This one’s for keepsake

MUMBAI: Amol Muzumdar’s victorious team were doing a lap of honour when Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) treasurer Prof Ratnakar Shetty announced at the Wankhede Stadium that each of the nineteen members of the squad would be given a bonus of Rs one lakh.

Shortly, Muzumdar was going to give away something that money can’t buy. Muzumdar decided to present coach Praveen Amre the replica of the Ranji Trophy that is traditionally presented to the winning skipper.

Muzumdar was not the only one feeling magnanimous. India strike bowler Zaheer Khan, who took nine wickets in the game, seeing the exuberance and excitement among the younger players decided not taken a winning token from the match.

Zaheer, who made his Mumbai debut in the final, didn’t take a stump, bails, or didn’t even ask for the ball. “I wanted to take away something. It was a special match for me and we won the Ranji final. But then I realized that I only came in for the final, while the rest were playing all though the season and had worked really hard. So I didn’t take anything away,” Zaheer said.

Amre was touched that Muzumdar decided to let him keep the miniature replica trophy. “I have never been a winning Mumbai dressing room. So it was nice of Amol to have given me the trophy,” Amre said.

The coach had made his debut for Mumbai in 1986 and then struck his first hundred for Railways (186 n.o). in 1987-1988 but was not picked to play the final that year. He returned to play for Mumbai in 1998-99 and scored his last century in any game - an unbeaten 103 against Saurashtra.

“I think Amre did a great job throughout this season. I handed over the trophy to him at the award ceremony, but it is not a token gesture. I want him to keep the trophy. He really deserved it,” Amol said.

The Mumbai captain himself has a stump with all the signature of the 14-members on it. Opener Wasim Jaffer, got the signatures of all the players on his hat, while paceman Swapnil Hazare picked up a stump and got his Mumbai jersey signed by all the players. Wicket-keeper Vinayak Samant got a bat autographed by Sachin Tendulkar and is also taking away another willow signed by all teammates.

Off-spinner Ramesh Powar hopes to keep the ball, which he believes the umpires have handed over to the MCA officials.

The celebrations in the Mumbai dressing room began with former India skipper and chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar uncorking the bubbly and Sachin Tendulkar spraying it around even as teammates gathered around the Ranji Trophy. And the party is bound to continue with the Mumbai team heading to Tendulkar’s, the restaurant run by the batting maestro, later in the evening.