Mumbai cricket has not gone places in last 4 years: Dilip Vengsarkar

Dilip Vengsarkar went on a sabbatical as it were after losing out to late Vilasrao Deshmukh for the presidents post of the Mumbai Cricket Association MCA in 2011 electionsDadar Unions Dilip Vengsarkar hits out during a festival match against SPG on December 25 2014 as wicketkeeper Bharat Nadkarni looks on PicAtul KambleAlthough that loss still rankles the former Mumbai and India skipper is set for a fresh innings in cricket administration Recently he decided to contest for the vicepresidents post in the June 17 electionsIn an interview to midday Vengsarkar opens up on his decision to contest and why he chose to rejoin the ruling Bal Mahaddalkar group with whom he had a successful tenure as vicepresident from 2002 until his loss to DeshmukhExcerptsWhat made you jump into the fray this timeMumbai cricket has always been very close to my heart I was extremely disillusioned after I lost narrowly to Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh for the Presidents post four years ago Though I had a lot of regards for him as a political leader during his tenure as the vicepresident unfortunately he neither showed any interest in the game nor did he attend any meetings except one and that too for five minutes during for the entire term of two yearsI understand that he came from a different background where his knowledge of the game was minimal Losing the cricket administration election to him was very disappointing to say the least After all Ive been associated with MumbaiIndian cricket for the last 40 years in various capacities and given it all for the betterment of the game in the citycountry with excellent resultsAny cricketer who has given his blood sweat and tears for the game at various stages in his career would like to see the game at its best all the time and more importantly get back its Mumbais lost gloryHow do you plan to restore Mumbai crickets prideFirst and foremost I wouldnt like to believe that Mumbai doesnt have quality players as has been said of late I feel there is a lot of talent in the city that has spread up to Dahanu Badlapur and Panvel The talent needs to be spotted and groomed It requires programs schemes and expert guidance and I am sure in time to come Mumbai will boast of the most talented cricketing hub once againWas it a boon or bane to stay away from MCA administration since losing the elections in 2011Well I might not have contested the election in 2013 but during that period I concentrated on my cricket academies enhance the quality of cricket being played and mentoring young cricketers I have three now academies mdash two in Mumbai Oval Maidan and Mahul Chembur and one at Chinchwad Pune In fact the results at Pune are so encouraging that many players from my academy are playing for Maharashtra in various agegroup tournaments of the BCCI and some of them are leading teams as well Considering its performance over the years at present it is by far one of the best if not the best cricket academy in Maharashtra for it even beat the Mumbai under19 team in the Varroc Cup in Chinchwad PuneWhich areas need improvement in MCAs administrationAny cricket association must concentrate more on the development of game The game has to be its top priority Elections come and go but elected candidates must work together for the betterment of Mumbai cricket They are the custodians of game in the city which boasts of a great history and tradition Sadly if you look back on four years Mumbais cricket has not really gone places which I feel has a lot of potential to do soYou have been very vocal about Kanga Leagues revamp Will you try to bring back the monsoon flavour to the tournamentI played Kanga League since I was 13 and enjoyed every season immensely I started with Hind Sevak in the G division with most of my Bombay school teammates and later played for Dadar Union for almost 25 years Winning the A division Kanga League in the 1970s for five consecutive years was extremely satisfying The league might have started decades ago for Mumbai batsmen to get acclimatised to the uncovered wet wickets in England it helped the young Mumbai cricketers to tighten up their technique as one had to bat either on a soft drying or a good batting wicket with two feet tall grass grown due to the monsoons To score runs required not only skill but guts as well and the experience separated Mumbai players from others I feel club cricket is the heart and soul of Mumbai cricket simply because a 15yearold boy gets an opportunity to play alongside a 40 year old and thereby learns the tricks of the trade early in his career Now whether to restart the Kanga League or not would depend on the cricket improvement committeeYour group members will back Sharad Pawar for another tenure as president whereas you have been critical of politicians being at the helmWhen I started playing school and later collegiate cricket we had Mr SK Wankhede as the president who was a leading politician of Maharashtra When I scored 240 versus Sydenham College in the intercollegiate semi final for Podar at Wankhede Stadium I vividly remember him watching the match for all four days and coming to the East Stand where we had a makeshift dressing room to congratulate me Later for the BCCI we had people like Mr NKP Salve Mr Wankhede and later Mr Madhavrao Scindia In fact during one Test match Mr Scindia requested me for my Gunn and Moore bat I immediately gave it to him as a present and after a couple days he called me to say very proudly that he scored 80 runs with it in one of the matches in Delhi Mr Sharad Pawar on his part helped MCA build the Sharad Pawar Gymkhana and indoor cricket hall at BKC and the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana at Kandivili These grounds have helped Mumbai cricket to stage various cricket tournaments as well as practice sessions Whoever takes charge must spend time for the game Whether he is a politician or a businessman or a lawyer or a doctor its very important to be handson