>> of the greatest fans of Australian cricket.  Venkatesh had

>>>> never been to Australia in his life which was cut cruelly short

>>>> by a freakish motorcycle accident yesterday on our campus, but he was one of the most ardent and never-say-die fan of Aussie cricket.  He was one

>>>> of the most disappointed of fans in the recent 0-4 loss of the

>>>> young inexperienced Aussies in Bhaarath and I had never even

>>>> seen a real Aussie grief struck on the plight of its cricket.

>>>> Of course he did have an affection for the cricket of his own country

>>>> but that always came after his passion for Aussie cricket. Because I had lived  in Australia for 14 years, he always used to ask me about life there.    And his

>>>> dream was always to do his higher studies in Australia and of course

>>>> to watch live games at the MCC.  And his other dream was to at least

>>>> meet the spin genius Warnie in person.  He was also a great

>>>> fan of Punter.  But all this can never happen now for my friend.

>>>> I'm going to deeply miss animated discussions with him, esp

>>>> pertaining Aussie cricket. But I have to admit that I'm

>>>> crushingly disappointed at the cruel workings of fate.

>>>> In his demise Australian cricket has lost one of its greatest

>>>> non-Aussie fan.

>>>> RIP Venky.  Since We  Hindus believe in re-birth, I'm sure U

>>>> will be reborn in the great sport loving nation of Australia

>>>> and realize all ur dreams which were unfulfilled in this short

>>>> and sweet lifetime.

>>>> Shiva IYER

>>>> 080413

>>>> KrishNaarpaNam

>>> sorry to hear that, you seem to be a nice guy! Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

>> christ, you must be one old SOB

> And you a wee mofo? Not that old dirtbag!

> >>>> I thought that rsc deserves to know of a virtually unknown fan

> >>>> of Australian cricket.

> >>>> With great sadness, I write the sad demise of my student as well

> >>>> as my very good friend Mr Venkatesh Babu, who IMHO, was one

> >>>> of the greatest fans of Australian cricket.  Venkatesh had

> >>>> never been to Australia in his life which was cut cruelly short

> >>>> by a freakish motorcycle accident yesterday on our campus, but he was one of the most ardent and never-say-die fan of Aussie cricket.  He was one

> >>>> of the most disappointed of fans in the recent 0-4 loss of the

> >>>> young inexperienced Aussies in Bhaarath and I had never even

> >>>> seen a real Aussie grief struck on the plight of its cricket.

> >>>> Of course he did have an affection for the cricket of his own country

> >>>> but that always came after his passion for Aussie cricket. Because I had lived  in Australia for 14 years, he always used to ask me about life there.    And his

> >>>> dream was always to do his higher studies in Australia and of course

> >>>> to watch live games at the MCC.  And his other dream was to at least

> >>>> meet the spin genius Warnie in person.  He was also a great

> >>>> fan of Punter.  But all this can never happen now for my friend.

> >>>> I'm going to deeply miss animated discussions with him, esp

> >>>> pertaining Aussie cricket. But I have to admit that I'm

> >>>> crushingly disappointed at the cruel workings of fate.

> >>>> In his demise Australian cricket has lost one of its greatest

> >>>> non-Aussie fan.

> >>>> RIP Venky.  Since We  Hindus believe in re-birth, I'm sure U

> >>>> will be reborn in the great sport loving nation of Australia

> >>>> and realize all ur dreams which were unfulfilled in this short

> >>>> and sweet lifetime.

> >>>> Shiva IYER

> >>>> 080413

> >>>> KrishNaarpaNam

> >>> sorry to hear that, you seem to be a nice guy! Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

> >> christ, you must be one old SOB

> > And you a wee mofo? Not that old dirtbag!

> dirtbag ??? roflmao

> you are one old SOB

>>>>>> I thought that rsc deserves to know of a virtually unknown fan

>>>>>> of Australian cricket.

>>>>>> With great sadness, I write the sad demise of my student as well

>>>>>> as my very good friend Mr Venkatesh Babu, who IMHO, was one

>>>>>> of the greatest fans of Australian cricket.  Venkatesh had

>>>>>> never been to Australia in his life which was cut cruelly short

>>>>>> by a freakish motorcycle accident yesterday on our campus, but he was one of the most ardent and never-say-die fan of Aussie cricket.  He was one

>>>>>> of the most disappointed of fans in the recent 0-4 loss of the

>>>>>> young inexperienced Aussies in Bhaarath and I had never even

>>>>>> seen a real Aussie grief struck on the plight of its cricket.

>>>>>> Of course he did have an affection for the cricket of his own country

>>>>>> but that always came after his passion for Aussie cricket. Because I had lived  in Australia for 14 years, he always used to ask me about life there.    And his

>>>>>> dream was always to do his higher studies in Australia and of course

>>>>>> to watch live games at the MCC.  And his other dream was to at least

>>>>>> meet the spin genius Warnie in person.  He was also a great

>>>>>> fan of Punter.  But all this can never happen now for my friend.

>>>>>> I'm going to deeply miss animated discussions with him, esp

>>>>>> pertaining Aussie cricket. But I have to admit that I'm

>>>>>> crushingly disappointed at the cruel workings of fate.

>>>>>> In his demise Australian cricket has lost one of its greatest

>>>>>> non-Aussie fan.

>>>>>> RIP Venky.  Since We  Hindus believe in re-birth, I'm sure U

>>>>>> will be reborn in the great sport loving nation of Australia

>>>>>> and realize all ur dreams which were unfulfilled in this short

>>>>>> and sweet lifetime.

>>>>>> Shiva IYER

>>>>>> 080413

>>>>>> KrishNaarpaNam

>>>>> sorry to hear that, you seem to be a nice guy! Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

>>>> christ, you must be one old SOB

>>> And you a wee mofo? Not that old dirtbag!

>> dirtbag ??? roflmao

>> you are one old SOB

> How about scumbag? Feel better, still very in in N Y, not in slums of Sinney?

> > > Wrong time to root for Oz cricket. I grew up admiring Morris, Hassett, Miller, Harvey, Lindwall and the rest!!

> > Interesting. The zeitgeist of my childhood had lots of GR Viswanath,

> > Bedi and such other players who then seemed way better than they

> > probably actually were (video clips that I see now fairly confirm it

> > too). I'm not overly nostalgic or anything but even when our team has

> > been mediocre - and let's face it, bar brief spells in which they

> > could hold their own on the international stage, India has generally

> > been an underperforming nation in cricket - there was *no* other team

> > I could get myself to root for. Ever. There's never for me been a

> > 'wrong time' to root for India, and that's how it'll be on even the

> > day Bangles beats us in a Test series.

> > Ramapriya

> Rooting for India generally has nothing to do with it. In my

> experience, there are several instances of Indian fans being huge

> supporters of other countries. I remember oldies who, it was said,

> were *huge* fans of the 1950s England and would not hear a word

> against May, Barrington, Laker, Lock, Trueman, Statham etc. There were

> several fans of Botham, some of whom extended their support to England

> also. Fans of Sobers, Richards and the Pace Quartet were numerous and

> the Calypso West Indians had a fairly big support base in India.

> Gavaskar has written about an entire generation of Bombay college boys

> wore their hair over their collar in imitation of Ian Chappell, who

> was both charismatic and very successful in India. All in all, it is

> hardly unknown for Indians to have been massive fans of other cricket

> teams and it doesn't detract from their Indian fandom in any way.

> Regards,

> Jayen