Setting the ground for fresh talent
It’s not as hallowed as the Shivaji Park, where hundreds of children dream about becoming the next Sachin Tendulkar. Coaches by the dozen guide students there.
But Azad Maidan, from the look of things, has also become the next best option for the would-be Tendulkars. Of course, quite a few of the kids — barely knee-high — also argue that their numero uno idols are M.S. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag.
In August, Azad Maidan, the triangular-shaped sports ground, established in 1875, was the scene of inflammatory violence provoked by a rally, which took communal overtones. Fortunately, the memory of the riots and destruction there has subsided. And students from all stratae of school, have returned to the cricket pitches which are tended to by a team of maalis and supervisors, throughout the day.
The Bombay Gymkhana Club, at one of its edges, serves either as an aspirational destination to reach some day, or is regarded as an emblem of snobbery. Be that as if may, the cheery news is that talent scouts are checking out for pre-teenage talent on the maidan nowadays. And one of the coaches for a school for underprivileged children was over the moon because one of his boys was selected for the state team. The boy is all of 12, and is flanked by his kid brothers who also eat, drink and dream cricket.
Okay, so the little cricket champ can’t afford decent equipment, has to commute by local train to the maidan from a far-flung suburb, and is aware of the fact that the monthly salary of his father — a municipal sweeper — is a pittance. When I talked to the potential champ, he said, “Coach saab must have told you that it’s a tough life for me. So what? There are thousands in the same situation as I am. If I start complaining about this and that, I won’t get anywhere. So if you don’t mind, may I go back to practise at the nets?” Wah, spoken like a true hero!
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