Yere Goud - The gentleman who inspired many

Yere Goud

Growing up in a mofussil town can always be difficult. Now, aren’t people from far flung and remote places not resilient, hardworking, intelligent and adaptable? It is definitely not the case. We are all creations of God and yet, sometimes one gets a feeling that those city-dwellers have better facilities, and are in some ways superior.

Thankfully, there are some battle-hardened warriors who are able to wade through all those marshes and swamps that come in their way, and rise like a phoenix from the ashes to fulfil their cherished dreams. In spite of coming from a remote and far-flung place like Raichur, Yere Goud was one of those cricketers who harboured the dream of making a name for himself in cricket, and succeeded in his endeavour by carving a niche for himself in the Ranji Trophy. His awe-inspiring story should inspire aspiring cricketers to believe that even deep in the wilderness, as far away from civilisation as it can get, dreams do come true.

Goud came through the ranks by playing for Karnataka under 19s in the Coach Behar and Vizzy trophy in the late 80s and early 90s respectively. He eventually made his debut for Karnataka in the Ranji trophy in 94/95 against Hyderabad. However, Goud didn’t get a decent run in the side, which resulted in him opting for Railways as his first class team. For more than a decade, with dedication and devotion, he played a pivotal role in helping Railways build a strong unit. The fulcrum of Railways batting line-up, Goud topped the batting charts in 2000/01, and was even selected to play for India A that year. With his rock-like presence at the crease, he brought a semblance of surety to a rather feeble Railways batting line-up.

With little or no coverage of the Ranji trophy, it was difficult to follow Goud’s outstanding progress in domestic cricket. The one knock that I vividly remember was his back-to-the-wall innings of 92 against Karnataka in 2000/01. I still felt good that the man who inspired many of us to dream big had done well.

The Railways team, in many ways, is a great model for the present Indian team to follow. Goud, Raja Ali, Pagnis, Tejinder Pal Singh, Sharma, Bangar, Parida and company weren’t great names to talk of. Only Murali Kartik was well-known in cricketing circles; and yet, they went onto win the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy twice.

The shrewd Anil Kumble tried to bring him back to Karnataka, as in 2007/08 he took up the gauntlet of captaining a misfiring Karnataka team. But under his tenure as a captain, Karnataka’s performance didn’t exactly meet expectations. Goud still played a few vital knocks.

Goud’s defiant rearguard century at Mysore in 07/08 against Rajasthan is a knock that can’t be forgotten in a hurry. In that game, Karnataka was in a spot of bother. However, with a touch of calm countenance, launching rescue missions to steer the team to safety was never uncharted terrain for Goud. His innings against Rajasthan meant that the Karnataka team didn’t just recover from a precarious position, but turned from prey into predators. It’s no wonder that some thought of him as Indian domestic cricket’s answer to Steve Waugh. He went back to playing for Railways in 08/09, and played for them until he retired in 2012.

Now, Yere Goud wasn’t your quintessential charming cricketer with roguish good looks to be revered and feted by the media. When Goud hung up his boots and decided to retire from first class cricket last year, there were hardly any glowing tributes written about him. He didn’t play for India either, but that doesn’t take anything away from his achievements. Only twenty players have played more than hundred Ranji Trophy matches, with Goud being one of them. He also amassed 7,650 runs at an impressive average of 45.53 in first class cricket. In short, Goud was a man of few words who believed in letting his bat to do all the talking.

I don’t know whether the present generation, hooked to the IPL, would even remember him. But for a generation of cricket lovers who were inspired by his heroic deeds on a cricket field, he will always remain a folk hero.