After eight straight washouts, the 63rd edition of the Dr HRD Kanga League finally got under way at various venues on Sunday. Players gathered at Shivaji Park, however, weren’t so lucky. The matches at the iconic venue did begin on time, but soon, heavy showers made life slushy and mucky.
The ‘D’ Division encounter between Kamath Club and Bohra Cricketers was one of the many clashes here that had fallen victim to the Sunday morning downpour. Kamath Club were 28/5 when the umpires decided enough is enough.
Amid all this drama, Pradosh Mayekar, Soham Dalvi and Vaidik Murkar engaged in some banter. A little probing revealed they are cousins. Big deal! Kanga League is known to pit sons against fathers, brothers against brothers, mamas against bhanjas and even grandpas against grandsons.
A little later, someone asked them, “How’s nana (grandpa)?” “He’s good,” one of them replied. A bystander politely informed the nana in question is none other than Ramakant Achrekar. Now that’s a big deal, more so because Kamath Club is owned by the legendary coach.
Mayekar and Dalvi, both 25, were introduced to the game by Achrekar when they were only eight. “We are his daughters’ sons and are proud of whatever he has achieved. It’s a privilege to be known as his grandchildren,” Mayekar, a wicketkeeper-batsman who played for Mumbai and West Zone (U-16 and U-19), told DNA.
The third cousin, Vaidik Murkar, is only 16 and hasn’t directly played under his illustrious grandpa. Another cousin, Tanmoy Mayekar, is injured and had to miss Sunday’s game.
The interesting part is that each of them has played and can still walk into an ‘A’ Division side. “It’s just that we want to play for our nana’s club,” Mayekar says. When reminded that it’s Teacher’s Day, he says Achrekar has been his best teacher. “God has given him everything. We hope he has a long, long life.”
So how was nana as a coach? “Very strict,” Mayekar says, before adding, “While on the field, he doesn’t believe in relations. He always gives first priority to discipline. In fact, all of us grandchildren address him as ‘Sir’ during practice.”
Mayekar recalls an incident that occurred when Dalvi scored a double hundred in a Giles Shield match. “We were so happy for him but nana actually slapped him when he returned to the tent after being dismissed. We were stunned. Then nana asked him? ‘How could you get out like that?’ So that’s how strict he was even with us,” he says. Chandrakant Pandit and Vinod Kambli were also ‘victims’ of Achrekar’s taplis (a slap on the head).
Achrekar is still married to cricket and watches every game on TV. “He keeps telling us how and why the batsman on screen got out. His technical acumen is unmatchable,” Mayekar says. One is sure that even Sachin Tendulkar, his greatest student, will agree.
Brief Scores (Division ‘A’): New Hind SC 14/1 drew with Victory Cricket Club 0/0 (New Hind 1 point, Victory CC 1 point); MIG CC 73 (R Tandel 5/2) & 48/1 lost to Mumbai Police SC 78/9 decl on first innings (Mumbai Police 3, MIG 0; Parkophene Cricketers 188/4 decl (S Nayak 66, D Bhogle 44, V Sane 43*) beat Fort Vijay CC 98 (R Thakur 6/37) Parkophene (3, Fort Vijay 0); National CC 92 (S Lad 37, K Nande 5/28) drew with Young Friends CC 76/6 (National 1, Young Friends 1); Apollo CC 20 & 29 lost to Karnatak Sporting Association 44/7 decl & 6/0 (Karnatak 1, Apollo 1); Payyade SC 148/5 decl (P Waghela 53) drew with CCI 67/5 (Payyade 1, CCI 1)
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