Remembering Raman Lamba

[Tintin]

February 20, 1998. Mohammad Aminul Islam, the former Bangladesh captain, remembers the day clearly. "I had got him out that day, but I didn't know it would be his last innings." Raman Lamba fielded later in the day - without a helmet - at forward short-leg and Mehrab Hossain hit him straight in the temple. The hit was so hard, the ball rebounded to Khaled Mashud, the wicketkeeper. "I was the new man in and asked Raman if he was okay. He said, 'Bulli [Islam's nickname is Bulbul] main to mar gaya' [I am dead, Bulli]. He was shaking." Mehrab was so shaken by the accident he doesn't even like to talk about it, the local journalists warn.

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/tourdiarie...bering_ram.php

[psj]

Thx Tintin...for making us remember him...amongst all this bad blood between BD and Ind Fans(only me i guess)...here is one symbol of friendship...
Most of us in India were shocked to know of it...
May his Soul rest in Peace.

[Kabir]

I remember that innings. It was shocking. Dark side of sport.
May his soul rest in peace. Amin.

[Inferno]

Hope such things never happen in cricket.

Lets pray for his soul to rest in peace. God Bless him.

[Dhakablues]

It was no doubt a very sad moment.. the ground was speechless. I think Mehrab pretty much was in shock for a pretty long time. He couldnt just get over that incident. Raman reminds us of the glorious days of Dhaka League when Wasim used to bowl at Ranatunga, Samaraveera playing regularly, Robin Singh flying in and Kapil Dev registering for Abahani ( though he never played). Dhaka League was spanish league of cricket then.....

[PoorFan]

I don't want to put the line between "Mehrab fall in love with 'dail'" and lose his career since than, but can imagine how horrible one can feel after that incident. And cant believe how poor was our match organizing back then! ... that dying player had to walk on his own to pavilion without physio or doctor's attendance!


My god bless him and his soul rest in peace.

[Nocturnal]

Raman Lamba- One of my fav player. Brought lot of glory for my team Abahani.
RIP.

[fai_hasan]

etodin pore raman lamba'r kotha mone korlen sobai.

bechara more gelo, ar opi o khelte parlo na ar. onek sad time katse tokhon amader.

[bd_fan_from_india]

sad news RIP

[ammark]

I Remember that time. Was in school and we were all talking about it. May his soul RIP.

[max1]

Really sad incident. Hope we never get to see something like this again on a cricket field.
RIP Raman Lamba. I remember him as a dashing batsman...on his day a match-winner. Only had a brief career international level though.

[Miraz]

Welcome max1 at BanglaCricket.

Enjoy your stay.

[jinglenuts]

i might b 9 at that tim. havn't watched d match. very sad, he died! rest in peace. shouldn't happen somethin like that in future.

[istiak]

I was big Lamba fan as because of his career in Abahani! We used to go to the stadium or Abahani's ground to see him batting. But unfortunatly i was not in the country when that horrible thing happened.

Can't we bring back that glorious past of Dhaka league? We now got more money and passion abt the game. In mid 90s few thousand people in the gallary between a match Abahani vs Biman or Mohammedan. Ohh those good old Dhaka league. Still so vivid that innings from Fairbrother.

[istiak]

Originally Posted by PoorFan
I don't want to put the line between "Mehrab fall in love with 'dail'" and lose his career since than, but can imagine how horrible one can feel after that incident. And cant believe how poor was our match organizing back then! ... that dying player had to walk on his own to pavilion without physio or doctor's attendance!

It was not really like that!! He himself was not certain how bad it was. Those big teams had their own doctor even at that time. Dhaka leagues at that period was basically more exciting than today.

[max1]

Thank you Miraz. I'm sure I will.

[akabir77]

I have seen him play so many times as i was a very keen follower of Abahani. He used to open for AKC and used to take 50 ball to score 10 and then in next 50 balls he would score his 100. one thing for sure he would score a 100 in every 5 matches.
About his walking off the field he refused the assistance saying head is spinning i will be ok in minute or two. (My bro-in law was the captain of the AKC at that time).

