Soliloquy

Prudhvi, as was often the case, is seen at the centre of the standing row of players, and could be made out thanks to his immense stature.

Prudhvi ‘Chintu’ Madipadige was a six-foot-six-inch tall gentle giant who reminded us of what we had seen of Joel Garner in the highlights reels played by ESPN as fillers in between cricket shows in the late 2000s. I was sixteen when I first met him at the Bhavan’s Cricket Academy in Sainikpuri. I joined Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in class eleven after completing my matriculation from St Andrews. I used to practice with the school team before inter-school tournaments although I continued to train at St John’s with my club team.

Known to be a rather promising fast bowler, Chintu was only fourteen at the time but more than six feet tall already. We knew he had immense potential as he was called to bowl to us under-16 and under-19 lads despite him being still in the under-14 school team. His height gave him an immense advantage, and he often put it to good use. He continued growing, and within a year or so, he was six foot six, which meant that most of us had to climb atop ladders to look him in the eye.

It was nigh on impossible to play him comfortably in the nets, especially on the matting surfaces that Bhavan’s used to have back in the day. Most of the deliveries that he bowled used to rear up from a length and leave us batsmen ducking for evasive action. His action was not very fluid but I distinctly remember a friendly game against Bhavan’s Vivekananda College in which he partnered with Pabba Nilesh, another throwaway speedster, to dismantle their famed batting lineup (consisting of the likes of Rahul Singh, Prince Ojha, Rohit Rayudu, Gaddam Sankeerth et al) to shreds.

Chintu was a joy to have on your side, and off the field, his dry humour often got us cracking. I played a couple of seasons with him, first at Dhruv XI in 2014-15 and then at Kosaraju in 2015-16. We lost touch for some time after that and started moving in different circles. We reconnected after he got picked for the Osmania University side in 2019-20 and toured Mysore with us, where his antics with roommate Jaidev ‘Stobo’ Goud cannot be put into print.

Off-field happenings had put him on the wrong side of the law quite a few times but he got back up with as much zeal as he showed after being pulled for a six over deep square leg. Knowing he was running out of time, Chintu took the help of former Hyderabad seamer Kanneshkk Naidu to train him back to full fitness and the results were there for everyone to see. Coach Venkat Swaroop of Osmania University had elevated hopes for him and often asked me and skipper Surya Teja to help Chintu out with whatever he wanted on the field. He was a gem who had to be preserved.

Memory often leads us down narrow lanes- ones which we thought we had escaped- but it cannot be evaded, and that is what I realised this morning after I got to know Chintu’s passing due to a motorcycle accident. He was only 22. My heart goes out to his loved ones, especially his father Mr Janaki Ram, whom I know personally, and who has always been warm and cordial. Rest in peace, Chintu. They wouldn’t know what to do with your bouncers in heaven.