At 18th in the season-long standings, Anirban Lahiri has no fear of relegation. But what if one day he has to switch teams? After all, no one, including Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Lionel Messi, stayed on the same team for the entirety of their careers. So, when Aravind Menon of EssentiallySports asked, other than the current one, which captain he would like to play under, Lahiri laughed.

“You’re going to get me into big trouble,” said the Crushers man in the exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. LIV Golf certainly allows switching teams. The transfer window will open after the season is done and dusted. Lahiri is not bothered, however. “I don’t see a possibility of me really not being a crusher; you know, I’m fully invested in this team.” And while Bryson DeChambeau’s captaincy is one reason, it transpires beyond that. 

By being invested, Lahiri doesn’t mean just a bunch of 30-something pros doing fun stuff, playing golf, and posting them on social media. Crushers GC wants to leave a legacy. Now that’s a loaded word, Lahiri agrees. But do you measure legacy just in on-course escapades? Or is it more? Take Jack Nicklaus for example. His foundation is also a part of his legacy. So is Tiger Woods’s TGR. Lahiri, Paul Casey, and Charles Howell III all run their foundations. But how do Crushers fit into the picture? 

The two-time Olympian explained that too in the ES Exclusive. “We want to, you know, eventually have maybe a golf course, you know, Crushers Golf Club. An actual physical golf club where we can do certain things. We want to have academies, you know. We want to be able to do a lot of work at a social level.”

It resonates with Greg Norman’s idea of owning golf clubs. It’s also why Anirban Lahiri thinks of himself as a founder member of Crushers GC. The vision is modeled on European soccer, where all the top-flight clubs run their own academies. It’s that eco-system that Anirban Lahiri’s Crushers wants to bring into golf. 

The 37-year-old himself kicked off the Baan Foundation in the Indian city of Baroda earlier this year. That was his way of bringing golf to the grassroots in a country where the burden of the ‘elite’ tag still hinders its march. Perhaps Lahiri’s eye lit up thinking of a future where the Crushers team pays a visit to his foundation. 

There is little scope for doubt of its impact on the aspiring golfers of India. Obviously, Lahiri knows. In one such event, he met Tiger Woods at Delhi Golf Club in 2014.

It might look like a pipe dream now. But Anirban Lahiri affirms they are quietly moving in that direction. “They haven’t yet become alive, but you know, in our in our mind and in our hearts and in our intention, there’s, there’s a lot more that we can do as a team, as a franchise, as a brand, and I think it all starts with playing good golf and winning team championships.”

And that’s why he can’t think of being in any other team. Why he can’t think of playing under anyone but Bryson DeChambeau. Because the captain, amid his YT series, practice rounds, and everything, shares the same passion for ‘growing the game’.

Anirban Lahiri reveals DeChambeau’s Crushers vision

Surely, DeChambeau has a lot on his plate. When he is not practicing on the greens, the reigning U.S. Open champion is thinking about this next content. Then, there is shooting. There are promotions. And then there is golf. Still, Lahiri is certain, that the dream of an academy, a golf club, is also in DeChambeau’s mind. 

“I know Bryson is [thinking about it] all the time. He’s working on these ideas, and he’s working really hard on being able to materialize these… these visions. So, yeah, you know when… when I talk about those things, it’s hard for me to think about not being a crusher,” Anirban Lahiri concluded in the EssentiallySports Exclusive interview. 

Surely, there are a lot of great captains and great players. Bubba Watson has integrated an innovative brand of charity into his team. Dustin Johnson has his plans. But it’s the shared vision and a common goal of giving something back that stick them together. Make no mistake, Anirban Lahiri is a Crusher at heart.