There is a certain quietude about star cricketer and commentator Anjum Chopra. She talks softly, but doesn’t mince words. Both a dreamer and a realist, Anjum has been an icon for women’s cricket in India, with many firsts to her name. Yet when you speak to her, you don’t feel the strain of the years. Instead, oodles of positivity and that burning hunger to live every moment of her big dream. A cricketer for India, forever. She chatted with The Telegraph from Bangladesh.
Close to two decades of international cricket and still going strong off the field. What’s the secret?
(Laughs) I think it’s just the passion and love for the game. And, it’s my job to look presentable. At the end of the day we are fortunate to be one amongst more than a billion people, playing for India and then going on to captain India. That itself is a blessing. To be able to stand in the middle of the ground, where the access is limited to players, and be closest to the action... it’s for the fortunate few.
Does it feel like you were skippering India just the other day?
There are so many times while entering the ground that I still walk towards the dressing room and then someone calls out ‘this way please!’ It feels just like the other day that I was first time on the ground or playing for India and captaining India in a foreign land. Only when you look at the year we are in now and the year that I started playing cricket, then it seems a long time back. When Rohit Sharma made his debut, Shubman (Gill) was just a kid. When I started playing, Shubman was just about born may be. Then you realise it’s been a long time.
You will always be a player, right?
Absolutely. That’s the first identification of my own self. The game is such a big leveller. You score a 100 one day and might get out for a nought the very next day. In an entire day’s play, it teaches you all the lessons with which you can practically go ahead in life. It provides you with such humility. You have been a part of the dressing room which is representing one of the biggest nations in the world. When I open my almirah and see my India blazer hanging there, each time you look at it, you feel, those were the days. It is such a wonderful feeling to stand up to the National Anthem. I know what is going on in a player’s mind. Sometimes, you have to pinch yourself and remind yourself that when the National Anthem finishes, you’ve got to pick up the mic and start speaking.
Not everyone gets to live their dreams. Playing at the highest level and be in the company of icons you looked up to...
Absolutely. My grandfather (nanaji) represented India as an athlete at the Commonwealth Games. My mummy’s younger brother was a prospective cricketer who decided to quit cricket and start working. My dad is a golfer and my mother has won a car rally. My brother has played cricket for Delhi and then you get to step on to the park and start playing the sport. The idea of taking smaller steps was always there, but the target was well-defined for me in my house. It’s up to the individual what you make of it. Sport was all we all liked to associate with. One fine day you should be good enough to go and captain India. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes relentless persistence and I am happy that I was able to pursue the dream of not only my family, but you don’t walk that path alone. A lot of people help you walk that path... teachers, friends and family. The biggest support is of course the parents. The day I was standing at Rashtrapati Bhavan for the Arjuna Award in 2007 was the culmination of my entire journey.
Today there is awareness about women’s cricket. When you started, you didn’t have the professional structure, the exposure and the recognition. And for the longest time, you were the face of women’s cricket in India. So, your struggles were very different...
I never thought I should be asking for equality. It was a huge difference between men’s cricket and women’s cricket, not only in the sport, but also in the perception value and realistic terms. As you keep playing and winning matches, that gap will only reduce. I have always played in a men’s cricket academy. There were the likes of late Raman Lamba, Manoj Prabhakar, Atul Wassan, all playing in the same net and I used to be bowling to them. I have probably been privy to generations of Indian cricket. When I started playing, Aakash Chopra, Ashish Nehra and Shikhar Dhawan were all around. Shikhar was a batch junior to us. When you go further junior, from my cricket club — Sonnet Cricket Club — was Rishabh Pant. I have even played with Prithvi Shaw.
So, I have had the luxury of associating with cricket in a very different environment. For me it was more about respect coming in. That comes from performance. It’s not as if the hardships were never there. I have cried many nights to sleep. But fortunately, I have had people to guide me to show what is right. There can be different paths, but there can be one right path. That’s how the journey became a nice ride, a roller-coaster ride, but a nice ride.
And you would do it again given a chance, right?
Absolutely. The first time I stepped on to the ground with senior cricketers and was rejected outright, just by saying there was availability of senior players, so junior players didn’t fit in. This was picking of a Delhi squad. From getting rejected outright to go on to play for India, and then at the final match with all that drama that happened in the dressing room with the Indian coach and other players around, I would still probably garner the courage of going back and living that life again (laughs).
Who have been your leadership icons?
I have always identified with Belinda Clark, the Australian captain who has won a couple of World Cups. While I was new in international cricket, I used to watch her play and lead. My leadership model is not based on any specific leader, but as you move around, you pick up things. Like when Sachin (Tendulkar) was captaining India or Kapil Dev... what I picked up was a lot of player aspects. I have wanted to learn from leaders how they manage success and failure, individually and collectively as a team. That balance is essential. It is important to celebrate and not let your people go down in the dumps when you lose.
How have you been able to strike that balance? We are all struggling!
(Laughs) Whenever I am feeling low, and you feel more lows than highs... Ghalib’s sher Bure waqt ki bhi ek achchi cheez hoti hai key ye bhi guzar jata hai (comes to mind). In school we used to say that if there is a line drawn in front of you and you want to better it, how do you do it? You just draw a new line parallel to it. When you know that there is a greater reward at the end of the struggle, it gives you that extra bit of courage to fight the storm. It is not easy, but once that storm gets over it’s smoother sail.
You are protective about your personal life. Give a glimpse of your life when you are not commentating...
I am lazy about putting up stuff (on social media). I like my space a lot. There is so much to catch up on. If I am not commentating or attending office (Air India), then my day starts with training. I like English breakfast and then I catch up on reading. I spend a lot of time with my pets Rustom, Bholu, Princess... all German shepherds. I love home food when I am in Delhi. I catch up with groups of friends. If I am not working or travelling, I am at home.
Anjum’s on-the-loop watches...
Sachin Tendulkar
Michael Bevan. He used to be a lovely runner between the wickets and made sure Australia won even if he needed four of the last ball. I became a much better runner because I realised how important it is to run well between the wickets and how easy it can be.
Mark Waugh
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Shubman Gill. So neat.