IT’S HARD to understand die-hard fans and what drives them to travel around the world to support their favourite team. One of them to have made the trip Down Under is 57-year-old Bhavishan Rai, known as Babs, from Bedford, on the outskirts of London.
As India prepares to face England in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide, Rai will watch with fingers crossed. But he has enough experience cheering for the Men in Blue. After all, it will be his 635th game watching from the stands.
Rai’s grandfather moved from Jalandhar to England in the 1960s and he has lived his life there. The Indian diaspora in Britain is known for its almost-fanatical support for the team, but Rai has a special distinction among them. He has seen India win the 1983 World Cup in England, the 2007 ICC World T20 in South Africa, and the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent. He also witnessed India’s early exit from the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.
IT’S HARD to understand die-hard fans and what drives them to travel around the world to support their favourite team. One of them to have made the trip Down Under is 57-year-old Bhavishan Rai, known as Babs, from Bedford, on the outskirts of London.
As India prepares to face England in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide, Rai will watch with fingers crossed. But he has enough experience cheering for the Men in Blue. After all, it will be his 635th game watching from the stands.
Rai’s grandfather moved from Jalandhar to England in the 1960s and he has lived his life there. The Indian diaspora in Britain is known for its almost-fanatical support for the team, but Rai has a special distinction among them. He has seen India win the 1983 World Cup in England, the 2007 ICC World T20 in South Africa, and the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent. He also witnessed India’s early exit from the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Rai fell in love with the game at the age of 17 when he watched Kapil Dev’s iconic 175 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells, after India had been reduced to 17/5. But he considers India’s Test series victory in England in 1986 as his proudest moment as a fan.
