The New Indian Express ·
Kamalini's father is living with us through cricket: Mom Saranya reflects on her husband Gunalan's passing
CHENNAI: When G Kamalini walked onto the field at the Dubai International Stadium during the penultimate over of the Indian innings in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final on Sunday, if there was one person on her mind, it would have been her late father Gunalan. For the first time as an Indian player getting ready to step out onto the field, Kamalini could not talk to her Appa. He had passed away in May due to cardiac arrest.
It was Gunalan who gave a cricket ball in her hand during Covid when she was not even a teenager. And it was him who took her to Chennai for cricket matches, training and trials from Madurai — on most times against the advice of people around — so that Kamalini could play the sport.
Gunalan and Kamalini spent every day talking cricket. Every time she was playing a match, he would be on call with her when she was enroute to the ground. And he would be the first call after the match to dissect everything that happened. It is a tradition they continued even when he had serious health issues, and Kamalini rose through the ranks while living it all.
