Starting his club cricket at Rajasthan Sports Club, for whom he got a hundred in the Kanga League, and graduating to Dadar Union Sporting Club, Sunil Gavaskar’s local cricket journey was nothing short of memorable. Throw in his school and college cricket at the St Xavier’s institutions and you’ll get a feel of Mumbai cricket’s tapestry. The tough, ruthless and at times, not-so-fair world of city cricket is displayed in the form of a two-year gap between his two first-class games for Mumbai (1967-68 to 1969-70). But runs mattered finally, runs which became the main act in the Sunil Gavaskar story. This special episode of the Mumbai Cricket Podcast with Clayton Murzello, to coincide with Sunil Gavaskar turning 75 on July 10, is not to be missed.
05 July,2024 02:13 PM IST | Mumbai
From a young Ruia College student, itching to be a cricketer, Dr CT Patankar rose to be an India stumper, who impressed no less a personality than India’s first Test captain CK Nayudu, in the 1950s. Despite being a fine wicketkeeper and sound batsman who could adjust to different situations, Patankar, the oldest living Mumbai-based Test player at 93, played only one Test and 10 Ranji games for Mumbai. He took things in his stride and moved to Maharashtra in 1966-67. At the age of 50, Patankar decided to do his PhD in Materials Management. In 1998, Patankar accompanied the Indian team on their Test and one-day tour to Zimbabwe.
27 February,2024 05:46 PM IST | Mumbai
Starting off as a leg-spinner and lower-order batsman in Pune, Milind Gunjal rose to become a key batsman for his state’s Ranji team, Tata Sports Club and PJ Hindu Gymkhana on the Mumbai club scene. He rubbed shoulders with the best names in Mumbai cricket and came close to being picked for India’s 1986 tour of England. He revisits his up and down first-class cricket journey which culminated with Maharashtra reaching the Ranji Trophy final against victors Punjab in 1992-93.
13 January,2024 07:29 PM IST | Mumbai
Runs by the tons at the junior level caused the Mumbai Ranji Trophy selectors to pick Pravin Amre as a teenager in 1986-87 for a knockout match. While he didn’t set Bangalore on fire in a lost game v Karnataka, he decided to shift to Railways on the advice of his coach Ramakant Achrekar. His new team provided no bed of roses, but he scored enough runs to be picked for India in 1991-92. The following year he got a Test debut ton against SA at Durban. A Mumbai return was part of his destiny and after ending his FC career with Goa, Amre took to coaching. Success as Mumbai coach decorates his cricketing CV, but donning the Mumbai coach’s cap seems unlikely. In this podcast, Amre opens up on his struggles, highs and lows. His story is nothing short of inspirational.
27 October,2023 08:13 PM IST | MumbaiADVERTISEMENT
