This is a 1981 interview. Ashok Malhotra is an up-and-coming player and one who may make his Test debut in the near future. Let’s read out what he has to say.
Q: What exactly are you looking for in your career?
Ans: It is very simple to play for my country. It is every cricketer’s goal to play for his country
Q: Is the aim because of the money?
Ans: No. sentiments are involved. Money is a secondary thing, it is an honor to play for your country.
Q: What other games were you playing while you were at school or at college?
Ans: I started as a hockey player, and then they offered me the captaincy of the junior cricket team. So I shifted to cricket. Moreover, I liked this game from the very beginning, but I wasn’t getting a chance in school, so I opted for hockey.
Q: At what position were you playing in hockey?
Ans: Center forward. I was reasonably good, not too good. I saw better scope in cricket. Moreover, I was enjoying cricket a lot
Q: Was there any reaction from home?
Ans: Yes, they were always encouraging me Besides that, members of my family were already playing cricket
Q: A cricketer making his Test debut is normally apprehensive, how do you think you will react when you make your debut?
Ans: Let us see, I don’t know. I’ll know if I get the chance, but it is natural to feel anxious, everyone must undergo this.
Q: Who do you think are the other potential players competing with you for a place in the team?
Ans: I can’t say. There are so many good players.
Q: Have you completed your studies?
Ans: I have finished my studies. I have my MA in history from Punjab University.
Q: Apart from sports, Kapil enjoys eating good food, What do you enjoy?
Ans: I was previously very fond of hogging, but I was becoming very fat and was being constantly teased at the nets about it and called ‘Fatso’. So I started dieting. I’ve curbed my appetite for food. Now really enjoy going for a swim or a, game of squash, which I play at the Engineering College here (Delhi) or in Bombay
Q: What other interests do you have?
Ans: Watching movies.
Q: What about Chasing girls?
Ans: I’m too old for that, don’t you think? I’ve never chased girls.
Q: Do you ever indulge in sell-analysis?
Ans: Yes, after a game I indulge in self-analysis, but as I’m not as experienced a batsman as Kapil Dev or Goel, I often have them advise Me.’
Q: Who is your ideal batsman?
Ans: Gundpa Vishwanath I love watching his strokes. He has very natural and classy strokes.
Q: What is so good about him? I think Sunil Gavaskar is better?
Ans: There is no doubt about the fact that Gavaskar is a great player. But I like the way Vishwanath plays his strokes. He’s natural, he’s a classy batsman.
