Between the Wickets and Beyond | Padma Shri Syed Kirmani | TEDxRUAS

0:09 Good evening to all of you.

0:11 Ah, there you are.

0:12 You're all awake.

0:14 All right.

0:14 I was born in Chennai.

0:16 It was called Madras then and then I was uh

0:20 my childhood was in Hyderabad and the rest in Bangalore.

0:26 Yes.

0:28 Right.

0:29 So that's where I am.

0:32 Right from the age of seven years I have been into Bangalore.

0:36 It was called Mysu state.

0:38 Then I'm going to share my little experiences.

0:41 You will find the greater detail in my which I have come up very

0:45 recently in with my autobiography called stumped

0:51 you know stump m stump cricket stumping.

0:56 So that is what is called stumped.

0:58 So the greater details are in that book.

1:00 I'll just touch a few here and there from that book also.

1:03 It is available online.

1:05 It is available on Amazon.

1:07 It is available on all the bookstores.

1:11 He was transferred during the bifurcation

1:14 of the government and reorganizations of the state.

1:16 1952 sorry it was 1956.

1:20 Yes, I was 6 years old.

1:22 He came into Bangalore.

1:23 It was called Mso state.

1:25 And then he was given the one-bedroom quarters.

1:27 Right.

1:27 It's still there.

1:28 15D is the number of that D type quarters in Jamahal extension.

1:32 That's where I grew up.

1:34 One-bedroom upbringing.

1:36 Father was a stenographer.

1:38 I don't know how many of the current

1:40 students know what stenography is all about.

1:43 It's a short hand.

1:44 It is called it was called shorthand.

1:46 So that that's where he was.

1:49 and uh I used to walk I know the kind of I'm sure the current students

1:54 of uh this era 20th century are very

1:57 fortunate very lucky to have the wonderful facilities amenities

2:01 provided to all of you right I used to walk 8 kilometers to the school come back

2:07 8 kilometers in Germans to start with okay

2:11 from there on third fourth I studied there St.

2:15 Joseph's again walking.

2:17 Father could not afford a bus pass.

2:21 All right.

2:22 And we used to walk and all the way

2:26 from Jerah extension to German high school and St.

2:30 Joseph's walk and come back.

2:33 Lovely good walk.

2:34 That's why I'm so fit I think right now.

2:39 So, so on that count my father was only interested study

2:45 study study per he used to grill into my head because

2:53 those days sports were not very popular and um my father

2:59 was only interested get a degree get a good government job.

3:11 I used to tell this very regularly into me.

3:21 So the way and he was a very a very witty person of course

3:27 to me to whatever little experience I

3:31 have gained going around the world playing cricket.

3:33 Everything is true cricket only right and it has

3:37 given me a good experience to evaluate an individual.

3:42 An individual is a reflection of his or her parents 80% and the rest 20%

3:51 is from the paternal maternal side

3:54 and the society and the environment one moves into.

4:00 You see we are all carrying the genes of our parents 80%.

4:05 Right?

4:05 So we are a reflection of our parents.

4:07 If somebody does good who excels it reflects on the parents straight away.

4:12 Wow.

4:13 Because of his upbringing because of her upbringing.

4:16 So it goes like that.

4:18 So not to go into the greater details of that doctors are all here.

4:23 uh this is all this is where I

4:25 confirmed with the doctors who I came across whether

4:28 my evaluation was right or wrong about the individual

4:32 who is a reflection of his parents 80%.

4:36 So on that count my father could not afford canvas shoes as well.

4:42 I used to take part in my sports on the sly.

4:45 Never ever informed my father that I'm taking part in sports.

4:49 I believe my father was a good athlete.

4:52 I don't know what sort of an athlete he was in the 30s.

4:56 My mother was a good badminton player in her days.

4:59 I believe in her school ball badminton.

5:02 Okay.

5:03 So probably that was the extra gene sporting jeans I carried

5:10 from my father and my my mother the PD master whistle

5:15 a whoever wants to take part in the sports come

5:18 and qualify ran 100 m 200 m got selected for the St.

5:24 Joseph's really team.

5:26 Rest of my colleagues who took part in sports, they all had spikes.

5:31 I ran barefooted.

