Member Stories 📅 19 Jun 2026 ✍️ KSDA Team

Our Karnataka Sports Dealers Association. We founded that association, and I was the president of the Karnataka State Sports Dealers Association for 35 years. And when India won the 1983 World Cup, our secretary and myself, we both went to, first to Kirmani's house, we wanted to honour them.

His house at Pottery Road. He agreed. Then we had a get-together at the Bangalore Golf Course. That's the time we honoured both of them, and we asked them a few things, how they felt about the game, what was happening.

It was a wonderful experience for them. Because 1983 World Cup victory, people remember what we won the World Cup in 2011; people have forgotten. '83 was something different. Cricketers have come to my store. Once I brought Kalicharan to my sports show. Raul David, then our Venkatesh Prasad. All the cricketers were going. When I meet them, you know, when I met Kumle, the other day, he said, "My first cricket bat I bought from your shop." And Raul Dravid, he's one person, he came to my shop, picked up a few things. We told Raul, "Leave it, don't bother about the payment." He said, "Nothing is going on."

He didn't ask for any discount. On our own, we gave, that is different. Never asked. Same with Venkatesh Prasad came. Kapil has come to my shop. Again, I insisted. I said, Kapil, take something from my shop. Oh, no, no. Forcefully, I gave him one tracksuit. And that was the match we were playing against Pakistan when Zaheer Abbas was the captain.

After he took one tracksuit, then in the evening he phoned me up. He said, "If you don't mind, Mohinder Amarnath also wants a safe tax route." The next day at ground, you know, I took a taxi. I sent it to Aditya to give it to Kapil Yadav. Kapil is another wonderful, likeable person.

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