Into the world of cricket books at Shyam Bhatia museum and reliving some interesting moments of the past with Sunil Gavaskar

By K.R. Nayar

Recently, I had the opportunity to collaborate on a project with Shyam Bhatia, a passionate cricket enthusiast who owns a cricket museum in Dubai. This museum is a treasure trove of cricket history, and every visit has enriched my knowledge of the game. The museum's walls, adorned with the game's history, never fail to unveil something new to me.

 

Shyam Bhatia at the museum library's old magazines section  

The Bhatia museum also boasts of a library filled with books and magazines dedicated to cricket. These books are a collector's dream, featuring autobiographies of nearly every cricketer, most of them autographed by the players themselves.

 

In the library, you can immerse yourself in reading about various aspects of the game and its notable incidents. The museum's collection includes original newspaper cuttings dating back to the 1950s, and 70 year old magazines, all neatly bound and filed.

Books in the Shyam Bhatia's cricket museum library 

What truly astounds me is the presence of rare books in this library, many of which have been highly regarded and debated within cricket circles. Biographies and autobiographies abound, and there is a vast array of literary treasures. 

 

Sunil Gavaskar’s books,  'Sunny Days,' 'Idols,' and 'One Day Wonders’, are all there along with a number of books written about him. Books written by the late Rodney Marsh as well about him can also be found here. I used to often interact with Marsh during his tenure as the Director of the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai in 2005, and those were particularly enlightening meetings. 

 

Glenn McGrath's 'Line and Strength,' Shane Watson's 'Watto,' Dennis Lillee's 'Over and Out,' Allan Border's 'Beyond Ten Thousand – My Life Story,' Shane Warne's 'Spun Out,' and Steve Waugh's 'Out of Comfort Zone' are among the titles that evoke memories of witnessing these greats in action.

The library also houses antique books, including Jack Hobbs' 'My Life Story,' W.G. Grace's 'Cricket,' numerous works by Don Bradman, Dennis Compton's 'End of an Innings,' C.B. Fry's 'King of Sport,' and Gilbert Jessop’s biography 'The Croucher.' 

 

Rare newspaper clippings 

Bhatia’s collection also includes rare books, some of which were written by Prince Ranjitsinhji, who is known as the father of Indian cricket, and after whom is named the prestigious first class tournament in India called the Ranji Trophy. A prized collection among these is a limited edition book ‘Jubilee of Cricket' by Ranjitsinghji which had only 350 copies printed, and Bhatia was fortunate to get copy no. 29 bearing Ranjitsinhji's original signature. This book dates back to 1908. The collection also includes books by Richie Benaud and Bill Lawry's 'Run Digger’.

 

In addition to these, the library houses books written by leading English cricketers, such as Andrew Flintoff's 'Freddie,' Nasser Hussain's 'Playing with Fire,' Marcus Trescothick's 'Coming back to me,' and Tony Greig's 'My Story,' to name a few. There are also many books on former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, including his own book 'Pakistan,' Javed Miandad's autobiography 'Cutting Edge,' and even a book written by Sri Lanka's cricket enthusiast Percy Abeysekara titled 'I'm Percy Cricket Crazy.'

 

Sportsweek's cover story after India won the 1983  ICC World Cup

Umpire Dickie Bird's 'White Caps and White Balls,' umpire Rudi Koertzen's 'Slow Death,' Brian Murgatroyd's 'The Journey of Steve Smith,' Gideon Haigh's 'Sultan – A Memoir on Wasim Akram,' Ben Stokes' 'On Fire,' AB de Villiers' autobiography 'AB,' and Viv Richards's 'Hitting Across the Line' are just a few of the other captivating titles. The late Bob Woolmer's 'On Cricket,' a legendary coach's perspective, offers another valuable read, as do books chronicling the historic Ashes battles since 1928.

 

Indian cricketers are also well-represented in the library, with books by Bishan Bedi, Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri, VVS Laxman, and G.R. Vishwanath. Moreover, yearbooks of many English county teams are available, alongside numerous books about Indian cricketers and their experiences.

 

The library also houses sports magazines, some dating back to 1948, including Sport & Pastime, The Cricketer, India's Sportsweek, Sportsworld, and Sportstar from the 1960s. In Sportsweek, one can enjoy humorist Behram Contractor’s famous cricket column, 'Busybee.' Classic cricket literature by Trevor Bailey, CLR James, and the great Neville Cardus's complete series, which transforms cricket into poetry, can be found alongside these books. 

 

 

Sunil Gavaskar's surprise visit 

At the Shyam Bhatia museum, one not only gets to witness the history of the game but also the opportunity to hear stories from the greats of the game themselves. Last week, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar paid a visit to the museum. He had stopped over in Dubai after his commentary stint for the Asia Cup.

 

Gavaskar, always a great storyteller, shared an anecdote about the legendary leg-spinner Subash Gupte, who had served as the liaison officer for the Indian team during the 1970-71 West Indies series. It was also Gavaskar's debut series, during which he had scored a remarkable 774 runs in eight Test innings at an average of 154.80. On this tour, Gavaskar expressed his desire to see Gupte bowling, to which he reluctantly agreed. Gavaskar recalled that although it had been nearly a decade since Gupte had played his last Test match, he could still produce some of his magic deliveries, including his googly, at the practice nets during the last Test of the series. 

 

As a journalist, I often leave this library inspired and motivated, reminded that cricket's legacy lives on through these written works, extending beyond the action on the field.