Galaxy of stars descend at launch of Kirmani’s autobiography ‘Stumped: Life Behind And Beyond The Twenty-Two Yards’
Galaxy of stars descend at launch of Kirmani’s autobiography ‘Stumped: Life Behind And Beyond The Twenty-Two Yards’
A galaxy of stars descended at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday for the launch of ‘Stumped: Life Behind And Beyond The Twenty-Two Yards’ by Syed Kirmani, the autobiography of one of India’s finest wicketkeepers.
The cricket universe was represented by Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Anil Kumble, Brijesh Patel, E.A.S. Prasanna, B.S. Chandrasekhar and many of Kirmani’s State teammates.
Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar were also in attendance.
Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, badminton stalwart Prakash Padukone and actor Jackie Shroff sent their well wishes through video messages. The book is co-authored by Debashish Sengupta and Dakshesh Pathak.
Kirmani’s famous partnership with Kapil Dev against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup, where the duo rescued India from a precarious 17 for five, was a favourite memory among speakers on the stage.
Kapil spoke about the first time he met Kirmani, who incidentally celebrated his 75th birthday on Sunday.
“I was in an under-19 camp when Syed Kirmani, Bishan Singh Bedi and others returned to India after being bloodied and bruised on a tour to the West Indies. I worked up the courage to approach Kirmani. The first autograph I ever received in my life was from the great ‘Kiri bhai’ and G.R. Viswanath,” Kapil said.
“I remember what Kirmani wrote when signing the autograph. He wrote ‘Hope to see tons of runs and tons of wickets from you’. That was most kind of him. I also spent a few hours with him, where he taught me so much about the sport and beyond,” Kapil said.
