We have come across many ardent cricket fans who save up money the entire year to watch their favourite team play tournaments and cheer their lungs out in support of the team. At the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, we have come across one inspiring fan whose love for the game is grabbing more eyeballs than even the cricketers. Yes, we are talking about 87-year-old, Charulata Patel, who cheered for team India as it took on Bangladesh at Edgbaston on Tuesday, July 2, 2019.
Who Is Charulata Patel?
An octogenarian lady, somewhere in late 70s or 80s, dressed in traditional saree, a woollen sweater and Shawl with Indian tri-colour painted on her cheeks, caught everyone's eye. This fan was sported holding not one but two Indian flags and a tri-coloured muffler with India embossed on it. Quite an unusual site for the cricket aficionados, both at the stadium and those watching it live on their screens since we are used to an energy-laden youth crying his heart out and going all gaga over the site of his/her favourite cricketer. And perhaps it was the same, somewhat a nontraditional site of a fan, that made everyone took notice of the 87-year old Charulata Patel.
Charulata confessed her fandom for cricket when interview by ANI. In her own words, "I have been watching cricket for last many decades, from the time I was in Africa. Earlier, I used to watch on TV when I was working, but now that I am retired I watch it live."
Further in her interview with the ICC, Charulata Patel said, “I like cricket because my children used to play cricket for Surrey... for 20 year. I feel like they are my kids so I feel very happy to see them."
This super fan wasn't really born in India. She was born in Tanzania in the year 1932 to an Indian family and is now a resident of United Kingdom. Since childhood she always took pride in the Indian cricket team because her parents too would proudly hail for their roots. Charulata said that she had begun following cricket actively since her retirement 20 years ago.
Her enthusiasm for the game was such that she wrote all the noteworthy records that Team India achieved and has even memorized them by heart. The special fan has been with the Indian Team long before this overnight stardom brought her into the limelight. Apparently, Charulata was present as early as 1983 on the grounds where India lifted its first-ever world cup under the captaincy of the enigmatic Kapil Dev.
What made her truly stand out this time, amidst the sea of crazy fans, was the passion with which she was seen blowing trumpet as and when the match was getting into India's favour. Not just us, she also earned some fans in the Indian cricket room with skipper Virat Kohli and Vice Captain Rohit Sharma walking upto her post the match. Both the cricketers thanked the inspiring 87-year admirer for her unflinching support and even sought her blessings after qualifying for the semis.
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Taking to Twitter, Virat Kohli said, "Also would like to thank all our fans for all the love & support & especially Charulata Patel ji. She's 87 and probably one of the most passionate & dedicated fans I've ever seen. Age is just a number, passion takes you leaps & bounds. With her blessings, on to the next one.”
She earned reverence even from the likes of Michael Vaughan, former England captain, who shared her picture on his Instagram and even went on to call it 'picture of the World Cup' for him.
View this post on InstagramLove this ... No idea how old this lady is but it’s the picture of the World Cup for me ... #CWC19
Industrialist Anand Mahindra went a step ahead and promised to sponsor tickets for everyone's now-favourite fan, Charulata Patel for all upcoming India matches.
Ok, watched the last over & it had all the drama I needed. The best victories are those that make you bite your nails at 1st & then make it look easy in the end. Shabash, India & make sure this match-winning lady is present at the semifinals & finals...give her a free ticket! https://t.co/Smp0MrqCIA
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) 2 July 2019
Find out who she is & I promise I will reimburse her ticket costs for the rest of the India matches!😊 https://t.co/dvRHLwtX2b
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) 2 July 2019
The lady even managed to break a long-standing jinx of Mahindra's since he would avoid watching matches played by India. He feared that if he would catch up on any of the matches, it might lead to the defeat of our team. However, everything changed this past Tuesday with Mahindra now making sure to catch up on all the upcoming matches just to see our grand-old lady cheering for the Men in Blue.
As per my tradition, I wasn’t watching the match 😊 But I’m going to switch it on now just to see this lady...She looks like a match winner.... https://t.co/cn9BLpwfyj
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) 2 July 2019
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