The Amlas come home
On the afternoon of the first day of the Kolkata Test there appeared amoment that will surely find its way into all future histories of SouthAfrican cricket
Chandrahas Choudhury
29-Nov-2004
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"My father, Hassim, emigrated from Surat to South Africa in 1927, along
with his two brothers," said Mr Amla. "He was only fourteen then. By that
time there was already a tradition of Indian workers coming to South
Africa, mostly as farm labourers - it had been happening since 1860. My
father worked for a while in a retail store, then as a commercial
salesman. My mother was South Africa-born, but her family too came from
Surat. I was one of ten children.
"Those were different times. As children we were interested in sport, but
we never could think of a career in it. In any case there were no
opportunities to represent your country because of the political system in
place then. It's only since the nineties that opportunities have become
more widely available to all South Africans. Hashim was lucky that, just
at the time when he was growing up, everything had begun to change. There
was a system in place and if you had talent, you could make it. Although
we were now South African, in some ways we still remained an Indian
family. We have Indian food at home, and are respectful of Indian
traditions. In fact some people said to me yesterday that some of his
shots were very Asian in their execution, very wristy - even though he
learnt his skills on South African pitches.
"Hashim went to a school that had a cricketing background - Barry Richards
went to it, and also the swing bowler Richard Snell - and there they
spotted his talent early. He was only 16 when he was chosen to play a game
against the visiting England team. After that, every time a team came on a
tour and an invitation side was arranged to play them, Hashim would be
picked for it. In one such game he took 80 off the Australian team. So you
might say that even though he is quite young, he's been waiting for his
opportunity for quite some time."
Mr Amla was born in 1950, and grew up in a world of segregation that has
now thankfully been dismantled. He reflects on how much has changed in the
span of his lifetime. "Hashim is lucky that he did most of his growing up
post-1990, in a new South Africa. Now he is the first player of Asian
origin to represent the national team, and there's another player, a kid
named Imran Khan, who may soon be the second." He observes that the larger
forces of history have a great deal to do with the chances that
individuals get. "Several high-calibre black players of an earlier
generation never got any opportunities. Basil D'Oliviera had to seek his
future in another country. So much has changed in South Africa."
So there is that side of the Amla family story, that can be placed within
the history of twentieth-century South Africa, but, as with any immigrant
family, also another side, with its roots in India. "I don't think that
when my father arrived in South Africa, at the age of fourteen," says
Mr Amla, "he would have ever imagined in his wildest dreams that his grandson
would one day play cricket for South Africa, and, what's more, actually
come to India to make his debut."
There is a symmetry to this story that seems to please Mr Amla very much.
"This is my first visit to the country as well," he says. "Unfortunately
it is a short trip and I have to return to my practice as soon as the tour is
over. But these have been days I will never forget. I need to come back
again."
Chandrahas Choudhury is staff writer of Wisden Asia Cricket magazine.