Boman Irani's speech motivates Parsee Gymkhana cricketers

Bollywood actor Boman Irani with Parsee Gymkhana players on Monday

Parsee Gymkhana's cricketers were on Monday motivated by a pre-season talk from Bollywood actor Boman Irani as part of an annual feature initiated by the Marine Drive Gymkhana's vice-president and cricket secretary Khodadad Yazdegardi. Irani, who revealed how his journey to Bollywood stardom included being a waiter, wafers seller, sports photographer and theatre actor, highlighted the importance of having the "fire to perform."

"If you have the fire and passion, you will succeed. But if you are taking wickets just because you are talented and if the fire went out, the wickets will dry up, runs will dry up," Irani said during his speech. Ex-Test cricketers Nari Contractor, Chandrakant Pandit, Lalchand Rajput, Paras Mhambrey and Sairaj Bahutule were speakers in earlier years. Parsee Gymkhana are in the 'B' division of the forthcoming Kanga League. Their captain and Mumbai player Aditya Tare described Irani's life experiences as "amazing."

The first-class wicketkeeper-batsman added: "Mr Irani's story is indeed inspiring. It was great for all of us at Parsee Gymkhana to hear him speak about humility, ethics, commitment, getting the best out of any situation, hard work and passion. It was straight from the heart. Everyone and not only sportspersons can be motivated by his life experiences," Tare told mid-day.

Mumbai speedster Tushar Deshpande, who is gearing up for the Duleep Trophy to be played from August 18, said: "His speech was quite inspiring. One thing I found very profound was him urging us not to forget our roots; where we came from." Irani felicitated the Parsee Gymkhana team for winning their third consecutive Salar Jung Invitation T20 tournament title earlier this year.

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