Just 6 months ago, Nimalan Nadarajamoorthy was at the dreaded bottom of the pile. Once a youthful prodigy and national icon of his native Sri Lanka, the Curryball idol found himself out of the favour with the capricious national selectors and consequently out of the side preparing to battle India in the renowned Country Of Origin series.
�Nada�, as he is affectionately known, was devastated. �It was hard to take�, he confessed in a recent interview. �Curryball was all I�d ever known. I�d been a part of the team for over 7 years. If I didn�t have that, what was I left with?�
Despite a much-needed improvement in form for club side Pendle Hills, the fall from grace only continued for the star, as damaging allegations of match fixing and bribery began to surface. Despite Nada�s dismissal of the claims as a media smear campaign, the damage had been done. Shocked by these latest revelations and with the outcry from the now infamous �Prostitution Ring Scandal� of 2000 still ringing loud in their ears, team officials vowed Nada would never represent Sri Lanka again.
� Sure, I�m the first to admit I�ve made mistakes in the past. But when I heard them say I�d never play an international again, I was furious. I just couldn�t believe it�. Nada immediately met with the S.C.B. (Sri Lankan Curryball Board) and demanded another chance but the severity of the accusations saw the board remain steadfast in their decision.
The dizzying heights at which Nada had stamped his mark years before now seemed hopelessly out of reach. Within a month, the pin-up had slipped into a helpless state of depression, with an assortment of drugs and alcohol his only solace. �The whole thing was becoming a nightmare, you know? People had said to me �the higher you climb, the further it is to fall� but you don�t pay it any attention do you? I was so angry at first but gradually I just became more and more disillusioned with my life. I simply didn�t care anymore�.
Indeed it seemed no one cared about the unfortunate Nada. The brutal press lost interest in his tragic �riches to rags� story. Even his legions of fans, once so devoted and fanatical, began to look for another hero.
It is at this devastatingly low point that one would expect to see the disgraced celebrity slip into the world of obscurity he had feared for so long. However, Nada�s story is one of true courage; a trait fast becoming more rare in professional Curryball than a Raj Bannerjee try.
�During the off-season, I was honestly at my lowest point. I became totally withdrawn from the world. I didn�t want to deal with anybody or anything. As far as I was concerned, without Curryball, my life was over. Luckily, not everybody thought the same way�.
And while most were content to see the dynasty of Nada quietly truncated, two of his closest friends decided to finally halt the slide. Sam Samarasinghe, Sri Lankan teammate and companion of many years, alerted Nada�s Curryball mentor Anirudh �Lil� General� Rao to the situation and together, they began to rebuild the broken life of the luminary player.
�It was terrible to see Nim like that�, said Rao. �When Sam asked for my help I just couldn�t refuse. I pledged then and there that I would return him to the international arena which, quite frankly, hasn�t been the same without him�.
And so began the rehabilitation process. �Its been tough�, declared Nada. �I�ve been through a lot and I know there�s a hell of a long way to go, but I�m feeling confident again and that�s a good start�.
Indeed both the intensive drug rehab program and the gruelling return to physical training seem to be paying dividends for Nada, as he is reportedly now free of his crippling addictions and beginning to show glimpses of past brilliance on the paddock.
�I feel great. I still think my game needs some redeveloping but it�s coming along and I can only hope things continue to improve�.
Even the selectors are impressed by this prodigal son�s turn around. S.C.B. Chairman Paul Rajkumar commented on the events in a press conference yesterday saying �although we have had problems with Nimalan in the past, it is my feeling that previous leaders of this board have dealt with the situation quite negatively. He is undoubtedly a superb talent and is by no means black-listed in regard to future selection�.
It would be a grievous understatement to say the silver lining of this particular cloud over Nimalan Nadarajamoorthy has been difficult to find. And even after its discovery, one must confess, it is the faintest of edgings. But nevertheless, this experience has left the embattled star much the stronger. And while the new breed of Curryball players continue to show us that the spoils of fame are worth the struggle, one can only hope we will one day see Nada revisit his explosive best. For it�s then that the public will receive the pleasure of witnessing a little known (and ultimately more valuable) fact of both life and sport: the nectar of success is all the sweeter� second time around.