SA, India mark 30 years of friendship
CRICKET South Africa (CSA) and the Indian cricket team celebrated 30 years of sporting ties between the two countries.
At the 30th anniversary celebration which took place in Franschhoek in the Western Cape last Sunday, a painting by Durban artist Nanda Soobben was presented by CSA president Rihan Richards to the Indian delegation, which included members of the Indian cricket team.
The team is currently on tour in South Africa.
The painting, commissioned by CSA, highlights the 30 years of cricketing friendship between the two countries.
There are almost 25 people in the painting, including Hashim Amla,
Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Graeme Smith, Makhaya Ntini, Rahul Dravid and Clive Rice.
Soobben said his brief was to create a painting in a week that captured 30 years of Test cricket between India and South Africa.
“I was honoured to do it. I captured some moments like when Paul Adams was called to play in the Test side for the series against India. I also tried to show the friendliness that took place during the tours with players hugging,” said Soobben.
South Africa had returned to international cricket after 22 years of isolation due to its racist apartheid policy.
India was the first nation to invite them for an international series in 1991 when the two nations played three one-day internationals (ODIS) in India. South Africa’s first Test series at home was against India, when they
toured in 1992 for four Tests and seven ODI matches. Kepler Wessels captained the South African team, while Mohammad Azharuddin was the Indian captain.
Pholetsi Moseki, acting chief executive officer of CSA, said they commemorated 30 years of friendship from when South Africa was readmitted into international cricket to date.
“CSA presented the painting to the Indian delegation on Sunday. The first tour of the Proteas was to India. The purpose of the painting was to capture the history of the relationship over the period to date,” said Moseki.