Quiet, content but hungry, Nilesh Kulkarni wants to learn more

He last played for India more than nine years ago; ended his Test career with two wickets in three matches; last played for Mumbai more than three years ago; was controversially dropped for a Ranji final; lost his place in the Mumbai side to an 18-year rookie left-arm spinner; did not play any great competitive cricket in the last three years…

Yet, he will not remember him for a whimpering end. Nilesh Kulkarni’s place in history will be alongside the pantheons of Indian cricket. His wicket-off-the-first-ball feat in Test career is yet to be replicated by an Indian. It can, of course, never be bettered.

“I’m leaving the game with that happy thought,” he said, while announcing his retirement at Cricket Club of India’s CK Nayudu Hall on Wednesday.

With three Tests and 10 ODIs, Kulkarni could easily be labelled an under-achiever. However, for Mumbai cricket, he had been a giant — just like his frame. “Just one wicket and he would get four more,” says Ramesh Powar, who bowled in tandem with him in many a Ranji Trophy game. With over 350 wickets and 24 five-wicket hauls, he carved a niche for himself in the annals of Mumbai cricket.

Kulkarni possesses the congenital cussedness of a Mumbai cricketer. “He’s a fighter to the core,” says Amol Muzumdar. “He would get wickets even on green tops, prepared, in those days, for Mumbai’s pacers,” avers Powar. In most matches, Kulkarni would end up with more wickets than any of the pacers of that time — Abey Kuruvilla, Paras Mhambrey and Salil Ankola.

That he could stand up to the pacers on a green top is a testimony of his class. At 6 feet 4 inches, he is an uplifting sight even from a distance. From 22 yards, he would be a terror. A half-fit Kulkarni ran through Delhi in the historic day-night Ranji final at Gwalior in 1996-97.

That performance earned him a berth in the Indian squad. But Kulkarni was soon to realise that the gulf between domestic and international cricket is wide as it is between Dombivli — his home — and the Wankhede. He was content playing for Mumbai.

“He was a perfect team man and the best spinner from Mumbai. His bounce and accuracy are difficult to negotiate,” said Kuruvilla, who made it to the event where Kulkarni announced his retirement.

On the occasion, Kulkarni stood in the midst of many current cricketers and looked fitter than most. But the left-arm spinner said enough is enough. “The mind is somewhere else,” he said. He was referring to IISM, a sports management programme — a first of its kind in India — in which he ventured into.

Unlike many of his Mumbai teammates, the 37-year-old Kulkarni did not choose to play for another state where he would have been rolled out a red carpet. “I never felt like leaving Mumbai,” he signed off.