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| Hashim Amla (right) with Jacques Kallis: Amla’s trip to India, in some ways, brings symmetry to the story of his family© AFP |
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On the afternoon of the first day of the Kolkata Test there appeared amoment that will surely find its way into all future histories of SouthAfrican cricket. At the fall of Jacques Rudolph’s wicket there arrived atthe crease the slim, bearded figure of Hashim Amla, the first player ofIndian origin to play for South Africa. Amla’s proud father, Dr MahomedH Amla, was present to witness his son’s brief but assured debut innings.I met Mr Amla on the second afternoon to speak to him about his son andabout the story of the Amla family in South Africa, of which Hashimrepresents the third generation. In some ways it is a classic immigrantfamily’s tale.”My father, Hassim, emigrated from Surat to South Africa in 1927, alongwith his two brothers,” said Mr Amla. “He was only fourteen then. By thattime there was already a tradition of Indian workers coming to SouthAfrica, mostly as farm labourers – it had been happening since 1860. Myfather worked for a while in a retail store, then as a commercialsalesman. My mother was South Africa-born, but her family too came fromSurat. I was one of ten children.”Those were different times. As children we were interested in sport, butwe never could think of a career in it. In any case there were noopportunities to represent your country because of the political system inplace then. It’s only since the nineties that opportunities have becomemore widely available to all South Africans. Hashim was lucky that, justat the time when he was growing up, everything had begun to change. Therewas a system in place and if you had talent, you could make it. Althoughwe were now South African, in some ways we still remained an Indianfamily. We have Indian food at home, and are respectful of Indiantraditions. In fact some people said to me yesterday that some of hisshots were very Asian in their execution, very wristy – even though helearnt his skills on South African pitches.”Hashim went to a school that had a cricketing background – Barry Richardswent to it, and also the swing bowler Richard Snell – and there theyspotted his talent early. He was only 16 when he was chosen to play a gameagainst the visiting England team. After that, every time a team came on atour and an invitation side was arranged to play them, Hashim would bepicked for it. In one such game he took 80 off the Australian team. So youmight say that even though he is quite young, he’s been waiting for hisopportunity for quite some time.”Mr Amla was born in 1950, and grew up in a world of segregation that hasnow thankfully been dismantled. He reflects on how much has changed in thespan of his lifetime. “Hashim is lucky that he did most of his growing uppost-1990, in a new South Africa. Now he is the first player of Asianorigin to represent the national team, and there’s another player, a kidnamed Imran Khan, who may soon be the second.” He observes that the largerforces of history have a great deal to do with the chances thatindividuals get. “Several high-calibre black players of an earliergeneration never got any opportunities. Basil D’Oliviera had to seek hisfuture in another country. So much has changed in South Africa.”So there is that side of the Amla family story, that can be placed withinthe history of twentieth-century South Africa, but, as with any immigrantfamily, also another side, with its roots in India. “I don’t think thatwhen my father arrived in South Africa, at the age of fourteen,” saysMr Amla, “he would have ever imagined in his wildest dreams that his grandsonwould one day play cricket for South Africa, and, what’s more, actuallycome to India to make his debut.”There is a symmetry to this story that seems to please Mr Amla very much.”This is my first visit to the country as well,” he says. “Unfortunatelyit is a short trip and I have to return to my practice as soon as the tour isover. But these have been days I will never forget. I need to come backagain.”Wisden Asia Cricket