Bangalore BreakFast Meet Jan 17
At two minutes to 8 AM, I was congratulating myself for exactly estimating the distance and speed of my car to reach Airline Hotel on time. Even had the punch line ready: “Staying with RCB for two weeks makes a man punctual for life”. Guess what, the last stretch of the road was a one-way. Siva reached on time (as in ON time) and called me promptly. I was late by two whole minutes. Ray Jennings’ stare would have pierced through my soul.
We begun the catching up chat and were soon joined by Shashank and Prasad (the cool dude in the snap below). Discussion shifted right on to the annual fan- magazine proposal. We had questions as to how big the magazine would be, what the content shall be, how would the layout be and whether it would be sold or just available at the stadium on match days. So on and so forth. Shashank will take the detailed questions forward with Nidhi.
All four of us ordered Idli-vada simultaneously. By the time the waiter brought them, we were joined by Akash who is a software engineer (surprise, surprise). He too ordered Idli Vada.
Akash and I have already met in the Chinnaswamy stadium. He was one of the winners of the twitter contest and hence got to see the Champions League matches with Lalit Modi. He recounted some interesting stories from the experience.
The hot topic was the upcoming auction. There was some confusion as to how many players RCB can go for and which players are eligible for the auction. Shashank was well informed on the topic. Siva called up RCB team analyst Prasanna to clarify further.
International players, who were not bought in last auction, are eligible. The trading window between clubs is now closed. RCB has not traded any of the players. As per the auction, RCB can bid for two players (in place of Nathan Bracken and Misbah-Ul_Haq). Nearly same is the case with other clubs too.
There would be a huge pull for Pollard. Apparently RCB would go for him. But so is the case with another rich club Mumbai Indians. They desperately need a dashing finisher in their team. It would be a fight to watch for between these two giants.
Speaking of Mumbai, we discussed about the Ranji final in detail. As Siva mentioned earlier, we were intrigued by how RCB fans from other states were supporting Karnataka in Ranji :-) . RCB, or any other club for that matter, is comprised of international players and players from other states. It is a truly global entity. Of course, there is always a regional element, but it is not the sole criterion as is also evident from the fan base and players. I have seen Virat Kohli (a Delhi lad) merrily uncorking the champagne on the night he played a major role in ousting Delhi from the Champions league, even though RCB had already been eliminated. But he would be ruthless in slaying Karnataka in a Ranji match. Perfectly understandable and natural.
Ranji teams are region based and that is how the loyalty should be, if one goes by the logic. Shashank took the point further when he expressed fears over fans expressing joy if Dale Steyn runs through Indian batting order in the upcoming series :-) .
On that hilarious note, we decided to part. I got up to take some snaps and realized that ours was the only all-male table. All those pretty faces that show up in the fan-base on the right side, please show up in the meet as well. :coolsmile:
While driving back, I wondered who would I support if there was a match between Indore and Bangalore. Conclusion was “Whichever team is winning on the day”.
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hahahaha.... U must be...lolzzz..
But No doubts.. In supporting..Karnataka in RANJI's...:-):-)
Definitelyy,, I do... support them...
Two questions :
1. DO you have a Karnataka connection ?
2. Would you support Karnatak even when it is playing Punjab in Ranji ?
If the asnwer to first is no and to second is yes, then I would honestly be surprised :).
Good to see Siva, Prasanth and Shashank together
Sid, Siva is curious ;)