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By K.R. Nayar While at the Khar Gymkhana, an elderly man was seen seated close by wearing Team India's Panama cap and watching G Force boys play against Khar Gymkhana Bayside Sports Club. Although the cap looked very old, it was clear that he was wearing it proudly. In many cricket venues in Mumbai, I have often met people who have an interesting story to tell. It is not cricketers alone who visit these venues but other lovers of the game too. V R Iyer with  India's Panama cap    When I asked him about the Panama cap, he revealed that it was gifted to him by former Indian wicket keeper Farokh Engineer many years ago. This gentleman is is V R Iyer and is 81 years old. The conversation that followed revealed that I was indeed fortunate to be able to spend time with a special person whose life has always revolved around the game - as a many player years ago and now as a person who encourages cricketers in innovative ways. He watches almost all games at the Khar Gymkhana,...

By K.R. Nayar A visit to a ground where Team India captain Rohit Sharma played and practiced  as a boy was an interesting experience. What followed was a journey into the past. Mumbai cricketers are often lucky to have passionate patrons of the game like Dr P. V. Shetty. The sixth match of G Force Cricket Academy's Mumbai tour was held at the Payyade Sports Club located near Borivali, and Dr. P.V Shetty is the president of this club. Dr P.V. Shetty Although he has been responsible for setting the stage for many youngsters like Rohit Sharma, he prefers not to bask in that glory. He is on a mission to provide maximum facilities for every cricketer to blossom and become one of the greats of the game. He candidly admits that his desire did get the right backing as well. “I was keen to develop cricket in this area. Fortunately I got support from Sharad Pawar (former BCCI and ICC President). Whenever I have approached him with a request to develop cricket in this region, he has suppo...

By K.R. Nayar The drive to the Air India Sports Club in Vakola, Santa Cruz East, from the MIG Cricket Club was a short one. The good thing about most cricket venues in Mumbai is the bubbling atmosphere all around. It’s cricket everywhere and one actually gets the feeling that you have come to a place where the game is revered.  It is no wonder that Mumbai is known as the nursery of Indian cricket. G Force and MCC with the trophies after the match at the Air India Sports Club On the walls of the Air India Sports Club ground are huge posters of VVS Laxman, Pravin Amre, Suresh Raina,Yuvraj Singh and woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami. Incidentally, Pravin Amre and Jhulan Goswani had conducted coaching camps for G Force in Dubai. It was a pleasant surprise to meet former Indian opener and renowned coach Lalchand Rajput at the club. Posters of top players on the walls of the Air India Sports Club Both the Under-14 and Under-12 matches yesterday, were keenly fought. ...

By K.R. Nayar Colatta Chocolates recorded a sweet and swift win over Dubai Aviators while MGM Cricket Club beat Fair Deal Defenders in the Sharjah Ramadan League 2022 powered by Fancode T20 tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The star of Colatta Chocolates win was their opener Janaka Chaturanga who cracked an unbeaten 78 off just 37 balls with eight boundaries and five sixes after his team had restricted Dubai Aviators to 135 for 7.  Janaka’s knock took the team to the target in just 11.2 overs. In another match, MGM Cricket Club defeated Fair Deal Defenders by 57 runs through an allroundshow from Muhammad Hassan. Top scoring with 32 runs, Muhammad Hassan helped his team post 164 runs, and he also bagged two wickets for just eight runs to restrict Fair Deal Defenders to 107 in 15.5 overs. It was the 'go for the kill' attitude displayed by both winning teams that resulted in their victories. MGM batted aggressively right from their captain and opener...

By K.R. Nayar The fourth day of the G Force Cricket Academy’s Mumbai tour was another memorable day with young Jaimeek Shah's spectacular batting display where he scored an unbeaten 95. The two matches of the day were played at Khar Gymkhana, a club formed in 1928, and its ground has been the grooming centre for many cricketers who went on to play for Mumbai and India. Jaimeek Shah... unbeaten 95 The reverence that everyone shows to the pitch at the Khar Gymkhana ground was special. Addressing the players, Vivek Devnani, President, Khar Gymkhana remarked that the wicket on which they would play was the one on which Sachin Tendulkar and almost all the greats from Mumbai had played and excelled. That was when the young cricketers realised that they should not only be respecting their kits but also the wicket since that would be the stage on which they would perform. G Force’s Under-12 cricketer Jaimeek Shah showed his respect by scoring an unbeaten 95 in the match against KG...