Reason he wasn't wearing a helmet cause he was not fielding in short mid wkt or some thing he was walking fast to ward the batsman from the cover or where ever he was fielding at (i can't remember now). and funny thing is some one actually told him like two three balls earlier (i think it was mehrab Sr. himself) don't come to close or I will blow your head or something.
I think AKC had a dr. with them (only team in dhaka league to have one). he vomited a little after he reached the pavilion and then the dr. knew he was in trouble. he was admitted to Dhaka med(or some hospital). but the H over there didn't had the CITI scan machine so he had to some where else and took ages to get the result back and by that time the damage was done...
RIP.

[MohammedC]

The tragic death of Raman Lamba

When fielding at forward short-leg without a helmet on cost an Indian international his life

While traditionalists might still moan about their effect on the aesthetics of the game, there is little doubt the introduction of helmets in the last three decades has reduced the number of serious injuries in cricket, to both batsmen and fielders.
It remains, nevertheless, a potentially dangerous sport, and while almost all batsmen now wear protective equipment, a few close fielders prefer not to wear helmets, arguing they have an adverse effect on balance and reactions. They would do well to remember the sad case of Raman Lamba.

read full

[Odhora]

While traditionalists might still moan about their effect on the aesthetics of the game, there is little doubt the introduction of helmets in the last three decades has reduced the number of serious injuries in cricket, to both batsmen and fielders.

It remains, nevertheless, a potentially dangerous sport, and while almost all batsmen now wear protective equipment, a few close fielders prefer not to wear helmets, arguing they have an adverse effect on balance and reactions. They would do well to remember the sad case of Raman Lamba.

Lamba was an aggressive, if technically slightly suspect, batsman, whose career had promised much but never quite reached the heights expected. He arrived in style, smacking a hundred and two fifties in six ODIs against Australia in 1986-87, but his next five one-dayers produced only eight runs and by the late 1980s, and after a fair number of chances, he had been discarded. Four Tests were equally unproductive and despite scoring heavily in domestic cricket, he was not picked again.

He became a gun for hire, playing club cricket in Ireland - as well as representing them as their overseas player - and marrying an Irish girl. He also played club cricket in Bangladesh, which, although it had yet to gain full international status, had a vibrant club scene, attracting some good-quality players from overseas. Lamba was one of the early pioneers, first playing there in 1991 and telling friends that he was "the Don of Dhaka".

On February 20, 1998, Lamba was fielding for Abahani Krira Chakra against Mohammedan Sporting in Dhaka's Premier League at the Bangabandhu Stadium when he was summoned from the outfield to go to short leg.

Khaled Mashud was captaining Abahani Krira Chakra in the absence of the regular skipper. "I brought on the left-arm spinner for that one over and after three balls I decided to change the field. I looked around and I saw Raman and asked him to stand at forward short-leg." Mashud asked him if he wanted a helmet but Lamba said that "it was just three balls and so it wouldn't be a problem".

The delivery from Saifullah Khan was short and Mehrab Hossain pulled it hard, hitting Lamba in the forehead with such force it rebounded beyond Mashud, the wicketkeeper, who had to backpedal to take the catch. ''I knew Mehrab was out," Mashud said. "But when the other players gathered around me to celebrate, I looked for Raman. He was lying on the ground."

Lamba was well enough to get up and after reassuring fielders he was okay, unassisted he slowly made his way back to the dressing room. The team doctor told him to lie down and gave him water to drink, but after a few minutes Lamba told team-mates he felt unwell and was rushed to hospital. By the time he got there he had lost consciousness, and after he suffered convulsions, surgeons operated to a remove a blood clot from the left side of his brain. A specialist was flown in from Delhi but returned almost straightaway, saying there was no hope of recovery.

Three days after he was hit, Lamba's life support was turned off with the approval of his family. His wife, Kim, who had flown in from Delhi to be with him was at his bedside along with their five-year-old son and three-year daughter.

"He was at a private hospital first and then moved to the government hospital, but it was too late," Mashud said. "'He died because we did not have good medical facilities then."

