Colombo
A little more than three decades ago, India toured Sri Lanka for a three-match Test and ODI series. Just a week or so before the series commenced, Kris Srikkanth, the former India opener, had written a column on how Percy Abeysekera, the popular Sri Lankan fan, had cast a spell on Mohammed Azharuddin, in the 1985 Test series in the Island nation.
At just 22, Azharuddin had cracked three Test hundreds in a row, in his debut series against England. Some months later, when Azharuddin toured Sri Lanka, he would have been brimming with confidence. Just that Percy’s mind games were about to break his confidence into pieces. Many decades have passed by since Srikkanth wrote the column, but that anecdote still flashes in the mind like a bulb. So, it was an unforgettable moment to see the legendary Sri Lankan fan narrate the fond memory to this writer.
“Azhar was a very good batsman, he played very good cricket, against England he scored three consecutive centuries. Before he went out to bat, I said, ‘Azhar, I dreamt you would get out the third ball’ and he was out on the third ball,” he told RevSportz. There was a spark in his eyes while recounting this particular incident. He even repeated it twice and then thrice.
This event happened during the first innings of the second Test of that series, with Azharuddin falling to Saliya Ahangama. It is believed that for the rest of the series, Percy began to pretend as though he was chanting some mantra whenever Azhar would come out to bat. The middle-order bat also seemed to believe he was under some kind of a spell and ended up averaging just over 18 in that series.
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As the clock struck 9.45 in the morning, it was time to take a tuk-tuk to Kalutara. The place is around 40 km away from our hotel in Colombo. In the morning, there was heavy traffic too. At one point of time, our tuk-tuk seemed to be jammed between three trucks – one from behind and a couple of them ahead of us. But the rather tiring journey seemed worth it as we were set to meet ‘Uncle Percy’.
After more than an hour, we were at Percy’s house. Initially, we were greeted by Garfield, the grandson of Percy. Yes, his grandson was named after Garfield Sobers, the great West Indian all-rounder. Meanwhile, at 87, Percy wasn’t the lively and spirited character of yore, but he did share a few memories of Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, one of his favourite cricketers. Incidentally, a few tears of joy rolled down his cheeks when the discussion veered towards dancing with Rohit. After a few minutes, he was back to his old topic – casting spells on cricketers.
So, when this writer asked about Sobers, his good friend, he said with a cheeky smile: “There are many memories. We are of the same age, I’m two months older (to him). He once asked me, ‘your comments always lead to the batsman getting out. How do you do it?’ I replied, ‘I can’t tell you, it is a secret.'”
It isn’t just Azharuddin who faced the wrath of Percy’s wicket-taking chants. Even David Boon, a tenacious cricketer, was affected by Percy’s mind games. He had once told the Tasmanian cricketer during a match played at Colombo SSC, “David Boon, you Tasmanian goon, come back soon, before noon.” In a matter of a few minutes, Boon was trudging back to the pavilion.
There is more to Percy’s journey than just casting spells. By the age of 12, Percy was hooked to cricket. In 1948, his elder brothers also took him to P Sara Oval. The goal was to watch the great Australian team take on Ceylon XI. The ‘Invincibles’ were led by none other than Sir Don Bradman. They had to pick up a train in Galle and travel to Maradana. And from there, they had to walk towards the P Sara Stadium.
Some years later, in 1962, he didn’t attend an exam – Economics History paper. The story goes, Percy wanted to watch C. I. Gunasekera crack a hundred versus Tamil Nadu in the Gopalan Trophy at PSS. Not surprisingly, he had to face the wrath of his father. By then, he had started working for Associated Motorways and later on at ACL Cables. In fact, he has been a member of ACL ever since. He started his career as a factory foreman. Eventually, moving up the ladder to become the Public Relations consultant, and then the brand ambassador.
The nuggets are endless. Somewhere in the 1980s, Martin Crowe had once presented him with his Man of the Match award. When Percy tried to return the trophy to Crowe before he took a flight back to New Zealand, he was in for another surprise: The former New Zealand skipper is said to have presented him with the sun hat that he wore during his first 10 Tests.
Percy also was seen proudly waving the Sri Lankan flag when the Island nation defeated India in the 1979 World Cup. In 1989, Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, gave him an autographed book. Sunil Gavaskar, the great opener, handed him a cap through Sidath Wettimuny.
In 1989-90, Percy had gone over to Australia to support his beloved Sri Lankan team participiating in a tri-series also involving the home side and Pakistan. Percy wished to watch not just Sri Lanka, but also Pakistan locking horns against Australia. Unfortunately, he didn’t have tickets for it.
Percy is said to have called up Javed Miandad. Subsequently, the former Pakistan skipper told him to come to the ground, and he would arrange for the tickets. When Percy arrived at the ground, Miandad had arranged five tickets for him. In July 1983, when Sobers was on his way back to Barbados, Percy had saved his life. He also once got the opportunity to dance onboard with Sobers on an aeroplane.
Alas! Age catches up with everyone. Percy remembers very little of all those nuggets. For a moment, one wondered – only if I were to meet Uncle Percy a decade earlier. But that is destiny. As I slowly made my way out of his house, it was an enriching experience that would reverberate in the mind for many more years.