How far can you fall in love? Do you want to risk your career and put your life at risk? Or will he find a way to trick the government and follow his soulmate overseas? Would you give up everything and settle abroad with all the uncertainties of the world? Or would you be okay with being banned from entering a foreign country?
Well, this former cricketer has done it all.
Indian cricket is filled with some epic love stories. The wedding of the legendary Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore was the first of many cordial ties between cricket and Bollywood, but Sourav Ganguly is one such story. He married his childhood sweetheart to prove that cricket also exists. The wedding of Sachin Tendulkar and Anjali (then Mehta) was a private affair to which only a few people were invited, but a few years later Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s wedding took place in Italy. The ceremony set a trend for non-traditional wedding attire with an all-red look.
But even the most romantic and classic love stories pale in comparison to what Mahalingam Venkatesan did for the love of his life. A prominent figure in India’s regional and national cricket circuits in the late 1970s and ’80s, Mali, as he is affectionately called, took a life-changing risk.
Mali played extensively on the Chennai first-class cricket circuit, mainly in the lower leagues. Among the teams he represented was Jolly Rovers, a club owned by the early India Cements. In 1978, he joined the State Bank of India team and toured Sri Lanka with cricket stalwarts like Syed Kirmani and Kris Srikanth to name a few. However, a fateful encounter with love soon leads him to make a surprising and unexpected decision.
“I met my wife Priscilla. She was South African-Indian. She had come to India in 1983. But when she came back, I was wondering how I could follow her to South Africa. I had to find out. Traveling wasn’t like that in those days.” I couldn’t go to South Africa easily, but I got special permission from the Indian government and in the same year I had relatives in South Africa. I told him. An ordinary old man back then. After arriving in Durban, when I called her and said I was here, she said she was “lying,” so I went to her workplace and said, “Look, I’m here.” ” he said. I came all the way from India to meet you. ” Mali, 70, told Hindustan Times candidly.
“My wife (then girlfriend) and her sister had come to SBI to exchange money. India and West Indies were playing a Test match in Chennai. I took her to the match and The rest, as they say, is history. Something clicked that day.” And today, my girlfriend and I have been married for 38 years. ”
Arriving at his base in South Africa, Mali was keen to pick up where he left off in India. At the time, during the apartheid era, South Africa had two national governing boards: the Natal Cricket Association and the Natal Cricket Board. Naturally, Mali wanted to play cricket. On his return to Tamil Nadu, he played for the State Bank of India team. When he arrived in South Africa, aged just 24 or 25, he joined a local team that was not multi-racial. Mali also played in two league games for the Pastorals in the Durban A Division League in the Phoenix area.
Eventually, Mali got a break at NCB and played a few matches under the name ‘Mahalingam Moodle’. However, the situation ended abruptly. When his visa was about to expire, Mali applied for an extension, but complications arose. Someone who knew him contacted the Zambian ambassador, who in turn contacted the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). The SBI manager asked him, “How can you play in South Africa?” With little choice, Mari quietly returned to India, leaving Priscilla behind.
“I played very well in the four games. The selectors were to meet for the Benson and Hedges tournament. I was selected, but before we could proceed they asked me if I was from South Africa. Then they suspended me.The NCB said, ‘I can’t play,’ because they felt that a non-South African player would automatically recommend an apart player.So I went back to India. Ta. But I was the first Indian to play for South Africa. ‘ said Mari.
“I played over 100 First Division matches and around 12 in South Africa. In the First Division matches I played for SBI I took 8/12. In the inter-regional match I took the wicket of GR Viswanath. At one point in the 80s, there was also Roger Binny who represented Bangalore SBI and scored 28 runs with the bat. We needed to win in three overs and we stayed unbeaten on 26 to win the match, but we missed out on a hundred as other players got out.”
During their college days, Srikanth was his junior and Mali was his vice-captain, and Cheeka affectionately called him ‘Andy Mali’ (the Indian Andy Roberts). Mari had a big impact as a starting pitcher. In a memorable First Division match in Chennai, he took an incredible eight wickets for just 12 runs, ousting all the Ranji Trophy players.
The failed operation that changed Mali’s life
Mari seemed destined for further success, but an unfortunate accident and subsequent botched surgery derailed her career and cost her precious years.
“I survived a motorcycle accident. There was no arthroscopy back then. The doctors said I needed surgery, but instead of removing the torn cartilage, they replaced my healthy cartilage in Chennai. They operated on me. After that, my knee wasn’t the same. Otherwise, it would have affected my performance and I wouldn’t have been able to bowl as well as I did on the first day. However, my knee was severely swollen. On the second and third days I played, I was able to bowl up to 20 overs, but from there it was always a struggle.
Mali and his wife are currently living happily in Durban
Mari’s wife returned to Japan in 1986, and the two married the same year. Over the next 15 years, they built a life together in India. Mali retired from professional cricket in 2000, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. A quarter of a century later, Mali has a proud Protea with remarkable success. He entered the restaurant business and opened three locations in quick succession. Although he eventually parted ways with them, these business decisions proved very lucrative and allowed him to amass a considerable fortune.
“I have been in South Africa for the past 24 years and I am grateful to Mr. N. Srinivasan and Mr. Kasi Viswanathan. When the IPL came to South Africa in 2009, they gave me the opportunity to support Chennai Super Kings. said Mr. Srinivasan. , “Kashi, Mali will be our guest forever.” Since then, every IPL, CSK has sponsored my trip with his wife to enjoy CSK matches and travel all over the place. India were in SA20 last year as well and they appointed me as a civil servant for Joburg Super Kings. ”
“I have no regrets today. I have two sons, 28 and 38. I’ll be 70 in May. I came here and started three restaurants. The first one was called Little India. After I stopped, I opened two more restaurants called Palki and Mali’s Indian Restaurant, but my son moved to Canada in 2019, so I became the director of three restaurants. I quit.”
Mari, who has brought her son back to South Africa, plans to restart her restaurant business by offering me free dinners.
