Jackman still can't make it to Shimla, his birthplace

02 November,2009 08:01 AM IST |   |  Sudheendra Tripathi

It is not only cricketers alone who are bearing the brunt of a frenzied international cricket calendar. Others associated with the sport are facing occupational hazards too.


It is not only cricketers alone who are bearing the brunt of a frenzied international cricket calendar. Others associated with the sport are facing occupational hazards too.

Cricketer-turned-commentator Robin Jackman is a good example. Jackman was born in the picturesque and serene Shimla, just 123km from Mohali, where Jackman is currently as a television commentator. The former England seam bowler will be unable to make even a pit-stop to his birthplace which he has never visited.

Naturally, he is upset.

"I have heard it is a beautiful place," Jackman told MiD DAY. "I haven't been there and wanted to visit the place, but I don't have much time on hand. We finished a day-night game in Delhi and reached here the next day and are doing a day-night game again tomorrow. It is too tight.

"Maybe some other time," rued Jackman, who played four Tests and 15 ODIs for England between 1974 and 1983.

South Africa-based Jackman is also disappointed to hear that the beautiful city of his birth is turning into a concrete jungle. "I know for a fact that it used to be a fantastic city. But now the lovely trees and greenery have been replaced by structures," said Jackman, who enjoyed a distinguished 16-year career playing for Surrey.

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Robin Jackman Mohali South Africa