When father’s decision on the cricket field ended son’s career, unique story of Subhash and Hitesh Modi

New Delhi. Cricket is called ‘the game of uncertainties’, but sometimes the game gives birth to such human stories which seem more unbelievable than any film script. Imagine a scene where an international match is going on. A batsman is standing at the crease and his father is standing right in front of him wearing an umpire’s cap. Will the father’s heart beat for his son or will an umpire’s duty prevail? The story of Subhash Modi and his son Hitesh Modi of Kenya is an example of this morality and professional honesty.
Subhash Modi was an experienced umpire who officiated in 22 ODIs, while his son Hitesh Modi was a prominent middle-order batsman for the Kenya national team. It has rarely happened in the history of cricket when father and son have been part of the same international match. Both of them shared the same field a total of three times. For the first time this historic moment came in 1999 during a match against Bangladesh in Nairobi. This was the first time in international cricket when a father umpired in his own son’s match.

Umpire’s religion vs father’s love

The most talked about part of this story is the honesty that Subhash Modi showed on the field. His devotion to the game was so unwavering that he never hesitated in giving out to his son. During his career, Subhash dismissed Hitesh twice. For the first time in 2001, in a match against West Indies, he gave out LBW to Hitesh. At that time there was silence in the stadium, but there was no wrinkle on Subhash’s face. To them he was just a Kenyan batsman, not their son.

The last ball of his career and that last decision

The most emotional moment came against Zimbabwe in 2006. This was going to be the last international match of Hitesh Modi’s career. The match was in its exciting phase and Hitesh was struggling at the crease when a ball from the Zimbabwean bowler hit Hitesh on his pads. There was a strong appeal and umpire Subhash Modi’s finger was raised in the air. See the irony, a decision of the same father who would have taught his son to hold his first bat, wrote the last ball of his international career. Hitesh returned to the pavilion after getting out and after this he never played an international match for Kenya again.

an unmatched legacy

This story of Subhash and Hitesh Modi teaches us that rules and morality take precedence over emotions on the playground. Subhash Modi proved that for an umpire, personal relationships end as soon as he wears the ‘white coat’. Even today, when there is talk of honesty and fairness in cricket, this story of the Modi family is definitely told. It is not just a matter of father-son records, but it is the pinnacle of sportsmanship that makes cricket a ‘gentleman’s game’.