The love for cricket never dies, especially if an individual belongs to the subcontinent where the sport holds a tight grip on the emotions of the masses.
In 2012, when Venkatraman Ganesan, after becoming an IT professional, left Tamil Nadu to work in Germany, he was also forced to leave behind his amateur cricket career.
Until 2006, he played with and against the likes of R Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay and L Balaji at the junior level before trying his luck in the TNCA first division league. However, professional commitments later took to a country that has a very faint presence on the cricketing map.
But, Venkatraman found a way to engage himself and will now represent Germany in the ICC Division One European Championship in the Netherlands from June 11.
“I never expected this. I’m happy and excited. I had to quit cricket due to family circumstances in 2006. But now I’m part of a national team and my family has been a pillar of strength. It’s not easy being a non-professional cricketer and trying to making it to a top. I have a daughter and a settled life here. Because of their support, I have been able to do the balancing act of an IT employee and a cricketer as well,” Venkatraman told TOI from the Netherlands on Tuesday.
It was a pleasant surprise for Venkat to find cricket in the football-mad country. He randomly assumed a complete absence of the game in Germany only to be proven wrong. A simple search on the internet gave him the address where he could have continued to pursue his career.
“I searched Germany cricket on the web and I found there were a few clubs playing 50-over and T20 cricket. Two years back, I realised there could be a cricketing future in Germany. I motivated myself and worked hard on fitness. I first represented a club in Mannheim city and then when I moved to Dusseldorf, I played for Dusseldorf Blackcaps Cricket Club.
“I did well for my state team Western Eagles and then scored a hundred in a national camp practice match in 2016 to make a name for myself,” adds the 32-year-old,
Venkatraman had previously represented SBI and Mambalam Mosquitos in the TNCA first division league in 2004-06. He is also “not a citizen” of Germany. But, ICC rules allow players to represent a country if he has been residing there for a minimum of four years. This liberty has been working wonders for cricketers playing in all associate and affiliate nations.
“Quite a few from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa help spread the game in Germany, he says, adding that the captain is an Indian, Rishi Pillai. “… If we win this tournament, which includes Austria, France, Belgium, Sweden and Norway, we will qualify for World Cricket League Division 5. Our coach Steven Knox, a former Scotland cricketer, has been helping us a lot with his inputs,” he adds.
The biggest challenge, Venkatraman feels, will be in adjusting to the turf wickets in ICC tournaments.
“We only play on astroturf pitches here. But once we go out, we have to play on proper turf wickets. That’s a big challenge. It is always cold and rainy here. The outfields are generally heavy and we have to mostly play lofted shots to score runs. It’s difficult to rotate the strike. But the cricketers are fit and quite a few naturally gifted pacers. There is passion..,” he said.
The game, he says, is slowly being spread throughout Western Europe through German Cricket TV.
“They have started capturing all the state matches and a lot of people watch cricket in social media as a result… A lot of us are trying our best to develop club cricket by finding sponsors and in creating good net facilities,” he added.