AROUND THE WORLD OF CRICKET

At the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. [Image: Rohan Chambers]

At the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. [Image: Rohan Chambers] ©Cricbuzz

He could well pass for an explorer, a stadium-hopper, a journeyman, an adventurer, or a passionate cricket devotee. In fact, he fits every label with ease. Yet, there’s more to Rohan Chambers, the Jamaican cricketer of yore . In many ways, he is also a historian and a chronicler of the game.

Chambers once captained the Under-19 team of the Caribbean island and played against the likes of Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, among other West Indian greats of the past. But his current passion lies not in playing the game, but in exploring its playstations – the stadiums.

“There are 124 (123) Test grounds in the world. I’m at about 104 right now,” he says with a sense of pride. A few of those no longer exist and that leaves him with roughly a dozen venues to complete his global cricket journey.

At every venue, Chambers meets people associated with the ground, takes note of its iconic moments, and records what makes it unique. Sometimes, he even catches a game in progress. He was at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad recently and was blown away by its sheer scale, size and facilities.

“It’s so big,” he exclaimed in a recent conversation with Cricbuzz. “I got tired just walking around the stadium. It’s the largest in the world. When you look at pictures, it seems as though the people in the stands are far from the centre of play. But when you’re actually there, you realise you’re much closer to the field than you’d imagine from watching on television. It feels surprisingly intimate.”

During his recent visit to India, he covered three grounds – Hyderabad and Lucknow besides Ahmedabad – in almost 24 hours. His exploration of the stadiums delves into aspects that television cameras never capture – and commentators do not normally mention on air. “I talk to the groundsmen or anyone who can tell me things you’d never hear from anybody else,” he says. “That’s what I appreciate the most. Sometimes I converse with the ground staff – no one really talks to them – and I find them more than willing to share whatever knowledge they have.”

His favourite grounds around the world include the Adelaide Oval, Newlands in Cape Town, the Chepauk in Chennai, the Sydney Cricket Ground, Lord’s in London, and the Kensington Oval in Barbados. “The view from the Madras Cricket Club is fantastic,” he says of his favourite Indian venue. He is yet to visit the stadiums in Bangladesh, though a trip there is already on his itinerary for the year.

He regularly posts stadium pictures on his Instagram and Facebook pages, but his ambitions extend beyond social media. A book may be in the works, and an all-encompassing website of cricket stadiums in the world is also a possibility. “I’m not a hundred per cent sure yet what the final product will be or what format it will take,” he says. “It might be a website where everyone can explore everything about every ground. I also intend to publish a book once the journey is complete.”

Like any passionate cricket fan, his heart beats for West Indies cricket. “Multiple factors,” he notes, have contributed to the declining standards of cricket in the Caribbean. He lists them: the lure of IPL money leading talented batters to give up red-ball cricket; insufficient finances to offer competitive contracts; the closure of local clubs that once functioned as academies; and the fading motivation that used to drive players in the past.

“In these times of get-rich-quick opportunities, Test cricket is a long grind, and some just don’t have the patience anymore,” he signs off.

© Cricbuzz