3 Real life references of cricket in 'Jersey' movie

Jersey, the Telugu-language sports drama film was released a year ago on 19th April 2019, based on hardships of a cricketer at domestic level and received critical acclaim across the world. The film revolves around the Ranji cricketer Arjun (played by Nani) who revisits his dream of playing for the Indian team to remain a hero in the eyes of his son after failing to buy an Indian team jersey due to his financial situation.

In this process, he takes up professional cricket at the age of 36 that too ten years after announcing retirement due to a health condition which none of his closest was informed. Though the base story of the movie is a fictional one and doesn’t project anyone, the director Gowtam Tinnanuri revisits some of the real happenings in this movie and connects them beautifully in the character Arjun’s life.

Here we look at some of the real incidents which were picturized in the Jersey movie:

3. Giving up the sport in the mid-20s due to a rare heart condition:

As per the Hyderabad team coach in the Jersey movie, the protagonist Arjun had a brilliant batting record till the time he was an active player. Towards the end of the movie, it is revealed that Arjun was suffering from a heart disease called Arrhythmia due to which he gave up cricket.

He made his retirement decision look like being fed by his non-selection to the Indian team and wanted to give the family the priority. In reality, a similar heart disease put an end to England cricketer James Taylor’s career. The Leicestershire-born got to know about his heart condition after he was taken to hospital during a pre-county season match for Nottinghamshire in 2016.

Taylor was also 26 years old at that point and had a good start to his ODI career scoring 887 runs in only 26 innings. He turned full-time selector for the England team in July 2018.

2. Setting Ranji Trophy on fire with the bat at the age of 36:

Arjun makes a miraculous comeback to professional cricket at the age of 36 years despite staying away from the sport for a decade. Arjun made a comeback to the sport as a player turning down his coach’s offer to become an assistant coach at the Hyderabad cricket team. His sensational performances with the bat in the Ranji Trophy 1996-97 powered Hyderabad to win the title thrillingly.

Towards the end, it is revealed that Arjun earned his maiden India call-up as he was included in the Indian squad for the following tour. In reality, Arjun’s character is an inspiration of Delhi batsman Raman Lamba. During the 1996-97 Ranji Trophy season, Lamba finished as the top-scorer of the tournament with 1034 runs at the age of 36. Only two batsmen scored 1000+ runs in that Ranji Trophy – Raman Lamba (1034) and Ajay Sharma (1033); both represented the same team.

Delhi were table-toppers in the Zonal round and also at the Super League stage; same as what was shown in the movie with Hyderabad instead of Delhi. Lamba’s professional career lasted until 1997-98 season when he breathes his last after getting hit on the head during a club match in Bangladesh. The fictional character Arjun passes away due to a heart issue which was aggravated after playing the Ranji Trophy.

1. The only day-night match in the history of Ranji Trophy:

The last episode involving Arjun in the movie was the Ranji Trophy final 1996-97 between Mumbai and Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium. The movie also mentions it as the first-ever match in the history of the Ranji Trophy played under the lights. The match which portraits in the movie is the 1996-97 Ranji final between Mumbai and Delhi which was hosted by the Gwalior’s Captain Roop Singh Stadium.

The match was played in coloured clothing and white ball unlike what is shown in the movie. The dew factor made the life tough for the bowlers and the batsmen enjoyed the favourable conditions. As a result, only two team innings was possible in the whole match that spread across five days. Mumbai, who batted first in this game, posted 630 after batting for 202.2 overs. Amol Muzumdar and Jatin Paranjpe scored 144 and 111 respectively for the Mumbai.

In reply, the Delhi team were cruising towards the title in the first session on the final day. Skipper Ajay Sharma and Ashu Dani scored 176 and 178 respectively by sharing a 313-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Delhi went past 500-run mark losing only four wickets. However, a couple of runouts and Nilesh Kulkarni saw Delhi lose their last six wickets for only 53 runs and ended up 71 runs behind Mumbai’s total.