Cricketer From The Caribbean

When I visited Florida, I had an Uber ride from Tampa airport to my car rentals with a guy from Antigua, an island in Caribbean region (Okay, if you think I’m over explaining then you probably might have already known that Antigua is part of the Caribbean but I didn’t until that day).

As soon as one sees me every single person in the US recognizes me as Indian (not that I’m complaining, I just don’t feel it’s fair to my race to be so easily guessed by almost everyone. I want to be unpredictable too :)). Most of them would narrate a story that they relate to my country which kind of reduces the intensity of my previous complaint.

So, this guy immediately asked me if I liked Cricket. I was bit confused since I don’t usually hear the word Cricket from the Americans. That’s when I actually came to know about his origins. I said, “not very much, but I know one or two things about it”, as I don’t regularly watch or follow the sport except for when I’m forced into it. He once again surprised me by revealing himself as a cricketer who had once played with some of the best players from the West Indies Cricket Team at National Level. We spoke about Sachin Tendulkar, one of the famous Indian cricketers. He seemed to know about the huge craze for the sport in my country.

There was an All-Star Cricket match at Minute Maid Stadium, Houston in Nov 2015. At that moment I wished I should have taken some time and interest for it when it occurred. Not only I would have gotten the chance to have a more meaningful conversation but also I would have witnessed most of the great cricketers playing live. Moreover, It was a really short ride and we parted our ways with a pleasant goodbye hoping to have more amazing memories in Florida.