Leeds: Bradford, some 20km from here, is often called Bradistan, such is the influence of the Pakistani community on that town. Yet, this northern region of England had been known for racism, even in cricket. Among victims of racist remarks in the region were Viv Richards and Patrick Patterson. As recently as two years ago, Yorkshire’s greatest batsman of recent times, Geoffrey Boycott, said he perhaps could get a knighthood if he “blacked his face”. He apologised and got away with it. In earlier times, he may not have been required to apologise. In 1992, Sachin Tendulkar helped Yorkshire come to terms with skin colour. That year he became the first non-Yorkshireman to be signed up to play for Yorkshire in county cricket. The following year, West Indies star Richie Richardson was signed up by Yorkshire. An Asian and a West Indian playing for Yorkshire would have been unthinkable a few years prior to that.
Dream years
When Tendulkar played for Yorkshire, he got a car with his name emblazoned across it. This embarrassed him — a Yorkshire club official said that girls would be hanging around the car wherever he parked it. Eventually, his name was removed from it. Tendulkar’s years in Yorkshire are remembered with fondness here. Among the friends Tendulkar made in the city, Solly bhai, or Suleiman Adam, is perhaps the most well-known. Solly bhai, who now runs a sports shop, loves to tell stories of Tendulkar, but he’s been following and hosting Indian cricketers right from the 1970s. He counts Sunil Gavaskar among his friends, and had got Vinod Kambli to play the Bradford League before playing a role in Tendulkar signing up for Yorkshire, where he was a member of the cricket club.
