When Team India’s men wore their mothers’ names on the jersey

On a bright October afternoon, the Indian cricketers walked out to the middle with names on their backs unknown to the world as their jerseys seemed different from those of others. The monikers felt alien and the entire cricketing fraternity wanted to make sense of it.

It was a series decider between India and New Zealand and both the teams were at their phenomenal best as the latter secured two wins to level the series and it was an electrifying stramash of the willow and the leather.

India romped over the ailing visitors with consummate ease as they chronicled a 190-run win, thanks to a couple of emphatic displays from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with the bat while Amit Mishra spun an inexplicable web of enigma around New Zealand, leaving them short of the total by a staggering margin.

However, what mattered more than the win was the grand gesture that India came up with. It was a symbol of strength for the women who often go unnoticed in the glamorous world of cricket, the ones who never get the limelight that they deserve, and those whose sacrifices are often unnoticed.

The players donned their mothers’ names on the back as a gesture of love and recognition of the strongest women whose countless sacrifices made it possible for the Indian cricket team to actually come the long way that they have.

The captain at the time MS Dhoni before the game said, “We are quite used to having the surnames from the dad’s side. And, what’s important is to appreciate the stuff that mothers have done for us.”

“It’s a very emotional connect and it’s good that it’s put on a public platform. I would like to request the whole of India to keep this in mind and appreciate them every day,” he further explained.

The ones who have been seen on the big screen even before their sons donned their precious names in an international affair were Dhoni’s mother, Devaki, Ajinkya Rahane’s mother, Sujata, and Virat Kohli’s mother, Saroj.

However, when it comes to the story of mothers, how can one forget the benign visage of Anil Kumble’s mum as he combined with Javagal Srinath to spearhead India’s wobbling chase to a glorious win. That is where it all started.