A vote of confidence for Rohit Sharma amid swirling rumours, and memories of Kanga League
The Rohit Sharma masterclass was in full view at Lord’s on Sunday. As languid and easy going as Rohit is, there is a deep determination and Mumbai khadoos-ness inside him. That glint was ever present in his eyes as he went about converting a not-so-great start into a gem of an innings, not for personal gain, but for India to get close to and surpass a mammoth English total.
It was so pleasing to see as a fan, that the same questions kept running in my mind: What is the tearing hurry to “reset” this team? Can we not treat Rohit like we do Jasprit Bumrah? Can he not be given a playing readiness-focused runway for the next 18 months? This will help him lift his fitness and India will go into the 2027 World Cup with two of their best batters in the XI, recharged and inspired!
Clearly, he is the best batsman in this squad from a talent perspective. Stakeholders should think about this. It is not rocket science. Sure, there will be conversations and viewpoints to be considered but at this point, it is my firm belief that the selectors need to look at the forest for the trees!
Kanga League memories
As the date of the commencement of the Kanga League was announced, I thought it would be interesting to feature one great Kanga memory of mine each week.
I started attending Kanga matches from the age of 7 or 8 with my father. I also was the designated “scorer” for Dadar Union for a season or two till I was considered good enough to make my “A” division debut. Dadar Union Sports Club’s code “Union is Strength” was proudly emblazoned on the precious cap as well. I remember the great Sunil Gavaskar wore it while India was defending a low score in Melbourne, considering it lucky. Such was the reverence for the club by the greatest batsman this game has ever seen.
Around the time I started going for DU matches, the team was very strong, curated carefully by my father Vasu, VS Patil, Gavaskar and Suresh Tigdi. Handpicked to the core, attacking players were given the much-sought-after chance to step into the Dadar Union shrine.
It was a great fielding side too. The two openers, Subhash Khursagar and Sridhar Mandle were terrific fielders. Avi Karnik, Suresh Tigdi, my father – never seen them drop a catch. Kiran Mokashi, whom I greatly admire as an off-spinner along with Salil Shah, formed the spin duo, always attacking. Those were the days when you flighted the next one higher after you got hit; attacking a batsman was the norm and not the exception.
The fast bowlers were also the very best – Vikram Dutt, Kishore Rabadia and then the nagging accuracy of Ramesh Rajde, like a laughing hyena always stalking you, never letting go. They were hostile, especially on drying Kanga pitches. Those years there were many dangerous seamers around – Ravi Gadiyar, Deepak Rao, Suresh Shetty with his pin-point accuracy and lateral movement, Anoop Sabnis, Pradeep Kasiwal, Prasad Desai, Austin Coutinho, the late Ajit Puthran… I am sure to have forgotten a few. (I will not be surprised if I receive a couple of phone calls today questioning me!)
But from all these, my personal favourite was Dutt! He was a cool customer off the field, full of jokes and camaraderie, always well dressed and stylish! He had a long run up, very much resembling Andy Roberts’, and moved the ball away at great pace. He always pitched the ball up, but had a skiddy bouncer, the one that the batsman had to play. He once took 10 wickets in an innings for DU against Rajasthan SC at Karnataka, Cross Maidan. He was shortlisted for Dadar Union by none other than Gavaskar himself.
I spoke to him a couple of days back, and he recounted a tight, low-scoring match that is best described verbatim:
“My most memorable match for Dadar Union was the one where we were all out for under 40 runs but we got our opponents out for 32. The highlight of that match was everyone at Young Maharashtra grounds was glued and praying for our team DU to lose. They even sent a dog behind me when I was on my run up. This was done by some miscreant from Shivaji Park Gymkhana. But we won.”
Even in the game that Vikram got all 10, DU declared at 98 for 3! That was the sharp edge – take a risk if need be, but have the most amount of time to bowl the opposition out. Cricket can be a very simple game, when presided over by people who have their hearts and acumen in the right place.
Finally, a mega salute to Sir Gary Sobers, may his soul rest in eternal peace. There are greats, and then there is Sir Gary.
Jatin Paranjape (@jats72) is a former Mumbai and India cricketer and an ex-national selector.
