Thomson-like bowler Shahane launches bowling scheme in Mumbai

Former Mumbai pacer Vighnesh Shahane couldnrsquot have asked for a better way to give back to the game Yesterday as CEO of IDBI Federal Life Insurance he proudly shared the dais with his first Ranji Trophy captain and current Mumbai Cricket Association MCA vicecaptain Dilip Vengsarkar to launch the MCAIDBI Federal Life Insurance Bowling Foundation Twentyfive years ago Shahane was a trainee at a similar programme mdash the Bombay Cricket AssociationMafatlal Bowling Scheme mdash spearheaded by Frank TysonIDBI Federal Life Insurance CEO Vighnesh Shahane bowls with his Thomsonlike action at a city hotel yesterday PicSayed Sameer AbediLess than two months ago Shahane responded to veteran journalist Makarand Waingankarrsquos idea of launching a new scheme ldquoI was a product of the BCAMafatlal It changed the face of Mumbairsquos firstclass cricket then We won Ranji Trophy several times It threw up many stars like Abey Kuruvilla Paras Mhambrey Sairaj Bahutule and Salil Ankola Most of them were here today for the launch Surprisingly there has been no such scheme since then When Mak sir Waingankar floated this idea I said lsquoletrsquos do itrsquo There is this perception that Mumbai only produces worldclass batsmen and not bowlers which is true to some extent So thatrsquos how this scheme got conceptualisedrdquo said ShahaneAustraliarsquos Jeff Thomson in full flight against England during a oneday international at Sydney in January 1980 PicGetty ImagesRoping in Jeff Thomson to coach was the icing on the cake for Shahane who had a similar action to that of the Australian pace great However Shahane clarified that he never tried to ape Thomsonrsquos action during his playing days ldquoI had only seen a few clips of Thomson My Thommolike action is just a coincidence I never modeled myself on him We had very limited space for a runup while playing tennisball cricket so the best way to generate speed was with a slinging action All three of us mdash Shahanersquos friends in his building Vimal Gautam Sathe and myself had a slinging action I went on to play serious cricket so my action remained the same Everyone would call me lsquoThommorsquordquo Shahane recalledThe schemeThe Mumbai selectors will pick around 30 pacers and spinners above the age of 19 and they will be trained at the indoor academy in Bandra Kurla Complex Thomson will spend a month first in September and then in May next year with the players The Balvinder Singh Sandhuheaded panel of coaches and Mumbai Ranji Trophy coach Chandrakant Pandit will monitor the progress of the shortlisted bowlers Former Team India physio John Gloster will work on the fitness of bowlers Shahane debuted for Mumbai Ranji Trophy team in February 1992 against Madhya Pradesh and played three more matches before switching to Rajasthan in the next season He claimed 11 wickets in five firstclass matches before venturing into the corporate worldStiff competitionSeveral felt he could have got more opportunities ldquoAt that time there was Abey Salil Raju Kulkarni Paras and myself but I will put my hand on the heart and say they were all better bowlers than me It was disappointing at that time but all of them played for India so no regrets ldquoPlaying for Mumbai was a great honour Dilip Vengsarkar was my captain on debut After he presented me with my Mumbai cap he told me lsquodonrsquot get tense Just bowl like you do in a club match No matter how you perform no one will take this cap away from yoursquo That was very motivatingrdquo said Shahane His finest cricketing moment was on his 1992 debut when he got the wicket of Sandeep Patil the current India chairman of selectors who was playing for MP then ldquoSandeep was my maiden Ranji wicket He stopped midway waited for me to complete my celebration shook my hands and then leftrdquo he concludedHarit N JoshiharitjoshimiddaycomFORMER Mumbai pacer Vighnesh Shahane couldnrsquot have asked for a better way to give back to the game Yesterday as CEO of IDBI Federal Life Insurance he proudly shared the dais with his first Ranji Trophy captain and current Mumbai Cricket Association MCA vicecaptain Dilip Vengsarkar to launch the MCAIDBI Federal Life Insurance Bowling FoundationTwentyfive years ago Shahane was a trainee at a similar programme mdash the Bombay Cricket AssociationMafatlal Bowling Scheme mdash spearheaded by Frank Tyson Less than two months ago Shahane responded to veteran journalist Makarand Waingankarrsquos idea of launching a new scheme ldquoI was a product of the BCAMafatlal It changed the face of Mumbairsquos firstclass cricket then We won Ranji Trophy several times It threw up many stars like Abey Kuruvilla Paras Mhambrey Sairaj Bahutule and Salil Ankola Most of them were here today for the launch Surprisingly there has been no such scheme since then When Mak sir Waingankar floated this idea I said lsquoletrsquos do itrsquo There is this perception that Mumbai only produces worldclass batsmen and not bowlers which is true to some extent So thatrsquos how this scheme got conceptualisedrdquo said ShahaneRoping in Jeff Thomson to coach was the icing on the cake for Shahane who had a similar action to that of the Australian pace great However Shahane clarified that he never tried to ape Thomsonrsquos action during his playing days ldquoI had only seen a few clips of Thomson My Thommolike action is just a coincidence I never modeled myself on him We had very limited space for a runup while playing tennisball cricket so the best way to generate speed was with a slinging action All three of us mdash Shahanersquos friends in his building Vimal Gautam Sathe and myself had a slinging action I went on to play serious cricket so my action remained the same Everyone would call me lsquoThommorsquordquo Shahane recalled The schemehellipThe Mumbai selectors will pick around 30 pacers and spinners above the age of 19 and they will be trained at the indoor academy in Bandra Kurla Complex Thomson will spend a month first in September and then in May next year with the players The Balvinder Singh Sandhuheaded panel of coaches and Mumbai Ranji Trophy coach Chandrakant Pandit will monitor the progress of the shortlisted bowlers Former Team India physio John Gloster will work on the fitness of bowlers Shahane debuted for Mumbai Ranji Trophy team in February 1992 against Madhya Pradesh and played three more matches before switching to Rajasthan in the next season He claimed 11 wickets in five firstclass matches before venturing into the corporate world Stiff competitionSeveral felt he could have got more opportunities ldquoAt that time there was Abey Salil Raju Kulkarni Paras and myself but I will put my hand on the heart and say they were all better bowlers than me It was disappointing at that time but all of them played for India so no regretsldquoPlaying for Mumbai was a great honour Dilip Vengsarkar was my captain on debut After he presented me with my Mumbai cap he told me lsquodonrsquot get tense Just bowl like you do in a club match No matter how you perform no one will take this cap away from yoursquo That was very motivatingrdquo said Shahane His finest cricketing moment was on his 1992 debut when he got the wicket of Sandeep Patil the current India chairman of selectors who was playing for MP then ldquoSandeep was my maiden Ranji wicket He stopped midway waited for me to complete my celebration shook my hands and then leftrdquo he concluded