Former Windies skipper gears up to visit India after nearly 16 years

India is quite a special place for the 51-year-old Carl Hooper. The Guyana-born has got great memories playing in the country. He made his debut in what he reckons to be the ‘cricket mad’ nation in 1987. Further, he went on to play his last in the same country.

Now, as he returns to India, nearly after 16 years, the former Windies captain got nostalgic about the country that he adores. Unlike the last time, Hooper will be donning the commentators’ hat while touring the nation this time around. He will take up the role during the upcoming India – Windies series.

‘In India, the atmosphere has always been electric’

Carl Hooper grew up in Guyana, where most of his neighbours were of the Indian descent. So, he was quite used to the cultures and the food in India. But, his first tour to India in 1987 didn’t leave him with the best of memories for the initial few weeks.

“Initially, I did not like it. In Guyana, 65-70 per cent of the population is Indian. We celebrated all Indian festivities like Diwali. I was very familiar with the culture. But on my first tour to India, I got sick. At that time, we had an Australian physio, Dennis Waight. He gave us do’s and don’ts and we were not supposed to have anything watery. Curries were out and we were given solid food,” he reminisced. Later, he decided to eat everything and said that he thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I have fond memories of India. When I played my 100th Test (in 2002), the then BCCI president (Jagmohan Dalmiya) gave me a beautiful trophy. It was wonderful,” Hooper told Sportstar from his residence in Adelaide. Every time he toured India, Hooper was stunned by the craze for cricket and terms the atmosphere in the country as electric. “You guys are cricket mad,” he laughs.

Carl Hooper compared India with what Brazil is to football and said that the huge billboards of a Sachin Tendulkar or a Sourav Ganguly are quite astonishing. He added that India was one of those countries where he had to take the permission from the security to walk out of his hotel. Hooper concluded by sharing a short love story with a Visakhapatnam girl with whom he was in touch for several years.

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