Ex-India player and batting coach Sanjay Bangar and Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad were part of a recent reunion of former Western Railway cricketers
The Western Railway cricketers at the reunion on Saturday, September 13. Standing left to right: Aftab Hussain, Sangram Sawant, Vinayak Joshi, Vinit Mehta, James Godard, Hitesh Popat, Vivek Kadam, Dilip Mayekar, Uday Ujale, Raju Mutling, and Sachin Rane. Sitting left to right: Raja Adatrao, Amar Singh Negi, Dinesh Lad, Shailesh Manjrekar, Nitin Parulekar, and Rajesh Sutar Sitting in front left to right: Vikram Dutt, Sanjay Bangar, Dr Aadil Chagla (guest of honour), Sudhir Tanna and Mukhtar Ibji. Seated in front: Shrikant Kharge. Pic/Special Arrangement
They spent their cricketing life not only on the field of play, but also in train bogeys, uncomfortable and comfortable. At times, dormitories were where they slept to be fresh for Ranji Trophy and inter-railway games. But last Saturday they were all nestled in a hall at the Police Gymkhana on Marine Drive, to enjoy a reunion full of memories and camaraderie.
A bunch of former Mumbai-based and outstation Western Railway cricketers brought their reunion plans to fruition in style. It all started when Shrikant Kharge, known to make telephone calls to wish mates (instead of text messages) on their birthdays, made one such call to wish his ex-Western Railway teammate Mukhtar Ibji on his July 18 birthday. Ibji urged Thane-based Kharge to come over for a meal in South Mumbai. And Kharge said jokingly that he would get the entire cricket team. That’s where the idea of a proper reunion came about. Players were contacted. Rajkot-based Sudhir Tanna confirmed and so did Amar Singh Negi while Brij Dutta from Saurashtra couldn’t make it.
The key was to get Sanjay Bangar, the former India cricketer and batting coach, who is now a television pundit. Bangar lived up to his promise amidst a tight schedule.
Vikram Dutt, the former Uttar Pradesh fast bowler, who in 1982 claimed all 10 wickets in an innings for Dadar Union SC in the premier division of the Kanga League, arrived from Goa.
This bunch had produced many a high moment for Western Railway through their wins in the Inter-Railways completions and Times Shield ‘A’ and ‘B’ division apart from performances for Railways in the Ranji Trophy.
Mumbai did not allow Railway players in their Ranji teams, but other state teams did. So a Railway player here was doubly determined to prove himself when it came to the Times Shield and club tournaments.
Kharge, a sound batsman and wicketkeeper, who was Sanjay Manjrekar’s teammate at Podar College, shifted from SunGrace Mafatlal to Railways in the late 1980s.
His Western Railway colleague Vinayak Joshi related an incident during the function about how Kharge’s first Times Shield game for Western Railway was against his former team, SunGrace Mafatlal. Kharge grabbed his chance to prove what he could do and carved a hundred off a Sandeep Patil-led SunGrace team at the Western Railway ground at Mahalaxmi.
To say the satisfaction gained was immense would be an understatement. Kharge recalled how Vijay Shirke, who had been his teammate at SunGrace, warned his team that he (Kharge) would strike back hard. Shirke, by the way, passed away during the pandemic.
Among the Saturday group was Dinesh Lad, who coached Rohit Sharma. Sangram Sawant was another Western Railway player-turned-coach present for the reunion.
Nitin Parulekar recalled how Lad, known as Raju Lad in the cricketing fraternity, had to be coaxed into taking up a coaching role for a summer camp. A hesitant coach going on to become a Dronacharya award-winning one is indeed a fascinating story.
The deceased were not forgotten during the evening for which Dr Aadil Chagla was the guest of honour. Dr Chagla, a top neurosurgeon, still plays the Kanga League at the age of 64. In many ways, the late MD Surve was the pillar of Western Railway cricket in Mumbai. He gave his team the excellent pitches from 8 am to 6 pm to practise and play on, while the late fast bowler and coach Iqbal Thakur was remembered too for his wicket-taking abilities.
Bangar, Lad, Dutt, Tanna, Negi, Sawant, Datta, and Rajesh Sutar were felicitated for their achievements along with Dr Chagla.
The Western Railway boys put together a splendid reunion. They deserve the kind of applause they would get after beating a more fancied opponent at their old haunt — the Mahalaxmi ground.
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