Cricketing Mumbai
Indian government and media's partiality towards this sport has always been a contentious issue and perhaps, the reason why it is one of the most debated issues on public forums. However, none till date could comprehend the one factor, which makes cr
It is probably the only sport in the world to adorn the title ‘the unofficial national game’. For although, hockey is the Indian national sport, the passion and fervour that cricket attracts is beyond imagination. Today, Mumbai boasts of three world-class cricket stadiums-Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium and the newly built D Y Patil Stadium. While the former two are located in downtown South Mumbai, near Curchgate railway Station, D Y Patil Stadium inaugurated on March 4, 2008 is at DY Patil Vidyanagar campus, Nerul at Navi Mumbai. D Y Patil stadium made its debut as one of the homegrounds for Mumbai Indians, a Mumbai cricket team for Indian Premier League (IPL), which was also started last year itself. Designed by Hafeez Contractor, this stadium can hold about 60,000 spectators at a time. This is a positive progression from Wankhede and Brabourne, which have a seating capacity of 40,000 and 20,000 respectively. Wankhede Stadium was established in 1975 at the initiative of S. K. Wankhede, a politician and the secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). The stadium will undergo a major renovation beginning in 2008 in preparation for hosting the 2011 Cricket World Cup final. Drainage will be improved, the main entrance will be widened, and capacity will be increased by demolishing and rebuilding the North and West stands. Cricket Club of India (CCI) owns the Brabourne Stadium, which was established as early as in 1937. It hosted test matches from 1948 to 1972. However, in the early 1970s, due to a dispute between the CCI and MCA, the latter went on to build Wankhede in close vicinity of Brabourne. Since then, Wankhede has managed to host many and more important matches than Brabourne.However, the Brabourne hosted the final of the 2006 Champions trophy. The stadium was installed with new floodlights for this tournament. Brabourne Stadium hosted the first Twenty20 International on Indian soil, when India beat Australia in a one off game in October 2007. The youngest of the three, D Y Patil Stadium has a unique feature of cantilever roofs, which eliminates the need for huge pillars for support and provides spectators with a clear view of the ground from any place on the stands. The stadium also has other facilities including 9 tennis hard courts, 4 indoor badminton courts and an Olympic sized swimming pool. Just behind the cricket stadium is the landing space for private helicopters, where Mukesh Ambani, the owner of the IPL Mumbai Team, landed with his family before every home match. To become a player playing at such premier stadiums, training undoubtedly starts very early for cricket aspirants. There are plenty of cricket training institutes and clubs that one can join to commence a career in this field. Moreover, after successful launch of young local city boys like Sachin Tedulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Vinod Kambli and others, parents have a newfound enthusiasm about sports as a potential career for their young ones. “My son has been playing cricket since he was four. Realizing his potential in this arena at a rather early stage, we decided to send him to a nearby cricket coaching institute. He is nine years-old now and for almost five years, he has been a regular at his evening cricket classes, which he attends after his school classes everyday,” says 38-year old Manish Shakadwipee, a software consultant. Popular grounds like Azad Maidan, Cross Maidan, Shivaji Park have young cricket enthusiasts visiting it everyday in prim proper white uniforms for training and practice sessions. Says a 16-year old Varun Kunder, “I make miss school for a day but never in my six-years of training have I missed a single practice session.” Varun is in his tenth grade now and as per the Maharashtra Board, will have to give his Board exam this year. But he has decided against quitting cricket. “After my school and tuition classes, I play cricket for about an hour atleast. I do not want to stop playing,” he adds.Like Varun, there are hundreds of other children, who after a long day work at school and classes manage to find time for their passion-cricket. So much is the city’s love for this sport that after the recent 26/11 terror attacks, cricket was one of the factors, which helped subside the tension and bring life back to normalcy. According to a rediff.com report, Mumbai's confident start against Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy national championship came as a welcome distraction for players and spectators as the cricket-loving city slowly recovers from the tragedy. "There's a special chemistry between cricket and Mumbaikars. As players we forget everything else while playing the game, the same goes for spectators," said Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane.With such affection and love for the game, Mumbai is sure to have a lasting and a stronger relation with this ‘unofficial national game’ of India.
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