5:33 I played house games barefooted.

5:36 Hockey barefooted, football barefooted.

5:40 For the cricket selection into the junior school team, I used my uniform shoes.

5:48 I was an average student.

5:51 Yes.

5:51 I passed in every examination.

5:53 From there on, I got selected for the junior school team,

5:58 graduated senior school team.

6:00 No shoes, all uniform shoes.

6:04 And gradually I was invited to play the state school.

6:08 For the selections, I got selected.

6:10 While that was a gradual stepping stone for me,

6:13 I can still recall my debut New Zealand and West Indies twin tour 1976.

6:21 We had very poor equipment.

6:22 We had to buy our equipment.

6:24 I used the batting glove as my thigh pad.

6:28 Oh my god.

6:30 And then the chest pad towel from the hotel.

6:35 Small little towel we used to tie around and with a with a string

6:38 kind of a thing tie up facing the fastest bowlers in the world.

6:43 Right.

6:43 They were so ferocious particularly the West Indian fast bowlers.

6:48 You know I was excelling in wherever I took part.

6:52 This is where I came into the limelight.

6:56 Right.

6:56 And consistency is the key in any walk of life.

7:01 My dear friends, consistency is the key

7:04 which brings you into limelight from all disciplines.

7:09 Whoever whatever field you want to pick, right?

7:13 Don't become like A B C D.

7:17 be better than A B C D.

7:19 That should be your moto.

7:20 That should be your aim.

7:22 That should be your focus.

7:23 By the way, it just struck me before things

7:26 slip out of my uh shining and slippery head.

7:29 Um I would like to of course congratulate uh the women

7:34 cricketers who won the World Cup 2025 and what an inspiration.

7:43 So in in short my dear students

7:46 particularly I'll pass on with three six alphabets

7:53 which are very very important for one and all to climb the ladder of success.

8:02 Right now the first three alphabets is the three W's.

8:09 In our time sir in my school days I used to hear the three great W's from West

8:15 Indies they were weeks Warl and Walcott I don't

8:19 know I've never seen them at but I have been

8:21 to the grave of Warl who was the captain

8:24 of the West Indies team while in West Indies

8:27 right the three W's first W who am I the next W what am I and the third W.

8:42 Where am I?

8:43 Where am I going?

8:44 So much of depth in these three W's.

8:48 Who am I?

8:49 What am I?

8:50 And where am I?

8:54 Such great depth.

8:55 You got to look into yourself first.

8:58 Where you are?

8:59 What you are?

9:01 And where are you heading?

9:03 and the three other D's D first Determination,

9:10 second Dedication and the third one which is very very important is discipline.

9:18 I would put discipline ahead of the two because discipline is what builds

9:23 one's character and the character will take you a very very long way.

9:30 That is where you have to be aiming

9:33 at a good discipline and wherever you are wherever you are

9:38 in whatever discipline of life you got to be so

9:42 much focus saying that I'll be number one wherever I am.

9:48 I want to be the leader.

9:50 I want to be the captain.

9:52 I want to be the chancellor of the university.

9:55 Wow.

9:56 This is how your aims should be.

9:59 This is how your I mean there was nobody to tell us in our time.

10:04 By the way, we won the 83 World Cup.

10:07 1983 World Cup.

10:09 No coach.

10:12 83 World Cup.

10:15 We we are you see that was the most of course she mentioned underdogs.

10:22 I think that should not have been said.

10:24 It should have been the fourth weakest team in the competition.

10:28 Yeah.

10:29 Right.

10:29 And nevertheless, that's what the media says.

10:33 Uh the underdogs bulky.

10:35 Right.

10:35 If if if you have not seen the 83 movie, please have a look at that.

10:40 See the movie.

10:40 It's on YouTube, Netflix.

10:42 How we won, how we were looked down upon

10:45 being the fourth weakest team in the competition, right?

10:49 And how we overcame and what a spirit it was.

10:54 Team spirit.

10:56 It's the team spirit which makes a captain very very popular.

11:02 Right.

11:03 And and of course you did mention about 175 sir.

11:07 Yes.

11:07 I I must tell you that you know wherever whatever

11:13 you're aiming at you there's no shortcut to success for sure.

