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Fort Vijay's Amol Rane during his match against Cricket Club of India at Azad Maidan yesterday. PIC/ VISHAL KELKAR

HE belonged to one of Shardashram's best performing batches, his peers including the likes of Ajit Agarkar, Robin Morris, Shreyas Khanolkar, Manish Bangera and Faisal Shaikh. And now, two years after Amol Rane hung up his boots, a disappointed man after his cricketing career was derailed by a shoulder injury and personal problems, the wicketkeeper-batsman has made a comeback of sorts, turning out for Fort Vijay in the Kanga League this season.

And for that return to the greens he owes the new-look Indian cricketing scenario, transformed into a minefield of opportunity by the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the Indian Premier League (IPL), the domestic one-dayers and domestic T20.

"There are so many options these days," he told MiD DAY after his blistering 39 in his team's win by virtue of a first innings lead against a formidable Cricket Club of India at Azad Maidan yesterday.

Though the return on the local circuit has been rewarding, a 'rash' decision two seasons ago would have seen Rane zipping through various parts of the state, driving tourists and other clients as part of his tours and travels business.

"When I didn't find a place in the Tata's squad for a T20 game at a tournament held at Nerul's Dr D Y Patil Stadium, I thought I had had enough. It was an impulsive decision to say goodbye to cricket," he recalled.

But as days went by in his tours and travels office, Rane realised his existence without cricket was zero.

"That's when I decided to comeback," he said. But "the problem," according the agile stumper was, "because I was out of action and sight for a long time, people didn't know I could still play. I was a closed chapter. Things were getting very difficult... even frustrating then."

But a phone call to Fort Vijay coach Ravi Kulkarni changed things around for Rane. "I called Ravi sir and expressed my desire to play cricket. He promptly asked me to play for his club," he said.

And in two victorious outings for Fort Vijay, Rane is confident he can still be a name to reckon with on the local track.

"I have played sufficient cricket to know how to go about things. The only worry is that I have to get back in prime fitness. I am on the verge of hiring a personal trainer and soon will go through the rigours of getting fit," Rane, who played two seasons for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, said.

And while he admitted that the detour in his career was not entirely because of the turbulence in his personal life, he said he will do anything it takes to be back in the thick of things.

Brief scores

Division A  Apollo CC 191 (I Mithbavkar 40, Navin Patil 97; Rupak Banerji 7-31, Ravi Singh 3-72) drew with Worli SC 102 for 3 (Vinit Sarang 41 n o). Muslim United 97 (M Rao 34 n o; Javed Khan 4-22; V Yeligatti 3-38, A Salvi 2-15) lost to Shivaji Park Youngsters 195 for 2 (Sandeep Chavan 43, Vinayak Mane 55, Nikhil Patil 64 n o). New Hind 136 (Sushant Marathe 36, Bhavin Thakkar 34; V Singh 3- 46, A Girip 4-40) drew with Karnataka 77 for 5 (S Mungela 38; Pratik Kar 2-40). Mumbai Police 113 (Shahid Shaikh 32; Sairaj Bahutule 5-36, Siddharth Chitnis 3-39) lost to MIG 239 for 4 decl (S Paralkar 39, Nishit Shetty 31, Siddharth Chitnis 80, Abhishek Raut 38 n o). Victory CC 209 for 6 (Aditya Tare 36, R Rane 68, C Padmanabhan 41, A Avare 31) drew with National CC 115 for 5 (Jude Singh 42). CCI 70 (V Samant 28 n o; Rohan Raje 5-26) and 13 for no loss lost to Fort Vijay 168 for 9 decl (Amol Rane 39, S Khade 35, S Bhaye 30; S Hazare 3-26, Bachani 4-42).