When India might have lost the World Cup to food

From 1983 World Cup to 1987 World Cup, many things changed in the realm of Indian cricket. From mere underdogs at the 83’ Cup to potential title winners in 1987, Indian cricket came a long way. They proved to the world that the 83 world cup victory was not a fluke by winning the Benson & Hedges World Series in Australia in 1985. In 1986, India won the Test series in England under Kapil Dev’s captaincy, but that series is more known for Dilip Vengsarkar’s exploits in the first two tests. His 3^rd consecutive test hundred in Lords (2^nd in that series), also gave him the tag ‘ Lord of Lords’ ’.

Dilip Vengsarkar continued his form in 1987, a year considered by many as Annus Mirabilis in his career. He also entered Wisden cricketers of the year listing that year. The two home series with Australia and Pakistan were perfect preparation going into the world cup at home. By then Sunil Gavaskar announced his retirement at the end of the world cup and Indian middle order was primarily revolving around Vengsarkar and India went into the World Cup as one of the contenders for the title. India almost cruised into the Semi Finals without any hiccups except the loss in the first league match against Australia.

Setting: 1987 World Cup, Semi Final between India and England in Mumbai, then Bombay. The preparation was fantastic and some Mumbai players got to stay at home too. However, the morning of the match threw up a big shocker as news of Dilip Vengsarkar not playing trickled in. The reason: he was down with food poisoning. Being a great fan of Vengsarkar those days, I was completely shocked knowing this, as many other fans would have been. When the match started and I read the starting XI and the replacement for Vengsarkar, my heart sank. It was Chandrakant Pandit, the stand-in wicket keeper, who was drafted into the team as a specialist batsman.

It would be harsh on other players to say that we lost the match because of the absence of Vengsarkar. But it certainly had an impact on the end result as he was the mainstay of Indian middle order during the period. It would be surprising to realize all that a sportsman has to consider with care these days, while the playing season is on, and more so when a major event is happening. Food certainly is one of them and today there are coaches and other support staff who ensure that these are taken care of. But do coaches and support staff really control what cricketers eat or drink?