00:00 Hello and welcome to the Khalid's Times.
00:11 This is Ritu Raj reporting from the Ocean Fair International Cricket Ground.
00:16 It's a beautiful cricket ground as you can see in the background.
00:19 It's in the Dubai Investment Park built by the passionate cricket fan that the UAE has,
00:25 Mr. Freddy Sidwa.
00:27 And among his accomplishments in cricket has been that he got the wicket of none other
00:33 than the former New Zealand captain, Brandon McAlum.
00:37 Thank you Ritu Raj.
00:38 I think Mr. Sidwa you are such an inspiration that people like you certainly prove that
00:43 age is just a number.
00:46 For us also, to get up early in the morning and to do some exercise, forget about playing
00:52 a sport like cricket.
00:55 But for you to be able to continue this even at this age of 81 is quite remarkable and
01:01 it's an inspiring story for so many others.
01:04 So how do you keep yourself fit?
01:06 See I think main thing is everything is here in your mind.
01:12 You have to be mentally strong and if you are mentally strong person, you can achieve
01:17 everything and you should have a determination in life that I have to do this.
01:24 Because sometimes you are unsuccessful but that doesn't mean you have to give up something.
01:30 So you have to be determined that yes I have to do this.
01:34 So to do that you should be little disciplined.
01:38 And I am slight, I would say so that I am a little disciplined man.
01:43 I like certain things, punctuality, everything in my life and I am an early bird.
01:50 So I get up at 3, take a shower and then immediately do one hour yoga exercises and then go out
01:58 from the house for a walk.
02:00 I walk about half an hour, 45 minutes and that's it.
02:06 I mean then the day goes well.
02:09 So after that I go to the office and spend my day, full day there in the office till
02:15 4, 5 o'clock.
02:17 You turned your life around as a successful businessman after coming to Dubai.
02:21 As you said Dubai is a land of opportunities.
02:23 You came to work here, came here for a job, you worked for a company, then you started
02:28 your own company very successfully and it's been an incredible success story over the
02:33 years in Dubai.
02:34 But Dubai also gave you an opportunity to play cricket and it also gave you an opportunity
02:39 to play cricket with some big names.
02:42 So can you tell us some of your memories to our readers?
02:45 Well, yes, that's right.
02:48 I mean because I am one of the clients of J.P. Morgan and they make an event, a yearly
02:54 event they have at Lodz and I feel that I am one of the fortunate ones who has played
03:02 at Lodz and not only once or twice but ten times.
03:06 This was my tenth year and that also to play with legions like I mean, you know, some of
03:12 the big names and every year they are different and every year there are about eight to ten
03:18 or fifteen earlier these numbers were more and they were playing with us.
03:23 And then you share the same dressing room, same long room where you go and have your
03:29 dinner and breakfast and you know with those sort of people.
03:33 So I mean Sunil Gavaskar was one of the ones, I mean every year he used to come but whenever
03:39 now there are a lot of international tournaments going on and he's there as a commentator or
03:46 something where he cannot make it every year.
03:49 But he was a regular comer.
03:50 Wasim Akram, he is one of the very close friends of mine.
03:55 Again I have played every year, he used to turn up.
03:58 Last year he couldn't make it.
04:00 So these are the big names, I mean, who they were always part of it.
04:06 And as I said, I'm very fortunate to be there because some of the international players
04:11 they can't make it at lots.
04:14 And then when you are in the dressing room, you see all their records, you know, who had
04:19 done so many centuries, who had taken five wickets and more.
04:23 The honors board.
04:24 The honors board, yeah.
04:25 So I mean this is something, great feeling.
04:29 As soon as you walk in, I mean, you feel that ah, where you are playing.
04:35 But also on the main stadium.
04:37 You spoke about the honors board at the Lords Cricket Ground, which is the most prestigious
04:42 cricket ground in the world.
04:44 And it's a ground where even Mr. Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar did not have a test century.
04:50 No, their names are not there.
04:51 Their names are not there on the honors board.
04:54 But Mr. Freddie Sidhu's name, if not in the honors board, but at the Lords Cricket Ground
05:00 history would always be there as though as you are the one who took the wicket of Brandon
05:04 McClung in one of those community matches.
05:07 This is one of those, I think luck, I would say.
05:11 The whole experience.
05:12 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:13 I mean, he was betting so well.
05:15 Earlier, he had hit a lot of sixes and then he hit me also for a six.
05:20 And then I asked my skipper, I says, you better go on the boundary line and be there.
05:28 So he went, but he was not on the boundary.
05:30 Otherwise, the first ball, it would have been caught.
05:33 OK, second ball again, I'm going to hit for a six and big six.
05:37 I mean, it went into the stadium.
05:40 So the next ball again, he wanted to hit me.
05:43 But luckily, I just turned the ball around and he missed it and he got stumped.
05:50 And he was disheartened, of course.
05:53 But it was part of the thing when he was just retiring.
06:00 And that was his last match and then he retired also.
06:04 So I mean, it was a great honor.
06:05 Those days he was in, I mean, like a, you know, full A. So that's the time, I mean,
06:13 you take some wicket, which is a very proud moment for somebody.
06:18 Thank you so much for giving us our time and showing us around your beautiful, beautiful
06:22 cricket ground.
06:23 The matches just got over.
06:25 So what was your performance like today?
06:28 Today was a really bad performance from my side.
06:32 I got out for a duck because I just hit on the cover and I got caught over there.
06:39 So couldn't match a second over.
06:42 And yeah, I bowled two overs, three overs.
06:46 And the bowling went very well.
06:49 Didn't give very much runs.
06:50 I might have given about four or five runs in three overs.
06:54 So that is it.
06:57 Didn't get any wickets.
07:00 So you don't have success every time.
07:03 I mean, here we have got good skill of cricketers.
07:08 Even the opening teams, sometimes they are really good.
07:10 OK, thanks once again.
07:12 Thank you so much.
07:13 Thank you so much for inviting us to this beautiful cricket ground.
07:15 Thank you.
07:16 Thank you.
07:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:20 (upbeat music)
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