Mid-Day Anniversary Special: ‘Shaz’ keeps the late 1970s flame of Karnatak SA alive

Ravi Shastri, Cricketer

Imagine Ravi Shastri driving his Audi past Fashion Street on MG Road in South Mumbai. He glances at a patch before the row of attire shops blocks his sighting of what lies behind. The patch referred to is an area which leads you to the Cross Maidan.

Judging from the India cricket great-turned-commentator’s habit of never undermining the importance of one’s roots, Cross Maidan has a special place in his heart. At the Maidan is Karnatak Sporting Association, which Shastri joined in the late 1970s, thanks to the club’s torchbearer AR Kudroli and noted coach Vasant Amladi, his coach at the Bombay Schools nets.

The Karnatak Sporting Association cricket team with their Purshottam Shield runners-up trophy (left on the floor) and their silverware for fielding in December 1979. Seated from left are B Laxman, Sharad Rao, MR Pandey (club president), Vasudev Tumbe (captain), club torchbearer Rashid Kudroli, Ravi Shetty, P Sridharan and Sundar Kanchan. Standing from left: Shyam Amladi, Satish Shenoy, Rohan Mendon, Ravi Shastri, Naresh Shenoy, Shishir Hattangadi, and Sudhakar Rao. Pic courtesy/Vasudev Tumbe

As a lot of talented young guns in Mumbai experience, Shastri was in and out of the team in his first year. The following season afforded him a bundle of chances. “When I did get an opportunity, I just grabbed it with both hands, played the whole season next year, and then became a regular,” he told mid-day recently. He was in great company at the club which he joined with fellow teenager Shishir Hattangadi. Vilas Godbole, a maidan veteran with United Cricketers CC, recalled how confident both the future Mumbai Ranji Trophy players were while they showed up for the neighbouring club, Karnatak SA. “Ravi bowled and batted with intelligence while Shishir was such a sound batsman who should have played a higher grade of cricket,” said Godbole the other day.

Shastri stressed on the quality of the Karnatak SA side: “We were a dangerous team. Shridharan was our captain, there was B Laxman, Appu Tumbe, Shishir, Suresh Shetty. Bharat Nadkarni too played for us. We also played the Karnatak Shield (he played for a team called Evergreen) which had guys like Pradeep Sunderam and Vijay Alva.”

The Karnatak Sporting Association at Cross Maidan

There was a bit of a fan following too. “We were a dangerous side with Laxman in the middle-order. We were a team that could beat any club on a given day. That was our endeavour. Whether it was Dadar Union, MB Union or any of the strong sides, our aim was to go and play bindaas cricket and honestly, it was great fun. We smashed it. People working at the Mangalorean restaurants, [on the Churchgate side of the ground] also watched keenly from the gutchis (terraces).

The performance that probably hastened Shastri’s selection in the Mumbai Ranji team was his 63 and 65 apart from four wickets for Karnatak in the Purshottam Shield final vs Dadar Union at the PJ Hindu Gymkhana in December 1979. Dadar Union claimed the title though, with batsman Sanjay Jaywant (5-30) being an unlikely hero with the ball.

In four months’ time Shastri was playing the Ranji Trophy in a Mumbai team that had Test men Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Karsan Ghavri and Sandeep Patil.

Another impact performance for Karnatak SA was the double hundred against MB Union in the quarter-finals of the 1980 Purshottam Shield. Shastri’s memories of that innings are vivid. “Former India batsman Dilip Sardesai was watching from under the tree while on his way to the Bombay Gymkhana. I also got four wickets,” said Shastri. “I was dropped from the Bombay U-22 side which I should have walked in blindly. I was very, very disheartened but very determined. And then I took it out on whoever I played against and Karnatak SA gave me that platform.”

Vasudev ‘Appu’ Tumbe, whom Shastri had a big partnership with during that innings in which the lanky player smashed 23 fours and three sixes, recalled MB Union club owner Anil ‘Babu’ Nadkarni yelling out to his bowlers to stop Shastri from running away with the game. But the ball kept sailing away to the Bombay Gymkhana side of the ground.

Nadkarni, who played three Ranji games for Mumbai in 1978-79, recalled how he denied Shastri an award for the highest individual score in one edition of the Karnatak Shield. Nadkarni said, “I had told Mr Kudroli that I will not be available for matches during my MBA examinations. My exams ended on a Saturday and our team were scheduled to play over the weekend. Shishir came  to my place and said Evergreen were a player short and they had included me in the XI so I should report for the game on Sunday. I came, scored a century against Mangalore Blue and surpassed Ravi’s highest score in the tournament of 122. Ravi still reminds me of that missed prize and I tell him he didn’t miss out on the Audi in Australia after the 1985 World Championship of Cricket!”

Lunchtime at Karnatak SA provided several options like a quick walk to Mahesh Lunch Home, Balwas or Sanman. If Karnatak SA players had delighted workers with performances in the pre-lunch session, food was free at Sanman. Today, if Shastri had the time and inclination with his current schedule to relive those days, one has no doubt he would drive past the area taking in the sights and sounds of Karnatak and savour the flavour at Sanman.

1985
Year Ravi Shastri triumphed in Oz