Published: Nov 20, 2012, 10:18 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 20, 2012, 10:18 AM (IST)
The cricketing fraternity on Saturday condoled the sad demise of Bal Thackeray with fellow Maharashtrian Sachin Tendulkar leading the pack, saying the Shiv Sena patriarch will ‘always be remembered and missed’ © AFP
Mumbai: Nov 20, 2012
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chairman of selectors, Sandeep Patil, remembered the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and his love for the game.
Patil recalled a campaign launched by Balasaheb in 1979-80, ‘No Sandeep, no Test’. Patil debuted in the fifth Test of the same series, in Chennai.
“I am very sad to hear the news of Balasaheb’s death. I used to visit him before taking up any assignment be it coaching Kenya, Oman or any other team and his one, perennial message to me was, ‘come back to Mumbai’. And I said, I will… someday.’ I last visited him six months ago and his words to me were the same – ‘come back to Mumbai.’ He supported and criticised me. He was most upset when I acted in a film,” an emotional Patil was quoted as saying in the MiD-DAY.
Patil added that he never had to take an appointment to meet Balasaheb. He said, “It’s a wrong perception that he was difficult to see. I never had to fix an appointment. I just went to Matoshree and straight into his meeting room. ‘Surya Kiran ala,’ he used to exclaim whenever I went because my name signifies the sun and light.”
Former India skipper Ajit Wadekar also remembered how Bal Thackeray used to be a regular visitor to cricket matches played between Dadar Union and Shivaji Park Gymkhana.
Journalist K Menon, who was part of the Shivaji Park Gymkhana set-up, said: “On a couple of occasions I, as secretary of SPG, requested him to have a seat in the pavilion, but he politely declined the offer, stating that he would like to watch the match from the boundary line.”
“Some of his close friends were 91-year-old Madhav Mantri who along with a small batch would be conversing on Platform 2 at Dadar Station before taking the Churchgate-bound slow train. Of course, Balasaheb went to Free Press Office for his cartoon work while Mantri would head to the Associated Cement Companies office.”
Balasaheb’s favourite player was Shivaji Park Gymkhana skipper Madhu Patil, father of Sandeep Patil.
Kenia Jayantilal, a member of the winning Indian squad to West Indies and England in 1971, recollected the felicitation Balasaheb had organised for the team.
A”His speech (in Marathi) was powerful and left you spell bound. He had a tremendous command over the language,” said Jayantilal.
