During the celebration week, the MCA honoured surviving members of the team which figured in the very first Ranji Trophy game at the Wankhede, presenting each playing member a hefty purse of Rs 10 lakh
Eknath Solkar
The Apex Council of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) worked assiduously to ensure success of the golden jubilee celebrations of the inaugural Test played at the Wankhede Stadium. The festivities could have been comprehensive had they featured a 10-over match, with legends Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar taking the field. Such a spectacle would have been a truly memorable occasion.
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During the celebration week, the MCA honoured surviving members of the team which figured in the very first Ranji Trophy game at the Wankhede, presenting each playing member a hefty purse of Rs 10 lakh. Regrettably, owing to a decision to acknowledge only the surviving members, the MCA missed a great opportunity to pay tribute to Eknath Solkar, who had scored a century in the 1974-75 Test match.
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It would have been a fitting gesture had the MCA extended the honour to the family of the late Ashok Mankad, captain of the 1974-75 Mumbai Ranji Trophy-winning team. I hope MCA president Ajinkya Naik is contemplating a suitable tribute to the late Solkar. The festivities also witnessed the felicitation of former Mumbai captains, managing committee members from the year 1974, and the acknowledgment of yeoman services rendered by the groundsmen of the Mumbai maidans.
Mangesh Bhalekar, a maidan cricket personality, was to be presented a purse of Rs 10 lakh, awarded by the MCA. But I hear he declined the reward, requesting for the funds to be used in cricket development. My wish list extends to the selection of a Mumbai dream team. Indeed, it would have been a formidable task to select a XI like that from a 50-year span. All said and done, the MCA have done well and there is still an opportunity to right some wrongs.
Jagdish Achrekar was Treasurer of the MCA before the last elections in 2022.
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