Meet Freckles 'Fuming' Filaccio from
Murphys Village (aka Murphys Estate), the first cricketer from America in the IPL. Way back in late June, 2015, it was just another
quiet day in Murphys. Freckles and his friends were idling in front of the TV
when his father stormed in - “You kids better watch out or after taking over
all yer jobs these Indians will take over all yer sports”. Satnam Singh Bhamara
had just become
the first-ever basketball player from India to be drafted into the NBA. The
Dallas Mavericks had selected him with their 52nd pick.
The similarities between Satnam and
Freckles were uncanny. Both were from tiny, almost insignificant villages with
populations of less than a 1000. Basketball was the last sport on
anyone's mind in Punjab. Legend has it, the growth of basketball in these parts
almost coincided with the growth of Satnam Singh. When he was a day shy of 13
he was already six feet tall. And that was the day when he planted the first
makeshift basket – he always took his nani's advice to heart, she would often
say, “Reach for the stars, Satnam, reach out for the stars”. Both cricket and
hockey had fault in their stars, he was determined to start something new.
Baseball was a lost cause as his friends compared it to cricket. One early
morning he surfed to a Live NBA telecast. It was then that it dawned upon him
why he was much taller than the others. The first basket was planted halfway up
a tree. A basketball was procured from the nearest town. Satnam Singh had his
friends for company but it was clear he was playing against himself. Every
second day, the basket was nailed higher till it reached the tree top. Next a
higher tree and then an even higher tree.
The day when his dad barged in,
Freckles barged out. His privacy had been invaded. Worse, he didn't understand
what his father was fussing about. It was only later when his dad sat him down
and planned America's revenge that it became somewhat clear. Freckles would
take on a new sport, one he had barely heard of. He was a day shy of 13,
already six feet tall, and a baseball bully -he could whack it longer than even
the older kids, and hurl it in faster than any pitcher his age. Cricket seemed
the obvious choice for Mr Filaccio to plan his revenge.
The route to the IPL was long but
completed in less than six years – from Murphys Estate to the California
Cricket Academy to South Africa to Ireland to England. Still only 19 (same as
when the NBA came calling for Satnam Singh), Freckles signing with CSK though not a lifelong dream had been something of a teenage
wet dream. “When I was just 13, I started watchin videos of Dhoni n Raina play
for CSK...changed my life it did. Dad made sure I watched Jadeja too, he always
say, it's vital to know what not to do”. Overjoyed to be playing with Dhoni, he
feels at 39 the captain still has 5-6 good years of cricket in him, followed by
another 10-15 years of mentoring youngsters at CSK. “I just can't imagine a CSK
side without Dhoni. But a few years down, I reckon Raina will be ready to lead
the side”.
It has been learnt that the Mumbai
Indians bid of Rs 57 crore for Freckles was disallowed as the player did
not see a future with any side other than CSK and even threatened to withdraw
his name from the auctions. An exception was made wherein Freckles was sold for
CSK’s last bid of Rs 55.9 crore.
“My Papa always said, ‘IPL was like a
box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’” - Freckles
'Fuming' Filaccio
(However plausible this might sound,
this is largely a work of fiction)
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