CHARULATA PATEL was happy but tired by the time she was through with watching the game between India and Bangladesh at Edgbaston. The 87-year-old London resident had arrived an ordinary fan but was returning a celebrity.
Patel was with her granddaughter Anjali in the stands when the official broadcaster caught her on camera blowing a trumpet after a Rohit Sharma boundary. And, a star was born. A team was dispatched from the broadcasters’ room to locate Patel and the ICC and BCCI digital teams made a beeline for her. “I am over the moon. I have never experienced such a thing before,” said the die-hard cricket fan from her London residence.
“I got the tickets after a lot of difficulty. I did not have a wheelchair ticket and I had to sit in the common stand. But I am thankful to the authorities who provided me with a wheelchair and was given a proper seat later on,” she said. Patel was born to Indian parents in Tanzania and used to follow the sport since her time in Africa.
The octogenarian has seen some of Indian cricket’s finest moments in England. She proudly revealed that she had seen the ‘Kapil’s Devils’ in action in the 1983 World Cup. She even watched India’s match against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells, where Kapil Dev scored a historic 175.
Patel says she tries her best to catch games at the grounds. If not, she is glued to her TV. “I took a Sky subscription just for cricket. I am so crazy for this sport that even if I do not get my food, I am fine with it. I just love cricket. People would often give me cricketers’ photographs and newspaper clippings. Some would give me India caps,” she said.
Her trip to Birmingham has ended up giving her much more. At the end of the game, she was taken to meet the Indian team. She blessed both Virat Kohli and his deputy, Rohit Sharma. “I blessed him (Kohli) and told him to win the World Cup. They then took me to meet the entire team. Rohit touched my feet and took my blessings,” she said.