Starting off as a leg-spinner and lower-order batsman in Pune, Milind Gunjal rose to become a key batsman for his state’s Ranji team, Tata Sports Club and PJ Hindu Gymkhana on the Mumbai club scene. He rubbed shoulders with the best names in Mumbai cricket and came close to being picked for India’s 1986 tour of England. He revisits his up and down first-class cricket journey which culminated with Maharashtra reaching the Ranji Trophy final against victors Punjab in 1992-93.
13 January,2024 07:29 PM IST | Mumbai
Runs by the tons at the junior level caused the Mumbai Ranji Trophy selectors to pick Pravin Amre as a teenager in 1986-87 for a knockout match. While he didn’t set Bangalore on fire in a lost game v Karnataka, he decided to shift to Railways on the advice of his coach Ramakant Achrekar. His new team provided no bed of roses, but he scored enough runs to be picked for India in 1991-92. The following year he got a Test debut ton against SA at Durban. A Mumbai return was part of his destiny and after ending his FC career with Goa, Amre took to coaching. Success as Mumbai coach decorates his cricketing CV, but donning the Mumbai coach’s cap seems unlikely. In this podcast, Amre opens up on his struggles, highs and lows. His story is nothing short of inspirational.
27 October,2023 08:13 PM IST | Mumbai
Mumbai’s ex-batsman Jatin Paranjape turns back the clock to how he was introduced to the tough yet exciting world of Mumbai’s club cricket by being part of the Dadar Union Sporting Club, before graduating to U-19 cricket for India and a Mumbai Ranji Trophy call-up. An ankle injury proved a spanner in the works a few games into his India ODI career in 1998, but doors opened in the corporate field before becoming a national selector, followed by a post in a BCCI committee to pick the current national selection committee.
13 May,2023 12:22 PM IST | Mumbai
Mumbai’s wicketkeeper-batsman-turned coach Chandrakant Pandit opens up on how he could take his first steps in serious cricket thanks to his coach Ramakant Achrekar, who convinced his dad that he should pursue the game. Pandit, who also figured in the 1987 World Cup, reveals how he got his first leadership role on a train journey to Chennai for an inter-office tournament.
24 February,2023 07:39 PM IST | MumbaiADVERTISEMENT
