Legendary India cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sandeep Patil have always made themselves available to play the Dr HD Kanga Cricket League whenever they were in the city.
However, things are not the same when it comes to most of the current Mumbai-based India cricketers.
On Sunday though Test batsman Sarfaraz Khan took pride in turning up for the monsoon league. In fact, he reached the venue, Islam Gymkhana, a good 30 minutes before the reporting time.
Representing Parkophene Cricketers against Islam Gymkhana, Sarfaraz batted at No. 4 and scored an attacking 42-ball 61 (4x4s, 4x6s). During his 61-minute stay at the wicket, he also shared a 105-run stand with one-drop Shreeraj Gharat (43) as his team declared at 159-5. Parkophene picked up a valuable three points via first-innings after Islam Gymkhana were bowled out for 73 in their first stint thanks to
pacer Deepak Shetty’s 7-36.
Match-eve excitement
“I was so excited about this match that the reporting time was 8.30am, but I reached at 8am only. More than being satisfied with my performance, I was delighted to be able to spend time in the middle. The pitch was not easy to bat on, and I even got hit on my helmet once. Also, there was a thick grass cover across the outfield so boundaries were hard to come by,” Sarfaraz told mid-day on Sunday.
Interestingly, Sarfaraz, 27, who has represented the country in six Tests so far, returned to the city only on Saturday evening after attending a Mumbai probables’ weeklong camp at Talegaon near Nagpur. “During my childhood, I heard a lot of stories from my father [coach Naushad Khan] about how Sunil Gavaskar sir once turned up for a Kanga League match despite returning from England the same morning. So, Musheer [younger brother] and I have always taken pride in playing this tournament. While returning from Nagpur last evening [Saturday], we were hoping it won’t rain today. It rained a bit this morning, but when I reached Islam Gymkhana, the weather was good. I played my last Kanga League match three years ago. I was going through the league fixture book before this game and saw my name in it for scoring a century in 2018 and it felt nice,” added Sarfaraz, who scored 92 against Lions during the India ‘A’ team’s England tour in May.
He stressed that all Mumbai cricketers should take the Kanga League seriously.
“All Mumbai players should play [Kanga League]. Some players feel that if they fail here, it’ll be bad for their future. But if Gavaskar sir and Sachin Tendulkar sir thought the same way, they might not have gone on to become legends. If big players play in this tournament, it will be an inspiration for the city’s youngsters. Kanga League is such a tournament that if you succeed here, you can score runs anywhere in the world,” concluded Sarfaraz, who will be representing the West Zone team in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, starting at the ‘s Centre of Excellence facility in Bengaluru on August 28.
Brother Musheer shines too
Meanwhile, in a C Division game, Musheer’s all-round skills helped Payyade Sports Club secure an outright win against Kandivali Association (KCA) at Cross Maidan. Batting first, Payyade were all out for 123 with opener Musheer top-scoring with 84. Left-arm spinner Musheer then took 3-8 as KCA were bowled out for 60. Payyade thereafter declared at 82 for no loss with Musheer contributing unbeaten 35. He then impressed with the ball again, taking seven for four to bowl out the opposition for a mere 22 in the second stint.
Brief scores
Parsee Gym 247-9d beat Shivaji Park Youngsters SC 137 & 7-0 on first innings lead
Islam Gym 73 & 84-6 lost to Parkophene Cricketers 159-5d on first innings lead
PJ Hindu Gym 250-8 drew with Victory CC 176-7
Karnatak Sporting Association 142 beat New Hind SC 52 & 13-0 on first innings lead
CCI 205-6d beat New Hind SC 113 & 39-0 on first innings lead
Shivaji Park Gym 89 & 74-1d lost to National CC 91-8 on first innings lead