Makarand Waingankar, one of India’s best loved and read cricket columnists, blends meticulous research with his own experience of a life lived on the cricket fields of India. He has watched greats and created newer greats. He wears a multitude of hats, each of which fit snuggly on his humble head – journalist, columnist, cricket historian, researcher, trainer, talent spotter, administrator and others. But a consistent thread that weaves each of these hats, is his unconditional love for cricket in the manner that this beautiful game is meant to be loved. He is also a keen observer of Goan cricket, not just because of his Goan roots. Readers of The Goan can look forward to a long romance with the game through Mac-Ro View. The column, as Makarand promises, will inform, educate and come down heavily on those who spoil the fair name of this great game. Happy reading.
The crowd had gone wild at the P J Hindu Gymkhana. After all Dilip Sardesai, Eknath Solkar, Sunil Gavaskar were all going to play on the same ground. It was the late 1960s, a Purshottam Shield match between Dadar Union and P J Hindu Gymkhana. In the pavilion, there was one person who could have easily been pointed out as the most excited. The man turned out to be Bhausaheb Bandodkar, the Chief Minister of Goa.
The most important person of Goa became amere kid when it came to cricket. His child-like enthusiasm every time fellowGoan Dilip Sardesai hit a four cannot be described. When Dilip hit a six to thefirst floor of the gymkhana pavilion, Bhausaheb got so impatient that heordered that the ball be immediately retrieved and thrown back to the bowler.“Dilip would lose concentration if play is held up for some more time,” heworriedly said. Such was his love for Dilip. He admired Gavaskar and Solkartoo.
He never ever bothered about theparaphernalia of a Chief Minister. He would invite many cricketers to Goa sothat Goans get an opportunity to watch them play. A while after his death,cricket activities in Goa slowed down. But Vijay Chowgule’s efforts reignitedGoan cricket. He got top Mumbai teams to participate in the Arlem Trophy, thusadding to the charm of the carnival in May. 'Watch and improve' became themantra for the Goa boys who picked up tricks of the trade. Their confidencelevel increased when they scored and bowled against the likes ofDilipVengsarkar, Ashok Mankad, EknathSolkar, B S Chandrashekhar, Brijesh Patel,SandeepPatil and Ravi Shastri.Players like NamdevPhadte gained the maximum. Hescored 3 centuries in 11 Ranji matches against very good opposition.
However, once Arlem trophy completed 25 years,Vijay Chowgule decided to stop the carnival. He said it wasn’t conducive forquality cricket. Cricket in Goa was hitting the headlines for all the wrongreasons. So much so that the BCCI asked Nari Contractor to set up the house inorder. Even he failed to find a permanent solution.
Cricket went into obscurity in Goa. But thepotential in Goa was as abound as ever and still remains so. The IPL has shownus some remarkable stories form the nooks of India. It saw the emergence ofpocket size opening batsman Swapnil Asnodkar who with Shane Warne’s backing,caught the eye with his daredevil approach to the game. Left arm spinner Jakatiof CSK fits perfectly in the role assigned by skipper Dhoni. There are otherslike Sourabh Bandodkar and Sagun Kamat who have the potential to press theaccelerator.
The need is that these youngsters be guidedand pushed hard. Vijay Chowgule should be motivated by the potential in Goa tore-launch the Arlem trophy. Why should association politics be allowed toaffect the young careers? Ideally, like Mumbai Cricket Association, they shouldhave a Cricket Improvement committee of former Goa players who have playedminimum of 50 Ranji matches. Having represented the state they would be in abetter position to tackle contentious issues.
The MCA cricket improvement committee isheaded by Nari Contractor with KarsanGhavri, Balwinder Singh Sandhu,NileshKulkarni and the office bearers adding to the cricketing experience. Theytake all the cricketing decisions. The CIC is the brainchild of SharadPawar,who when he got elected for the first time in 2001, said,"What's good forthe game is known to players who have played the game. We should beimplementing their decisions."
The politics in Goa cricket need to beburied and with an eminent personality like Dr ShekharSalkar entering theassociation, the standard of the game can certainly be improved. Now that thePendse report has been accepted by the state government, better sense shouldprevail.
Theprevalent politicking in the past couple of months has indeed saddened thecricket lovers of Goa. But the worstpart is that it has made Goans livingoutside Goa ask, “Why this in my lovely Goa?” Bandodkar nurtured the city’s cricket culture with the heart of anenthusiastic child. Let politics not ruin this innocence.
