Suresh Deobhakta: This ex-Mumbai all-rounder is now living a life of loneliness

Cricketers like Suresh Deobhakta are seldom remembered often ignored and rarely hailed Deobhakta represented an era where earning a Mumbai Ranji Trophy cap was equivalent to climbing a mountain And on reaching it survival not only depended of how one performed but how one could fit into the scheme of thingsIn the year of Mumbais 500 Ranji Trophy game celebrations we decided to meet Deobhakta 76 at his home in Agashi five kms from Virar The former batsman and offspinner seems unhappy with the Mumbai Cricket Association who he feels have not done enough to support him through ill health Of course he gets a pension from the association Despite being a good allrounder on the club and interoffice circuit Deobhakta could play only a solitary Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai against Baroda in 197172Former Mumbai allrounder Suresh Deobhakta at his Agashi near Virar residence recently PicFALGUNI AGRAWALDurani remembers DoduExIndia player Salim Durani feels Deobhakta was an impact player who was his Hardcastle and Waud teammate while former Mumbai spin stalwart Padmakar Shivalkar his teammate at Tatas stresses how Deobhakta could murder an attack On the club circuit Deobhakta paraded his skills for National Cricket Club at Cross Maidan Durani and I were SAD cricketers remarks Deobhakta with a chuckle Our initials are SAD and we were friends I was so happy for Salim when he was chosen for the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award a few years ago Do you know he acted in Charitra with Parveen Babi in 1973 says Deobhakta Durani remembers Deobhakta fondly too I was surprised that he got only one chance in the Ranji Trophy He was a damn good cricketer and a very committed one he said from JamnagarMeanwhile the conversation at Deobhaktas home shifts to his lone Ranji Trophy game for Mumbai I was given one chance and then they said buzz off We were bowled out for 129 in the first innings at Moti Bagh Stadium on a winters day in 1972 There was a lot of dew on the pitch and Baroda pacers Anthony Fernandes and Narayan Satham ran through our side However we bowled them out for 42 and fared better in our second innings to win comfortably Shivalkar remembers how Deobhakta was dismissed in the first innings by Fernandes I was praying to God let him stay at the wicket because if he does that he will murder the attack He faced an overpitched ball put his foot down to bang it and just when I was about to say what a shot the ball hit his foot and went on to hit the stumps It was really unfortunate I wished then and wish now he could have played more for MumbaiDeobhakta says They dropped me without any explanation Press reporters told me that I deserved a second chance as I was performing well in club cricket I was a good fielder too I was a victim of favourtism and players with lesser ability got their chances Mumbai cricket provides classic cases of commitment And Deobhakta is remembered as the player who had to leave his Agashi home in the early hours of the morning for matches I used to wake up well before 4am and then take a bus from Agashi to reach Virar station at 5am so that I could take a Churchgatebound train During the Kanga League monsoon league I would learn about match cancellations only when I reached Churchgate I would go to the club in any case and sleep on a bench before returning home later in the day he recallsBig hits at Cross MaidanHe has fine memories of his National CC days I hit many big sixes Often the ball would get lost I look back at those moments and cry because I devoted my life to cricket and did not get much in return My road was rocky on the personal front as I was left high and dry at home to fend for myself I regret not taking good care of my parents I was so immersed in my cricket that I ignored them My father died of cancer he says with moist eyesThere was more to Deobhaktas efforts than just embark on early morning train journeys for cricket matches We had four buffaloes and my task was to milk them each morning I also had to fetch water from a well to bathe them he reveals He acquired the nickname Dodu meaning pumpkin because he was a plump child I was fat but fit and flexible I have never consumed biscuits and local bread I used to like the rolls they served at CCI during matches though I used to have two eggs each morning and hot milk at night while todays generation lives on vada pav Ive never had vada pav in my life he saysToday Deobhakta has to cope with loneliness and health issues but hes grateful to a few former teammates who keep in touch with him Ajit Pai former Mumbai and India pacer keeps in touch so does Rajan Shrivastav who made it a point to visit me when I was hospitalised on a few occasions I am alive because of my old friends and memories I was so happy when Vilas Godbole wrote a profile of me in his book on Mumbai cricketHis fondest memories are about attending Chhabildas school where his father was a teacher His first coach was Ankush Anna Vaidya who coached at Shivaji Park When it came to getting admission at Siddharth College he found a willing benefactor in former Test player SW Sohoni College life was bittersweet The sweet part was the high standard of cricket but it was tough on other fronts Rich students used to consume kheema and cutlets at good restaurants I filled myself with usalOnly few things delight him in the evening of his life but he is proud of his nickname Everybody calls me Dodu including Test cricketers Thats the only thing Im proud of he says His friends beg to differ because he should also be proud of how he played the game with commitment similar to that of players who wore the lioncrested Mumbai cap more often than he didWith inputs from Clayton MurzelloCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here