Sport at the highest level is cruel; the ‘brutal and uncompromising practicalities’ will catch up with the best.
If Robert Ludlum were writing the book on this, he would have called it The Wriddhiman Wriggle. And it began (on Feb 19) with all the integral elements of a good thriller: A professional sportsman heart-sick over the knowledge that his gig at the highest level was over; an entitled, venal journalist; a stage set for a cataclysmic showdown.
Cue collective angst. Fans demanded the name of the journalist, and his head on a platter, in that order. An array of yesteryear cricketers—all firing their guns off the India wicketkeeper’s convenient shoulder—demanded that Saha should out the name …
Prem Panicker has been a journalist for over 30 years. From daily newspapers to weekly magazines and digital news portals—he was one of the seven journalists who were part of the Rediff.com start-up team—he has written and edited features extensively across mediums and publications. Since quitting his job at Yahoo in 2014, he has been working as a freelance writer and editor, as well as teaching narrative journalism.
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