"Raman's death was a big jolt," Kapil Dev said at the time. "It was as if the entire earth had moved under one's feet. This is a lesson for every cricketer to take precautions to avert such tragedies."

Understandably the incident affected Mehrab considerably. ''He couldn't sleep for two or three days,'' Mashud recalled. He even spent a spell away from the game, but eventually returned and went on to play for Bangladesh.

Aminul Islam, the former Bangladesh captain who was the non-striker when Lamba was struck, said that Lamba's role in helping take the country to Test status should not be overlooked. "Had Raman been alive, he would have been proud to see how far Bangladesh cricket has come. He was very dear to us, and remains one of our best cricket friends. He did a lot for Bangladesh cricket. I wrote a column in a newspaper on some memorable moments spent with Raman. And when I sat down to write it, I cried.

"Bangladesh loved Lamba, a stand in his name at the Bangabandhu Stadium was promised. But they don't even play cricket there now."

"He always dressed young, thought young and played young," Vijay Lokapally wrote in the Hindu. "Alas, he died young."




My tears are just coming out after reading this. I never knew about this untill now.

Rest In Peace Lamba.

[Nocturnal]

রমণ লাম্বাকে ওরা ভোলেনি

উৎপল শুভ্র, বেলফাস্ট থেকে | তারিখ: ১৯-০৭-২০১২

‘দ্য প্যাভিলিয়ন’ নামে ক্লাবের যে মূল ভবন, সেটির দেয়ালে ঝোলানো অনেক ছবি। কোনোটা টুর্নামেন্টজয়ী দলের, কোনোটা ক্লাবের নামকরা কোনো খেলোয়াড়ের। সব ছবির নিচেই পরিচিতি দেওয়া। শুধু একটি ছবিতে কিছু লেখা নেই। সেটি কি এই কারণে যে, নর্থডাউন ক্রিকেট ক্লাবে রমণ লাম্বার ছবিটাই যথেষ্ট তাঁকে চেনাতে?
সেই সিপাহি বিদ্রোহের সময় ক্লাবটির প্রতিষ্ঠা। ১৫৫ বছরের ইতিহাস। সেই ইতিহাসে রমণ লাম্বা এমনই একটা জায়গা নিয়ে আছেন যে, এ নিয়ে শুধু টমাস অ্যান্ড্রুসের সঙ্গেই তাঁর প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বিতা হতে পারে। তা এই টমাস অ্যান্ড্রুসটা কে? বলতে পারেন, এই ক্লাবের প্রাণপুরুষ। ক্লাবের বাইরের দেয়ালে বিশাল একটা হোর্ডিং। ক্লাবের ইতিহাস লেখা আছে, সঙ্গে ১৮৯৫ সালের নর্থডাউন সিসি দলের একটা ছবি। যে দলের সবাই অ্যান্ড্রুস আর তাঁর ভাই-বেরাদর। টমাস অ্যান্ড্রুসের আসল পরিচয় অবশ্য এটা নয়। ইতিহাস তাঁকে মনে রেখেছে টাইটানিক জাহাজের নকশাকারী হিসেবে। টাইটানিকের প্রথম ও শেষ সমুদ্রযাত্রায় তিনিও জাহাজে ছিলেন। জীবনের সবচেয়ে বড় কীর্তির সঙ্গে হারিয়ে গেছেন অতলান্তিকের অতলান্ত জলে।

Full read - prothom-alo - Link

[BANFAN]

BD cricket will probably never forget him... BCB or the club could probably do something to preserve his memory amongst the younger generation cricketers...We should never forget him.

[deshimon]

BCB & specially Abahoni should do something commemorating Raman.
That was a sad insident. Hope never happen this type of incident again.

[MohammedC]

We will not forget you Raman Lamba.

[kalpurush]

Originally Posted by deshimon
BCB & specially Abahoni should do something commemorating Raman.
That was a sad insident. Hope never happen this type of incident again.

BCB should do something for his family too IMHO.

[RazabQ]

Not forgotten