‘I Left His Bags’: When Alan Wilkins Taught Navjot Sidhu a Lesson

Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
Cameraperson: Abhay Singh

Renowned sports commentator Alan Wilkins spilled the beans on fellow commentators Sunil Gavaskar, Harsha Bhogle and Navjot Singh Sidhu during a chat with The Quint to mark the launch of his autobiography ‘Easier Said Than Done’ (published by Roli Books) in New Delhi.

During India’s tour of England in 2002, Sidhu took it for granted that Wilkins would carry his bags in and out of hotels. But one day, Wilkins decided to teach Sidhu a lesson.

I drove Sidhu, Harsha and Gavaskar during India’s tour of England in 2002. Sidhu took it upon himself that whenever we were checking into hotels he’d be the first one to the reception because he wanted to get the best room. And therefore, he’d leave his bags. I would be the last one since I had the keys for the car. I shouted ‘Navjot your bags are here’. He said ‘You’re the driver, you bring them’. I said ‘that’s not my job’. He said, ‘It is now’. So I ended up carrying Sidhu’s bags in and out of hotels for 3 months. Once, I left the bags in the foyer of a hotel on purpose. And we set off from Durham to London.

Alan Wilkins

“About half a mile down the road I said, ‘Sherry you did put your bags in the car, didn’t you?’ He said, ‘No no that’s your job’. I said I haven’t done it. ‘Your bags are back at the hotel’. He said, ‘Turn around, turn around’. I said ‘No, We have a long way to go, I’m going’. No, I did turn around until we got his bags back. It was a lesson for him,” added Wilkins.

The former English county cricketer expressed that he is the one who encouraged Harsha Bhogle to take up drinking wine.

I encouraged Harsha to take up drinking wine. Now, I don’t think he ever does a meal without wine. But he was a reluctant wine drinker. And he would make one glass of wine last three hours, and I said ‘that’s impossible. How do you do that?’

Alan Wilkins