"I would love to die on the field, fighting for my team"

NEW DELHI, February 23: I want to be remembered as a cricketer who did not flinch from challenges but instead accepted them with open arms...

NEW DELHI, February 23: “I want to be remembered as a cricketer who did not flinch from challenges but instead accepted them with open arms. I would love to die on the cricket field, fighting for my team,” Raman Lamba had said only last month when there were talks of dropping the veteran Delhi opener from the Delhi Ranji Trophy squad for an youngster with future.

The dashing former Test cricketer’s words were prophetic. “Age cannot be held as a factor against a cricketer to chuck him out of the team. If he is good for domestic cricket, why not for internationals,” he had argued, even as the 38-year-old cricketer was entertaining hopes of a recall into the National team.

Just four Tests and 32 One-Day Internationals for a cricketer who exhibited his appetite for runs in domestic cricket was too meagre. “I am not boasting. Even today, I can bat and score more runs than the current opening batsmen,” he often used to say.

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The present Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin owed his second innings’ inIndian team to Lamba. During the 1989 series in Pakistan, Lamba withdrew with a finger injury and Azhar took his place. While Lamba never got a chance again to represent the country, Azhar became a fixture in the team.

A self-motivated cricketer, Lamba (Rambo’ to his friends) continued to rule the roost even after several of his contemporaries quit because of diminishing motivation. But Lamba (“my parents had named me after the great scientist Sir CV Raman”) was different. Determination and dedication had always been the features of the fitness maniac who had made his first-class debut for India Colts against the touring West Indies at Pune in 1978-79.

Lamba, who last season crossed the 6,000-run mark in Ranji Trophy (joining the select band of Ashok Malhotra, Brijesh Patel, Arun Lal, Vijay Hazare, Hanumant Singh and Amarjeet Kaypee) had been a fantastic run-getter in domestic cricket.

Lamba’s love for the game took him to Ireland (he played the Irish league for a number of years and even married anIrish girl) and Bangladesh as a pro. He could never sit quietly in one place. “I always want to be on the field. That’s the reason I went to Ireland and Dhaka to keep myself busy,” he once explained.

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He was aggressive and he was involved in his quota of controversies. The most stunning being his on-field-battle’ with Rashid Patel during a Duleep Trophy final.

He was also banned’ for a couple of matches by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) a few years ago for his “bad influence on the youngsters.”

But he was a fighter to the core. Like the 250 he scored against Punjab at the Kotla last year when his place in the team was in doubt. Lamba considered the 1987-88 season as one of his best years in domestic cricket in which he scored 242 against Bombay (the highest individual score by a Delhi batsman) and 320 vs West Zone in Duleep Trophy final at Bhilai (career-best knock and the highest for any batsman in the championship).

Lamba, who started his cricket career with the Sonnet Cluband stayed with it till the end. “There is something called loyalty. I will remain loyal to my club and continue to play for Delhi as long as my services are required and have the strength to carry on,” he had said during Delhi’s match against Bengal at the Kotla earlier this month.

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When questioned on retirement, he had snapped back: “I have miles to go before I can think of that.” Alas…