Renowned Indian cricketer and Padmashri awardee Syed Kirmani’s book Stumped: Life Behind and Beyond the Twenty-Two Yards (Penguin), released on his 75th birthday on December 29, 2024. It also made waves at the recently concluded Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) held in Kozhikode, declared as India’s first City of Literature by UNESCO. Kirmani was present for book sessions, signings and to meet and greet his fans at the forum.
A role model to budding cricketers, Kirmani holds three cricketing world records. He is also one of the few in the world to have six victims in an innings on debut! He was also adjudged the world’s best wicket-keeper in the 1983 Prudential World Cup.
In a tweet, politician and author Shashi Tharoor, who held a session with Kirmani at KLF described it as a “dialogue with one of my childhood cricketing heroes Syed Kirmani whose new book, Stumped, chronicles his remarkable life and career, as well as his disappointment at various sins of omission and commission by our cricket administrators, but with a remarkable lack of acrimony”.
Excerpts from the interview:
What is your book Stumped about?
I’d been contemplating writing a memoir for a long time. My cricket colleagues — including Sunil Gavaskar who has written the forward for the book — also urged me to write a book about my life’s rich experiences. The book deals with many intense, heartfelt and fascinating anecdotes from my career. I’ve tried to give readers an insider’s view at cricket in the ‘80s. Everybody goes through good times, bad times, ups and downs — this is the untold story of my life. The true facts without any bias or prejudice.
What else can readers expect from your book?
They can expect the unexpected. There are quite a few surprises in store for them where the reaction from them can only be: ‘Really! Is this what actually happened?’ You can read the book for details as I don’t want to give away too much (laughs).
How frank have you been in your memoir?
Apart from capturing nostalgic memories, I’ve also not shied away from addressing challenging moments either. I’ve faced three very difficult moments in my career when I was dropped like a hot brick from the Indian team due to politicking. One such incident took place in 1979 when the Indian team was selected to go to England for the Second World Cup in 1979. That was the biggest shock of my life! I’ve encapsulated all this in the book. This book is not only about my life as a cricketer and as a person but also about an epic period of Indian cricket, the period in which India won the 1983 world cup, the Asia Cup and the World Championship of Cricket. It presents my unfiltered views on the game; the highest and lowest points of my career from being one of the best in business to being thrown out of the game!
How long did it take you to write the book?
The book was five years in the making. Putting the autobiography together has been a long and arduous process for me and my co-authors Debashish Sengupta and Dakshesh Pathak. After a long time planning, the final push to publish came from my old friends and former teammates.
How has been your experience at the Kerala Literature Festival?
It’s been wonderful to say the least. Such forums bring an amazing opportunity for me to interact with my fans and readers from whom I’m getting direct feedback about my writing. KLF plays a catalytic role in helping authors and scholars connect directly with an audience and meet other writers too. It’s my first visit to KLF in its eighth edition and its heartening to see that the dynamic festival is pushing boundaries, bringing together Nobel prize winners, authors, publishers and poets from 15 countries. It’s a great forum to exchange ideas and celebrate the written word in Kozhikode, India’s first UNESCO City of Literature.
What are your other passions apart from sports?
Well, I’m very passionate about travel, especially visiting wildlife parks across the world. In over seven decades of my life, I’ve explored nearly 50 wildlife destinations across 20 countries. I find the thrill of waiting to spot wild animals and watching them in their natural habitat quite irresistible. This has drawn me again and again to the jungle. Such is my love for travel and wildlife, that I make sure to watch Animal Planet every night as the channel brings together my twin loves of wildlife and travel. Me and my family bond on our trips with Nature bringing us all together!
