Surnames ending with “kar†have a legendary status in Indian cricket. H Natarajan compiles a Dream team of “karsâ€, 10 of who are from Mumbai.
1. Gavaskar, Sunil (captain): The original Little Master would walk into any distinguished world XI, so it’s a no-brainer that he will take the first opening spot. He would also captain the side.
2. Manjrekar, Sanjay: There were a few other options like Ramnath Parkar and Ghulam Parkar — pronounced purr kaar and not paar kar, as in the case of Ramnath. But with Manjrekar junior unable to squeeze into a star-studded middle-order, it made sense to accommodate him in the top of the order. One must remember he had opened the innings for India, ahead of the two specialist openers.
3. Vengsarkar, Dilip: If the man was good enough to be the second-best batsman in the Indian team after Gavaskar and made his mark in the one-drop position, his place then in the No 3 slot in this team was never in dispute.
4. Tendulkar, Sachin: After three fairly defensive players to provide solidity at the start, the presence of Sachin Tendulkar at No 4 will provide the fireworks.
5. Manjrekar, Vijay: His average of almost 40 per innings in the era he played speaks volumes for his class. A brilliant player of pace, the team is fortunate to have a batsman of such calibre should the new ball be due.
6. Solkar, Eknath: They called him the poor man’s Sobers. Solkar could bowl medium-pace — Geoff Boycott will vouch for his prowess with the new ball — and spin. He could bat at any position and was an exceptionally brilliant fielder — especially at short-leg to the spinners.
7. Agarkar, Ajit: He will be one of the two new ball bowlers in the side. Agarkar also brings in value as a batsman — he has a Test hundred at Lord’s — and very good fielder in the deep. Solkar and Agarkar are the two genuine all-rounders in the side.
8. Hindelkar, Dattaram (wicketkeeper): Hindlekar was part of the Indian team that tour England in 1936 where he opened the innings with Vijay Merchant. He was believed to be on the finest ‘keepers the country has ever produced. He got the nod ahead of Chandu Patankar, who played one Test.
9. Diwadkar, Sharad: Diwadkar would probably have gone on to play for the country had his career not coincided with EAS Prasanna and S Venkataraghavan. The Mumbai off-spinner took 211 First-Class wickets at 26.17 and was more than dependable lower-order bat; he averaged 24-plus with a highest of 177 from 82 matches.
10. Salgaonkar, Pandurang: The only non-Mumbai player in the team, though — like many players of his times — played the inter-office cricket in the Mumbai. He was arguably one of the fastest bowlers ever in the nation’s cricket history. Despite doing well with an unofficial Indian team to tour England in 1974, he was not picked for the official tour of England that followed. Sadly, the beefy Maharashtra paceman never got a chance to wear the India cap. Salgaonkar finished his First-Class career with 214 wickets at 26.70. As a dangerous lower-order bat, he registered a highest 103.
11. Shivalkar, Padmakar: Any side in the world in any era would have considered a talent like Paddy Shivalkar as their prized asset. However, his career coincided with that of one of the greatest ever left-arm spinners [Bishan Singh Bedi] and thus lost out the chance to play for the country. Shivalkar is arguably the greatest bowling weapon in Mumbai’s sensational Ranji Trophy history. In First-Class career that spanned fro 1961 to 1988, Shivalkar finished with 589 wickets 19.69.
12th man: Parkar, Ramnath: Mumbai had several great names in the fielding department as well. Two names that stand out are Ramanth Parkar and Ghulam Parkar. The latter was fleeted-footed with which he covered ground like a gazelle. He also had one of the most accurate throws from the deep. But my choice for the 12th man would be Ramanth Parkar, purely because he was sensational close-in, mid-field or in the deep. He was the Jonty Rhodes of his time. Enough said.
So how does the Dream Team’s attack look? We have two quick bowlers in Salgaonkar and Agarkar, with Solkar chipping in with both medium-pace and left-arm spin. The specialist spinners are Shivalkar (left-arm), Diwadkar (off-spin). And as a surprise weapon, there is the ubiquitous Tendulkar with an array of arsenal!
(H Natarajan is a journalistic schizophrenic who oscillates between two polar opposite forms of writing — analytical and insightful on the one hand, and rib-tickling humour on the other)
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