11:18 You got to be very rigorous,

11:21 very and by the way, life is nothing but a sacrifice.

11:27 You got to sacrifice somewhere down the line to achieve something.

11:31 And the best way to progress on a day-to-day basis is to introspect yourself.

11:39 That is what is required.

11:41 Talk to yourself, analyze yourself at the end of the day.

11:46 And this is the way to progress.

11:48 If you have not had a good day, tomorrow should be a better day.

11:52 U the first turning point was we met the reigning

11:56 world champions West Indies who ruled cricket for three decades.

12:01 So we beat them comprehensively at Old Trafford Manchester.

12:06 They couldn't realize weakest team in the competition have beaten us

12:10 right from there on we went on beating all these stronger teams.

12:14 came in playing against Zimbabwe.

12:18 We had beaten them in the league match and we

12:22 are playing Zimbabwe again to qualify for the knockout.

12:27 If we had lost that match, forget the World Cup.

12:31 We had to win that match.

12:33 And now normally I don't get batting in the ODIs, right?

12:38 So I was relaxed.

12:38 I was in a dress dressing room preparing myself for a good breakfast

12:44 and a good shower and watch my team perform the top order scoring brilliantly.

12:52 Right.

12:52 So while I was in the dressing room

12:55 a call came from outside from one of the players.

12:58 Hey K up.

13:02 You know normally guys play pranks.

13:05 So I thought I ignored that shout

13:07 within three minutes again a very serious call.

13:14 So I looked for a window to see why this call serious call.

13:19 I saw the scoreboard.

13:21 It said 1717.

13:24 Down below it said five.

13:27 Oh my god.

13:29 I had a toast and the towel round to have a good shower.

13:34 I said 175.

13:36 Both toast fell.

13:38 Towel also fell.

13:39 Oh my god.

13:41 Picked up the towel.

13:42 Thank god nobody was in the dressing room.

13:44 Honestly, I don't know whether I had a good breakfast or a good shower.

13:48 I was walking in 126 for eight.

13:50 Sirilara, you can imagine after doing so very well with his bad

13:58 resting and his what thoughts would have gone into that captain's mind?

14:03 You can imagine.

14:04 So while walking up number eight,

14:08 the last batchman Balwinder Singh Sandhu sitting down there

14:13 while I just walked inside Balu said he said

14:23 that and while walking I said to myself now is

14:26 the time that I must give a good stand to Cap.

14:32 Right now in my mind I will play

14:34 one delivery give Capil Dave five deliveries to hit.

14:39 This is this was in my mind because he

14:43 was the best hitter of the Indian cricket team.

14:45 Walked up to him and I said caps we are in a do or die situation.

14:55 Caps we have to hit and die.

14:59 In the meantime, the umpire come back.

15:00 Come on, come on.

15:01 You're wasting time.

15:02 Take your stand.

15:03 Well, I'm talking to the captain.

15:04 You take your place.

15:05 I had to tell him that at that juncture.

15:08 Nevertheless, to one run, couple day, five deliveries.

15:17 Summing it up, 175 devastating knock from Kapila.

15:23 I've never seen a knock of 175 in a situation like that.

15:29 17 for5 and 126 runs partnership between me and Capil Dave.

15:37 You are sincerely you are sincerely was 26 not out.

15:46 So this is where we qualified and after that it was history dear friends.

15:52 It was history all along.

15:54 Unbelievable historic win that was for all of us

15:58 and for the entire Indians all over the world.

16:02 It was like that for the women's cricket also who won the recent world cup.

16:08 Right.

16:08 So on that um issue I would like to close

16:12 and say thank you all for I mean there are a lot

16:16 of inspirational I've given you those six alphabets and that's where

16:21 you got to follow those and I wish the MS Ramaya

16:25 group of institution the very best of luck in its ends

16:29 and all the students the very best of luck in whatever

16:33 you all are aiming you all are whatever you want

16:36 to become Bring keep the tri flagricolor flag high at all times.

16:43 All right.

16:44 Bring name to yourself.

16:45 Bring name to your family your state.

16:47 Bring name to your country.

16:48 With these God bless you all with good health and happiness.

16:52 Thank you so much.