Picture this: a young Salil Ankola, fast bowler extraordinaire, making his Test debut with Sachin Tendulkar in Karachi, 1989, against a formidable Pakistan. That moment launched a career of one Test, 20 ODIs, and a 1996 World Cup call-up. Injuries, however, proved fiercer opponents, retiring him at 28 and reshaping his destiny.
Enter Bollywood and TV. Ankola’s silver screen debut as a cop in Kurukshetra opposite Sanjay Dutt marked his acting foray, followed by Pitaah, Chura Liya Hai Tumne, and indie gem Silence Please. Tube triumphs included CID episodes, romantic Kahata Hai Dil, dramatic Kora Kagaz, and horror in Shssh… Koi Hai. Big Boss 2006 tested his mettle under Salman Khan’s watchful eye.
Fame masked turmoil. Post-1997 retirement, a void spawned alcoholism, ravaging 1999-2011. ‘It started innocently,’ he shared, ‘but became 24/7 torment.’ Rehab cycles and family urgings faltered; cricket evoked too much pain. Then, 2011’s World Cup viewed from treatment flipped the script.
Declaring addiction a ‘disease requiring cure,’ Ankola rallied. Family, determination, and treatment conquered it, surviving 12 ICUs and three death pronouncements by 2014. Reborn, he’s Mumbai Cricket Association’s ex-chief selector and India’s national selector through August 2024. Ankola’s saga—from greens to grids, despair to dominion—urges us all: redemption awaits the resilient.