Durani’s Mumbai connection ran deep

Interestingly there is divided opinion on Salim Duranirsquos birthplace The general belief is that he was born in Kabul But Durani in an interview with The Hindu two years before his passing last Sunday said he had never been to Kabul and that his family moved to Karachi before he was born Other publications point to Durani saying that he was born in between Kabul and Karachi around the Khyber Pass area ldquounder the open skiesrdquoSports writer and historian Gulu Ezekiel has tried his bestmdashespecially over the last few daysmdashto convince people that Durani wasnrsquot born in KabulWhile it appears that Kabul may continue to be considered as Duranirsquos birthplace despite his clarification the fact is that he had a very strong Mumbai connectionHe played interschool cricket for a few years at Anjuman I Islam and later figured in club and interoffice cricket in this cityKhar Gymkhana had him on their team sheet in the 1970s and Bharat Kunderan the youngest brother of exTest man Budhi remembers a fair weather tournament game on that ground Kunderan told me on Monday ldquoI was keeping wickets and Salimbhai told me from his position at slip that he was getting bored I was the captain and he asked me to put him on I threw him the ball and he promised me hersquod finish off the game in our favour But there was one condition I would have to treat him to a few beers after the game Salimbhai ran through the opposition and didnrsquot miss an opportunity to enjoy his beer He was a wonderful manrdquoAlso Read Vaman Jani He was interested in IPL other changes in cricketDurani was a good friend of Budhi They made their Test debut in the same 195960 game at the Brabourne Stadium Bharat recalled being excited and proud each time Durani visited their home on Bazargate Street in Mumbairsquos Fort areaNot far away from Bazargate Street is Mumbai Samachar Marg where former Mumbai club cricketer Suryakant lsquoKantarsquo Godbole brother of exfirstclass player administrator and coach Vilas enjoyed a conversation over a cup of coffee with Durani just before he travelled to Bangalore to be part of Central Zonersquos team that were facing West Zone in the 197172 Duleep Trophy final Godbole was delighted to be invited for that coffee catchup at Alankar Hotel by his Bank of Baroda colleague Patu Sanghani a close friend of DuraniKanta congratulated Durani on Hanumant Singhled Central Zonersquos final entry and wished him all the best in the tussle against a strong West Zone outfit led by Ajit Wadekar At the restaurant Durani expressed supreme confidence about beating West ldquoNowadays my arm touches my ear while I deliver the ball meaning he was in good nick I will win the title for Central Zonerdquo he told KantaWithin a few days Durani was walking back to the Central College ground pavilion in Bangalore having taken five of the nine West Zone wickets in a Day One total of 2709 Milind Rege who was unbeaten overnight for a gritty 45 was Duranirsquos sixth victim the following day after making 52 West Zone scored 279 and Central replied with 200 all out Durani claimed three in his opponentsrsquo second innings After West were restricted to 195 in the second innings Central were 733 at the end of the third day in pursuit of 275 for victoryParthasarathy Sharma was unbeaten on 40 and enhanced his reputation as a future India player when he ended up with 75 Durani smashed his way to 83 and earned Central their memorable title triumphA few days later Durani arrived at the Bank of Baroda office to meet his pal Sanghvi and Kanta didnrsquot miss out on an opportunity to congratulate Durani for his masterful performance and for his preevent confidenceMeanwhile Kantarsquos brother Vilas told me how he indulged in some banter with Durani during a Kanga League game between his club United Cricketers and Khar Gymkhana ldquoI told Salimbhai that I will get your wicket today I was not a regular bowler but when Salimbhai walked in I asked our captain Baraskar to give me the ball to bowl my offspin Salimbhai hit the ball very hard only to get a top edge for me to hold on to The captain said your job is done I didnrsquot bowl again in that game and Salimbhai appreciated my effortrdquo Vilas recalledDurani received accolades aplenty for his ability to hit sixes but Vilas felt his extra cover drives were a treat to watch even if one was hurting from the sting in his strokeplayAmong the many splendid innings Durani played for India he rated his 37 on the final day of the drawn 197273 Test against the MCC England at Brabourne Stadium as his best because he was battling a groin injury His six off Derek Underwood gave him immense satisfaction Ditto a maximum off Charlie Griffith in the 196667 Mumbai Test against the West Indian touristsMumbai is also where Durani was pranked by his former captain MAK Pataudi while on commentary duty for the India vs West Indies Test in 1983 Former presentercommentator Fredun De Vitrersquos book Willow Tales has an anecdote from Narottam Puri about how a newspaper did a fun piece on Durani referring to Roger Binny as Rogers Binny The piece mentioned that Mrs Binny had decided to sue himPataudi told Durani that this may cause him to pay a huge amount in damages and he could even land up in jail Durani ldquoturned palerdquo and urged his fellow commentators to support him He even asked De Vitre a lawyer by profession to fight his caseThe laughter that followed after the bluff was called was heard by listeners too and Durani would most certainly have sported a smile on realising it was a joke For the allrounder smiles came as freely as runs and wicketsKeep smiling up there too Sirmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper