Veteran cricketers organise first-ever heritage tour

Do you know which chair was used by Sachin Tendulkar at the dressing room of the Wankhede stadium? Did you know that the Azad Maidan has two dozen pitches or that the Bombay Gymkhana hosted the first Test in India. And where Sunil Gavaskar or Dilip Vengsarkar used to stop for a quick bite?

The answers to these questions would have been unavailable to the public, had it not been for a few veteran cricketers who took the time to share some interesting stories and anecdotes of the rich history of Mumbai cricket.

On the eve of Independence Day on Sunday, the first-ever cricket heritage tour of Mumbai was conducted by The Marine Sports, a sports bookshop favoured by professionals and aficionados alike.

“We will make people comfortable…we will regale them with stories about cricket in Mumbai. Mumbai has so many maidans, three stadiums, plenty of clubs, and we have school cricket, club cricket and university cricket. Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy records are the best and the city has produced the maximum number of captains and some of the finest batsmen and bowlers,” said former cricketer Yajurvindra Singh. Singh along with Theo Braganza, proprietor of The Marine Sports, conceived the format of the heritage trip.

Veteran commentators Milind Wagle and S Kishore narrated numerous stories as the bus tour progressed, stopping at maidans and the Wankhede and Brabourne stadiums.

Former cricketers like Nari Contractor, Madhav Apte, Milind Rege, Amol Muzumdar and C Jayantilal narrated anecdotes and stressed on how the cricket heritage of Mumbai needs to be protected. Veteran journalist Ayaz Memon and commentator Harsha Bhogle shared their experiences too.

“People love cricket and it is important they know the history and heritage of the game,” Kishore said.