BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
PANAJI
From writing on cricket for print media like Kesari and Shatkar to working with electronic media (BBC and Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Pune-based Sunandan Lele has come a long way as a cricket journalist in a journey that started three decades ago. The veteran journalist, down in Goa for his popular cricketainment show, spoke with The Goan at length on what makes him tick in the world between the ball and the bat and outside as well. Excerpts:
TG: How did cricket journalism happen?
SL: Actually, I am a cricketer first, journalist later. I was in the U-19 India camp along with Ravi Shastri and Kiran More. I used to open with Navjot Singh Sidhu for the U-19 camp. Cricket was my first love. My profession was advertising, generating revenue for newspapers. When I started my advertising career, I was doing well. At the same time, I had a natural flair for writing on cricket. I started with the Marathi daily Kesari and then joined a famous Marathi cricket fortnightly Shatkar (sixer) which was edited by ex-India cricketer Sandip Patil, which was extremely popular. I was representing them in Pune, getting ads for them and at the same time writing. I was around 23-24 then. I have never taken a job and always been a freelancer. I have worked for a newspaper, TV channel, for a radio station. I continued my passion for cricket writing and that is how I became a cricket journalist.
TG: How did you get into TV journalism?
SL: In 2001, I was covering the India v Australia match for Shatkar as well as doing the in-stadia advertising at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. Those days, I was selling boundary advertisement boards. That match gave me good boost financially and I earned a lakh and half. I invested that money and went on my first official tour to Zimbabwe under the captaincy of Saurav Ganguly. Ever since, I must have missed only around 20 Test matches that India have played. I have covered all T20 World Cups and World Cups since 2000. I have covered around 170-175 Test matches that India played in the last 17-18 years. It is quite a good coincidence that my life has come a full circle and that I have come to Goa.
TG: You have travelled extensively in the course of your career covering cricket. If you could recall any special memories…
SL: I have been to all Test-playing nations at least thrice. I have stopped count of the number of times I have been to England because I have been there at least 20 times. I have been to West Indies 7-8 times, South Africa nine times. Meeting all former greats, meeting current good players, meeting sportspersons from other sports it has been an unbelievable journey. And the cricketing God has been more than kind to me. Whenever I go to Antigua, I have meetings over dinner with Sir Viv Richards. I have been to Pakistan thrice. In 2004, when the Indian team went to Pakistan after a gap of 14 years, we were pampered. Nobody was ready to take money from us. Let me be clear, I am not a fan of Pakistan but at the same time the general public there is brilliant. They love Indians like anything, are passionate about cricket and love Bollywood.
TG: You have met and interacted with several Indian cricketers. Who are your favourites?
SL: My favourites are three cricketers – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. They are great cricketers and even greater human beings. That is why I struck a chord with them. I have covered Sachin’s 85 international hundreds, I have covered Rahul’s debut till his retirement and I have covered Dhoni’s debut ODI and Test matches and I am still covering his matches. All these three guys are close to me.
TG: How did the thought of having a show on cricket originate?
SL: After doing a cricket pradakshana – going to all the Test playing nations that I completed in 2009 by going to New Zealand, I thought of doing this show. As a cricket journalist, we get to meet people, opportunity to visit 7-9 cities as we are there for almost a week, if a Test match is played there. This has given many opportunities to me which I have made most of. I have enjoyed my cricket and at the same time explored some amazing places. The show is not cricket and about that day when it was 23 for 4, he was bowling and the wind was coming from a particular direction. The show is about cricketainment because it has cricket stories, huge human angle stories and stories related to places of interest where normally you may not go.
