Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 1 (ANI): Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh feels India captain Virat Kohli’s “new attitude” has instilled in his team the habit of taking on every hurdle and then getting over it rather than being intimidating by the opposite team.
Waugh made these comments on his latest documentary “Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India” which captures the very essence and undying love for the game in India. In the documentary, Waugh recollected his initial perception of India. The former Australia skipper said he was in total shock when he first visited India in 1986.
“Landing in Bombay or Mumbai, as it is now, was a total culture shock, there were just people everywhere, there were cars and bikes and animals and rats and cats running along the footpath and it was just like, where am I? I am in a different world which was just a total shock and a bombardment of the senses,” Waugh said in the documentary on discovery+.
Waugh also praised “modern-day hero” Kohli for changing the mindset of the Indian cricket team.
“What they love about Kohli is that it’s like the new attitude of India, get stuck in, don’t be intimidated. Take everything on and anything is achievable and possible. But he’s like the modern-day hero,” said Waugh.
Former skipper Rahul Dravid, who has successfully groomed many young cricketers after his retirement from cricket, spoke about the changing mindset of the Indian youth in the documentary.
“The youth of India today truly believe that they can achieve everything, they always had the intelligence, they always had the ability, but now that’s been backed up with a system and that’s been backed up with the opportunity to be able to get the best out of their talent,” said Dravid.
Waugh trails India with his camera in hand, across nine major cities documenting India’s love for the game which is equivalent to a religion. Crafted from candid, observational footage from the trip and interviews, this docu-series explores Steve’s relationship with cricket and uncovers why India means so much to one of the world’s most revered cricketers.
Waugh starts his journey from Mumbai and visits the famous maidans, which are the breeding grounds of the upcoming cricketers of the city. Waugh was amazed by the number of people playing cricket in such a confined area and termed it as ‘organized chaos.’
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who had spent his initial days playing in similar maidans remembered his earlier days and said in the documentary, “I played all my school cricket on those maidans and it becomes sometimes difficult to figure out who is fielding for which team and then to find gaps became more challenging.
“We had to be dead sure that this is a single available between point and cover fielder. It just helped you to find gaps. I remember after that when I went to these big stadiums it became easy for me to find gaps.”
During the course of his journey, Waugh also visits iconic places like the Taj Mahal in Agra, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the Maharajah Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara, HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala and interacts with many upcoming promising cricketers and captures the craze for the game in India. (ANI)
