The tale of 19-year-old cricket memorabilia collector Shrey Pranav Mehta who has 98 out of the 108 ICC Hall of Fame awardees’ signatures
By K.R. Nayar in Rajkot
Cricket memorabilia collectors have always been crazy about the game. I have met many who are willing to go to any extent to swell their collection. They treasure them preciously, deriving immense joy just watching them every day. During the G Force Cricket Academy tour of Rajkot, I met a young memorabilia collector - Shrey Pranav Mehta. He is only 19-years old but his collections amazed me. What was most surprising was that he has collected 98 signatures of the 108 ICC Hall of Fame inductees!
 |
| Shrey Pranav Mehta with the 1983 World Cup team players' signatures |
The determination this boy has shown to get actual signatures from these legends who are in the Hall of Fame, with some of them having passed away much before he was born, is truly amazing. Writing to the different cricket boards as well as contacting those who were close to the legends and had the signature of those who passed away, and also by personally getting it from many, he has made his collection unique. One could probably argue that he might be the only person in the world to have such a collection of signatures.
 |
| Shrey Pranav Mehta with the2011 World Cup team players' signatures |
 |
| Shrey Pranav Mehta with VVS Laxman signed 281 & Beyond autobiography |
Shrey is a voracious reader of cricket books, especially autobiographies. He has big collection of autobiographies with the concerned cricketer’s signature on the book. VVS Laxman’s ‘281 & Beyond’, Shoaib Akthar’s ‘Controversially Yours’, Yuvraj Singh’s ‘Test of My Life’ are just a few from the list.
 |
| The huge spread of his collections |
The story of his efforts since the age of seven is an example of a young boy’s deep passion despite having to put in the great efforts towards his achievement. His passion has been backed by his father Pranav Mehta, who is an equally passionate lover of the game and mother Toral Pranav Mehta. Incidentally, it was Gopal Jasapara, the Head Coach of G Force Academy who ignited the habit to collect memorabilia in Shreya when he was a kid.
 |
| A rare picture of Don Bradman's last innings with his autograph |
So how did he manage to reach cricketers when it is not an easy task to even get anywhere close to them? “I normally carry a few of my collections with me, and when the security men see that, they believe that I am a genuine lover of the game. Very often they have then let me go near the players.”
Seated close to his collection was his proud grandfather Harshadrai Popatlal Mehta, who said: “Being a young boy with such deep love for the game and admiration for the players has helped him meet great players. He has met Sunil Gavaskar so many times that now when he is in Rajkot he asks people ‘where is Chotu?” Shrey has grown from being a Chotu (small boy) to an adult and no longer needs his parents’ help to reach the different venues.
 |
| One of the may autographs from Sunil Gavaskar |
Till I was 16, before getting my driving license, it was my father who would drive me to meet the cricketers for their autograph. So until 3.30am, it was my father’s task to take me, and any time after that it would be my mother who would drive me. These hours seem odd because that was the time when players and commentators would be at the airport leaving for their next venue,” remarked Shrey, who is studying for a Bachelor of Business Administration at the Marwadi University.
 |
| Shrey with late Shane Warne's autograph |
What surprised me about his collection was how he had managed to get the signatures of ICC Hall of Fame legends. It was thrilling to see real signatures of Donald Bradman, Neil Harvey, Hanif Mohammad, Jack Hobbs, Harold Larwood, Wes Hall and Everton Weeks. “The chairperson of Sussex County, John Filby, helped me a lot while many other cricket boards too gave me the real signatures which they had with them. Out of the 108, I have 98 signatures and the only 10 I don’t have are that of Claire Grimmett, Fred Spofforth, Vicky Trumpet, Betty Wilson, Sydney Barnes, W G Grace, Rachael Heyhoe Flint, George Lahman, Debbie Hockley and Frank Worrell. There are some that I have got myself…like I met Shane Warne when he came to play in Rajkot for the 2013 India-Australia series.”
 |
| A personal letter from Sachin Tendulkar to Shrey |
Among his other prized signatures are that of Imran Khan, Vinoo Mankad’s and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Then there is a personal letter written to him by Sachin Tendulkar that he values immensely.
 |
| Shrey with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's sweater |
In addition to autographs and photographs, Shrey also has Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s sweater that he wore when playing for India with the number 251 embossed on it. Dhoni was the 251st Indian cricketer to make his Test debut when he played Sri Lanka in December 2005.
 |
| Shrey with bat gifted by Joe Root |
Saqlain Mushtaq is said to be in regular touch with him and encourages his passion.
Shrey also
collects limited edition cans of energy drinks featuring cricketers like Virat
Kohli and KL Rahul with their signatures on them. He has also collected all the
IPL team cans. “I drain off the liquid from the bottle through a small hole at
the bottom and store the cans,” he said.
 |
| Shrey with autographed limited edition energy drink cans |
Whenever Harbhajan Singh played in Ranji Trophy matches, he made it a point to go and meet him. “I used to make sure to go to the ground on all the days when Saurashtra played their Ranji Trophy match since Harbhajan Singh used to be here to play for Punjab. And Harbhajan had observed that. So one day when he won the player of the match award, which was a 750gms silver coated plate, he presented it to me.”
 |
| Shrey with the Harbhajan Singh gifted Player of the Match award |
Some other enviable items in his collection includes the 2015 Saurashtra Cricket Calendar made up of drawings of 12 great cricketers who played for this state, the toss coin used by South Africa during their international matches that was gifted to him by former South African cricketer and match referee Dev Govindjee, the picture of Bradman getting out for a duck in his last innings, and the signature of the Lord’s Taveners fifty greatest cricketers’ signatures. Joe Root has even gifted him his bat.
 |
| Harold Larwood's signature over a cartoon on Bodyline Bowling |
Neatly arranged in his cupboard are nearly 200 miniature bats all autographed by cricketers. “We will soon move to a bigger house and I hope to display all of these prominently in a room,” said Shrey proudly. But looking at his passion, it looks like many more rooms will be needed in the future. His thirst for memorabilia is truly deep and indeed creditable.
Comments
Post a Comment