A heady mix for Mumbai Indians at mega launch

Mumbai, April 17 Shaun Pollock has been in India often enough to not be surprised by a traditional tilak and aarti welcome, a routine that all touring cricketers are accorded. Still, at the official launch of the Mumbai Indians here today, the South African must have been somewhat taken aback by the paste applied ceremoniously on his forehead.

Soil from Shivaji Park, vermillion from the Siddhivinayak and Mahalaxmi temples, with a sprinkling of holy water from Mount Mary made a perfect mix for a team keen on an auspicious start to their IPL campaign in the coming days. The launch also had a touch of melodrama with captain Sachin Tendulkar’s ageing coach Ramakant Achrekar sitting on a chair welcoming the players on the dais.

After a coconut-breaking ceremony at nets on Wednesday, the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise team looked for divine intervention and blessings from Mumbai cricket's grand old man a day before the mega opening at Bangalore on Friday. In Mukesh’s absence, wife Nita played the perfect hostess, interacting with players and making them comfortable.

President of Reliance Retail R Balachandra spoke about the special launch. "In Mumbai, we have a different culture and different beliefs and that’s we decided to have this different tilak,” he said.

Tendulkar, who triggered a frenzy among photographers when he stepped on stage to touch coach Achrekar’s feet, quite expectedly went down memory lane — which in some ways explained how dust from Shivaji Park had landed on the foreheads of the Mumbai Indians squad. “Shivaji Park and Achrekar Sir have played a big role in my career. There is a water tap at the Ganesha temple at the park where I used to drink water and rest after a tough game,” he said.

While Pollock and Jayasuriya seemed quite amused by the events that unfolded on Thursday, the youngsters seemed overawed by the emotion. Baroda wicket-keeper Pinal Shah spoke about how he had never expected such a grand reception. “All this is new to us youngsters. I have been briefly interacting with the stars and the coming days seem very exciting,” Shah said, adding as an afterthought: "Mrs Ambani spoke to me in Gujarati."

With the floor left open for media, questions to Tendulkar didn’t look like they would end. That’s when one saw a hand being raised from the VVIP row. The special invitee for the launch, Sunil Gavaskar, had a question for Tendulkar. “It’s 2 pm, Sachin don’t you think it’s time for lunch?” asked the original Little Master. At the Mumbai Indians' launch, that signalled stumps.