Sudhir Naik, a National CC treasure!

Among the many memories I have of Sudhir Naik who passed away last week is the dressing down he gave his team National Cricket Club for being defensive in their approach during a Kanga League match at Cross Maidan in 1992National let their Cross Maidan neighbours Sunder CC off the hook It gave me a fair idea how tough and ruthless Naik would have been in his playing days especially under a lioncrested Mumbai capNaikrsquos leadership in 197071 stands out in the Ranji Trophy chapter of Mumbai cricketrsquos history Chandu Bordersquos Maharashtra were in fine fettle that season and posed a big threat to Mumbairsquos hold over the trophy since 195859 Their chances brightened with five Mumbai regulars Ajit Wadekar Dilip Sardesai Ashok Mankad Eknath Solkar and Sunil Gavaskar away on India duty in the West Indies Cricket followers were made aware that Mumbai were chasing their 13th successive title in the national championships and No13 could prove unlucky in the finalBut led by a calm shrewd captain Mumbai ended up victors Ramnath Parkar was encouraged to play his natural attacking game He got sparkling hundreds in the semifinals and final Spinner Padmakar Shivalkar was assured that he wouldnrsquot pay the price for going for runs He came up with a match haul of eight wickets in the final And veteran Vijay Bhosale playing against his former team enjoyed the responsibility given to him as a senior pro Bhosale scored a priceless 55 in Mumbairsquos second innings and in many ways was lsquothersquo batsman Maharashtra wanted to see the back of a firstinnings duck notwithstandingAlso Read Duranirsquos Mumbai connection ran deepIt was anyonersquos title till the very last day at the Brabourne Stadium But Naikrsquos warriors won with cricketing nous and skill amplified by their splendid fielding andcatching Naik never forgot to credit PK lsquoJoersquo Kamat for that ldquoHe Kamat was not our coach but used to arrive at the Brabourne Stadium from his Bank of India office at 530 pm sharp to give us fielding practice which used to commence after netsKamat made us better fielders and catchersrdquo Naik told me a couple of years ago when his team were about to be felicitated on the golden jubilee of thatepic triumphMilind Regersquos fine catch at slip to dismiss Borde in the second innings earned him a headline in a national newspapermdashlsquoRege revives Bombayrsquos hopes with great catchrsquoIncidentally while talking to this newspaper the other day about Naikrsquos club cricket contribution Rege made a pertinent point about Naik not indulging in poaching from other premier division clubs when it came to forming various National CC teams over the yearsIt was at National CC where enduring Mumbai performers like Zaheer Khan Nilesh Kulkarni and Wasim Jaffer were nurtured and mentored and Naik played a big part in that processZaheer was moved to post a moving tribute to his coach a threepager which included a conversation between Naik and him when he began his Mumbai cricket journeyin the summer of 1996 ldquoI did not know him Naik He did not know me But that belief he had in me and the trust he showed in that initial conversation not only paved the way for my career in cricket but it completely reshaped and restructured my outlook and thinking It changed my liferdquoNaik served National CC well as a player too In 1982 his significant scores at the age of 37 helped them return to the premier divisionIn the 1966 edition of the Kanga League Naik shared a 173run fourth wicket stand with Shankar More the former Mumbai batsman They surpassed the previous best of 170 between RV Divecha and A Mirchandani ldquoIt was always great to bat with Sudhir He was a good backfoot player with sound techniquerdquo More told me on Wednesday stressing that his recently departed teammate was always captaincy material ACCemployed More got to his 100 in 75 minutes then a Kanga League recordNational CC shared lsquoArsquo division honours with Shivaji Park Gymkhana and Parsi Cyclists in 1966Later that year he made his debut for Mumbai opening the batting with Dilip Sardesai who had also played for NationalNaik played Test cricket for India in 1974 a couple of onedayers too and was a more than able curator at Wankhede Stadium but few things pleased him more than to see National CC doing well Imagine how proud he must have felt when they won the Kanga League lsquoArsquo division title from 1993 to 2000 Quite simply he was this unmistakable force that drove National CCRajendra Lele the National CC pace bowler who played for Maharashtra and Mumbai told me how he and his mentor kept in touch till he suffered that fatal fall at his residence ldquoHe always stressed that one must give back to the game and he was happy that I had started coaching cricketers in Nashikrdquo Lele revealedIn January last year Naik proudly shared a photograph with me of him with other Mumbai captains Wadekar Vinoo Mankad Ranga Sohoni Polly Umrigar and Bapu Nadkarni along with then Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Khandu Rangnekarmdashall in suitsmdashat the Bombay Gymkhana in 1971Regardless of that pride and all the glory you could bet your last rupee that the following day Naik would have been just across that road in the modest National CC tent preparing for their next club fixturemiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper