Indian sporting icons come together for national anthem

Mumbai: Former India cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni is known to be a part of history books. As a cricketer, he is one of the few who scalped a wicket on his first delivery in international cricket and after retirement, he established a sports management institute — International Institute of Sports Management.

Nilesh is all set to add another feather to his cap. This January 26, on the occasion of Republic Day, he will bring together India ’s sporting heroes in a music video.

Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, Dhanraj Pillay, Baichung Bhutia among many others will unite to sing the national anthem – Jana Gana Mana – rearranged by music composer Ram Sampath.

Having played the game and running a sports institute now, Nilesh understands how sports connect people.

“While I and my wife Rasika were working on the concept of bringing India ’s sporting icons to sing the national anthem, we understood that sports — irrespective of one’s caste, religion, race, gender and culture — is one unifying force,” he said.

Nilesh is also in favour of encouraging athletes from other sports and he constantly highlights their achievements.

“Cricket, being an organised sport, gets more attention that other sports. However, the achievements from non-cricketing sports must garner equal attention. The initiative is a step to encourage more athletes to participate in Olympics and make India proud,” said Nilesh, who also captained Mumbai in Ranji Trophy.

He appreciated the personalities for their support while planning the endeavour.

“I received outstanding support from all of them. They were also ready to alter their schedules for the sake of the country.”

The leader in him enlightened how people in rural and urban areas approach sports and why one must encourage more youth participation.

“For the younger generation in urban India , sports is more about watching and spending time on gaming consoles. But it continues to remain an outdoor activity in rural areas.”

“For the latter, there is no shortage of talent. However, they need a shot in the arm,” said the man, who dismissed Sri Lanka ’s Marvan Atapattu on his Test debut.

Nilesh also shed light on Apne bacchon ke pairo ko apne desh kee mittee lagne do, the tagline for his initiative ‘The Sports Heroes’.

“The main idea is to inspire people to go out and take up a sport. It will not only make them healthy and competitive but it will also help them understand how to come back stronger even if they fail initially,” he concluded.

The music video is directed by Abhijit Panse (director of Marathi movie Rege) and it will be inaugurated by Tendulkar on January 24 here.