They have been key stepping stones to launching the careers of dozens of India's cricketing superstars, including leading batsmen Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. But administrators, clubs and cricketers say they now fear for the future of south Mumbai's three most popular "maidans" -- recreation grounds in Hindi -- if a state government plan is approved to transform the area. Chief among their concerns about the proposal to transform the Oval, Cross and Azad maidans into one, vast public space -- like New York's Central Park or Hyde Park in London -- is a possible curb on sporting activities. "These are the grounds for budding cricketers to play," said Lalchand Rajput, the joint honorary secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which represents some 350 affiliated clubs and over 10,500 players in the city. "All the Test superstars have played on these maidans, like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri," Rajput, a former India Test opener himself, told AFP. "Taking away the grounds is not an option. "Mumbai is already short of grounds. Where will the players play?" September and October herald the start of the cricket season in India after months of monsoon rain. At the Oval Maidan, hand-pulled rollers lie near the roped-off cricket squares and groundsmen sleep off lunch in the shade of coconut trees, taking a break from cutting back the long, lush outfield grass. On weekends, the ground, overlooked by the imposing Bombay High Court and Gothic-style spire of the University of Mumbai library, teems with cricketers from around half a dozen clubs. The boys and girls of schools and colleges move in during the week, all playing for teams who pay just a nominal fee to use the facilities. Overlapping pitches often make it difficult to tell matches apart. It's a similar sight at the nearby Cross Maidan -- home to eight clubs -- and the Azad Maidan, where 22 clubs play and local boys Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli once clocked up a 664-run partnership in a schools match in 1988. Just last year, 12-year-old Sarfaraz Khan hit 439 runs in the same Harris Shield tournament, earning him widespread publicity across India and the tag of "the next Tendulkar". Sohail Dhorajiwala sat under a marquee at the boundary of the Oval Maidan, wearing the blue and gold colours of Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians. He has been taking classes at the ground for the last eight years, coaching about 300 teenagers and young people in two-hour sessions. "The maidan should be kept as it is," he said to nods of agreement from his young charges. "There are very few grounds in Mumbai where you can play 'pitch matches'. You can't organise them anywhere else." The maidan plan, as the MCA and clubs understand it, could have a knock-on effect on grassroots development. Mumbai, like other cities in rapidly-developing India, is becoming more populous, robbing children of places to play cricket and other sports. The maidans are among the few open spaces in the city open to all. Consultancy Ernst and Young has said that modern sports facilities in Indian cities are "woefully deficient" while the Sports Authority of India said less than five percent of people have access to places to play organised sport. Narinder Nayer, though, believes the city's cricketers have nothing to fear. The chairman of Bombay First, a non-governmental organisation that works to improve city life and is involved in the maidan reforms, said the cricketers' fears were unfounded. "I would never support something" like stopping cricket, he said. "We're trying to create a better city, not take away what people have got. "It's not intended to make it into a national park. "The main thing is there's a lot of haphazard activity going on, so the idea is to clean up the whole place and have it better organised with better facilities." Seema Ukade, deputy sports secretary at the Maharashtra state government, said the proposal under discussion by officials was to create "a Central Park like New York or Hyde Park in London". Asked about the cricketers' fears, she said: "We will consider all local people's views."

They have been key stepping stones to launching the careers of dozens of India's cricketing superstars, including leading batsmen Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.

Fears for Mumbai's nursery grounds of the stars

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Fears for Mumbai's nursery grounds of the stars

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