By K.R. Nayar Former Indian allrounder speaks about his first tour abroad, how he bowled pace and spin for India, and his love for a classic dialogue from the mega-blockbuster Bollywood movie, Sholay Karsan Ghavri at the Khar Gymkhana  Venues with an inherent cricket tradition and flavor will always have legendary cricketers visiting the place regularly. One of India’s finest all-rounders Karsan Ghavri, who had once conducted a camp for G Force Academy in Dubai, came to witness the G Force's tour match at the Khar Gymkhana on Monday. It was a tour down memory lane as I spent the afternoon having lunch and chatting with him. Ghavri has a massive collection of stories from the past. He was delighted to see boys even under the age of 10 touring abroad with G Force Cricket Academy. “My first tour was when I was 16 and that was to Australia with the Indian school team organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). We toured Australia for two and a half months in 19...

By K.R. Nayar It was a day of two hard-fought matches for the Under-12 boys, non-stop cricket for all including the under-14 players, continuous tips from G-Force coaches to excel, and an experience of how it would to be auctioned on becoming a franchise league player, at the Omtex ICWC cricket facility in Saphale. G Force’s Under-10 bowler Ayushman also received his best bowler award from former Indian cricketer Suru Nayak. Neil Siddharth and Jaimeek Shah... fighting knocks The call of cricket woke everyone up at 5.15am for the second day in succession to travel to Saphale. The schedule of the day was a 25-over match for Under-12 boys and a 20-over match for Under-10 boys against the same age group boys of the Omtex ICWC teams. The boys were so enthusiastic and eager to play that the warm-up for the match started from the bus itself.   The Under-12 match was a high-scoring contest. Omtex ICWC posted 183 for 4 in their 25 overs through knocks from Arhaan Patel (30), Jeet...

  By K.R. Nayar  Cricket takes you to amazing places and sometimes one gets to meet amazing cricketers in unexpected places. G Force Cricket Academy’s ten-day tour provided such an opportunity. Rajesh Sutar, the Operation Head of Omtex (ICWC), is a cricketer who has performed heroics with his ability to thrash any bowling attack. In 1998, this Mumbai allrounder had thrashed Shane Warne while batting with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Rajesh Sutar... a man with memorable heroics  The tales of people and venues has always made my cricket tours colourful and memorable. Gopal Jasapara introduced us to Rajesh Sutar,  the person who had conceived Omtex's 'I Can We Can' cricket facility after his playing days. When Rajesh started showing us around the facility, that was when we got to hear about his exploits as a cricketer. He narrated the tale of how he had played the legendary late Shane Warne with guidance from another legend, Tendulkar. A little away from where he w...

By K.R. Nayar Akshay Mutha’s allround show of an unbeaten 58 and two wickets and Manoj Kapil’s knock of 45 runs gave G Force Cricket Academy a winning start in the first match of their 10-day tour to Mumbai. G Force’s Under-14 boys playing against Omtex ICWC Under-14 team recorded a 47-runs win at the Saphale Omtex Cricket ground. Akshay Mutha... allround show  Thus a winning start, a match on a picturesque ground, and a journey of 70kms from Mumbai on a luxury bus, all together lit up the second day of the G Force Cricket Academy’s ten-day tour. The alarm in all rooms rang at 5.15am to get ready for breakfast at the MIG Cricket Club by 6.15am. Hot dosa, egg and toast, paratha, watermelon juice, and hot tea were waiting for all. By 7am we were all off to the Saphale Omtex Cricket ground. The boys collect their cricket kit from the bus for the match   The drive along the winding hair-pin bend roads through a forest was spectacular.  Fresh air greeted us all a...