I have heard a story about how he once stood alongside the sightscreen of the Brabourne Stadium not so far from here during a match and shouted, "lagori!" everytime a bowler with a not-so-great action, sent down a ball. Laghori, as everyone will know is the childhood game of seven stones in which throwing is an essential skill environment. If he's watching cricket from up there these days, no doubt he is shouting lagori very often. Let's hope the game is listening. In the few interactions that I had with him, he always had a smile, a kind word and some sincere advice. What I've just talked about - "a kind word" from Sardesai, the "advice" and "feedback" he gave many a cricketer and the "stories" I heard about him forms the central inspiration of my talk this evening about cricket's great oral tradition.
There is a great parallel with cricket's oral tradition and a very Indian tradition of the Guru-Shishya parampara. Our parampara belongs not just to cricket but all walks of life, the passing on of stories, of legends forms an essential part of our education as children.
It was my father's passion for cricket that made me fall in love with it. Apart from taking me to matches, my father also told me a lot of stories which made me more curious about this great game that enchanted him.
Over the years, discussing cricket with my father brought me great joy. He taught me the simple love of the game and I relished sharing this love with him. A little later, I found myself extremely fortunate when Keki Tarapore took me under his wing at school. I couldn't have asked for a better coach. He was more than just a coach, he was a mentor in every sense of the word, before the concept of mentorship became as popular as it is now.
Like Keki, Sachin had Ramakant Achrekar who took him around Mumbai on his scooter to make him play more than one match a day, a story which made us a wee bit jealous and a little worried too. The astonishing thing is that men like Tarapore and Achrekar never expected anything in return. They did what they did wholeheartedly, because of their love of the game.
The relationship that young cricketers develop with these mentors is probably as important as the relationship they share with their parents.
The next part of the great oral tradition that I found myself involved in, I owe thanks to the Indian Railways. As much of a pain as it was to be seated next to a toilet for 22 hours because my team didn't have reserved seats never mind berths, it was train journeys like these that became learning grounds of their own. The Ranji Trophy teams back then usually included a few former/current India cricketers. I was lucky to play alongside Syed Kirmani and have Vishy as manager. They were never shy or short of a word. Kiri was my captain in my debut season for Karnataka and he noticed that I was this really superstitious boy. In his own inimitable style, he told me that this superstition stuff is really silly and that I should stay away from them.
Another person who I talked a lot with was Roger Binny. I lived close to Roger's home so he would drop me back from the KSCA after practice. I would also see a young Stuart playing some backyard cricket. Many years later, I found myself captaining Stuart Binny and, while it did make me feel old, it did feel good. As a cricketer, you can learn from your colleagues.
I have always had great faith and belief in the oral tradition. It is something I believed in as my career went along too. Time and attention from senior cricketers and the stories they told us was of immense value to my generation. Sardesai was a senior cricketer who formed part of that continuing legacy. He had time for people. He never minced words. He was always one for a laugh.
How can we talk cricket at the CCI and not recall the great Raj Singh Dungarpur? He was probably the best cricket story-teller I have ever encountered and will always remember listening to him talk about Miller and Trueman and the exploits of Vinoo Mankad with a child-like glee.
It is important for my generation and the next to make sure we have the time and find the time and be willing to pass on knowledge and keep this tradition alive. It might not directly translate into runs and wickets and victories, but it will have an impact on the way these boys play the game and make them into good role models and ambassadors of this great game and country.
Yet, it can't be one-way traffic. It is critical for the younger cricketers to seek out seniors and ask for their advice. But not merely start a conversation being worried about "If I don't talk, he will think I am disrespectful." Whenever a younger cricketer asks an older player, "How am I batting?" that makes for a very generic question. It's like talking about the weather. A specific question means that you really want to know - "How did you practice for a particular kind of delivery?" I find it impressive when any younger player comes up with a specific question. It is evidence that he is thinking about his game, has done his homework.
Looking on at us from above, Sardesai I'm sure would not want our professional cricketers to turn into - and here I use one of his favourite words - "popatwadis".
Each player has the opportunity to add and progress the narrative along and that is what leaving a legacy is all about. In the midst of historical records, statistics and win-loss records, when you go out to bat, you are connected to all those who have played for India in the past and you are also connected to those who will one day in the future wear the India cap.
Indian cricket's colourful story is still being written… and it is up to us to enrich it.
Edited excerpts from a speech by Rahul Dravid, former captain of the Indian cricket team, at the sixth Dilip Sardesai Memorial Lecture on September 12 in Mumbai