In 1661, the seven islands that constituted Bombay (now Mumbai) were given to the British East India company as part of the dowry for the marriage between King Charles II and the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza. Back then no one would have thought that the same city will one day become the home of Indian cricket, a game which itself was the gift of the British rule for India. But as goes a popular Hindi song - “Ee hai Bambai Nagariya Tu Dekh Babua” (This is Bombay city you watch out brother).
“Lord’s is your mecca, and Wankhede is ours”
Replying to cricket commentator Englishman Geoffrey Boycott, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly had once said, “Lord’s is your mecca, and Wankhede is ours.” For the benighted, Wankhede is the name of the cricket stadium in Mumbai.
This coming from a person from Kolkata who literally owns the Eden Gardens tells volumes of the place that Wankhede or Mumbai holds in the heart of an Indian cricketer. Bombay Cricket or Mumbai Cricket (as it is called now) has been the breeding ground for generations of Indian cricketers. The city has given some of the biggest names of Indian cricket. Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor, Vijay Manjrekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar to name a few, all hailed from this commercial capital of India.
Historically, the city of Bombay has been the flag-bearer in Indian cricket and Bombay quadrangular (also called as Presidency Match and Bombay Pentangular at different points in time) which was played between people of different religions was one of the first tournaments to be played in India. This iconic tournament was discontinued in 1945 as the new India had no place for tournaments based on ethnic origins and Ranji trophy came into existence.
The city also hosted India’s first home test match. Bombay Gymkhana; located in South Mumbai; has this distinction of hosting the first test match in India way back in 1933. Today the city has two main venues - Wankhede & the Brabourne Stadium.
The most successful Ranji team
Given this rich history and the pantheon of players, the fact that the Mumbai cricket team has won 41 Ranji Trophy titles (by far the most) shouldn’t come as a surprise. Also, until recently; players from Mumbai used to form the core of the Indian cricket team.
The emergence of players from smaller Indian towns may have diluted the Mumbai presence in the Indian dressing (which indeed is a good sign for Indian cricket) room but even today in Indian cricket “more dreams are realised and extinguished in Bombay than any other place in India”.
Maidans of Mumbai
People new to Mumbai are amazed at the speed at which the city runs. But there’s a method to the Mumbai madness. Similarly, the only word that will come to your mind after a stroll through the Oval Maidan or the Azad Maidan will be “chaos”.
During the peak cricketing season; there are more cricket matches played simultaneously at the Oval Maidan than maybe in the entire city of London. Officially the Oval Maidan has 22 cricket pitches and an uncountable number of unofficial ones. The S.F. Sassanian Club located here was the venue of the record breaking 664 runs partnership between Tendulkar & Vinod Kambli.
Similar is the case with Azad Maidan, Shivaji Park or the innumerable Gymkhanas of Mumbai. So, while you would be fielding at third-man for your match; you might as well end up standing at silly-point for some other match. It might sound dangerous and might well be, but then that’s Bombay cricket for you. Be it Gavaskar or Tendulkar; all these greats have tasted the soils of the maidans of Bombay.
Importance of league cricket
Along with these innumerable maidans and gymkhanas, Bombay cricket is characterised by the presence of an equally high number of leagues. Dr H D Kanga League, Police Shield, Purshottam Shield, Cosmopolitan Shield, Summer Vacation Shield, Harris shield, and Gile shield are few of the tournaments organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).
These tournaments are the lifeline of Mumbai cricket and each of them offers a unique type of challenge to the players of different age groups. For instance, the Kanga league is played in the famous Mumbai monsoons and hence the wickets are unpredictable, to say the least. Thus, a 30 or 50 scored in a Kanga league match is considered equivalent to a century in others.
The people
Last but not the least, the people of Mumbai are an integral part of the city’s cricket culture. The crowd here may not be as fanatic as the ones at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata; but they are a knowledgeable bunch. Here, people support good cricket; even if it means applauding the visiting team.
Mumbai crowd ensures that your feet remain on the ground even if you are the best batsman in the world. Surprising as it may seem; crowd here has booed two of the biggest cricketers to have not only represented Mumbai but India - Tendulkar & Gavaskar.
“Jo hai karta woh hai bharta, hai yahan ka yeh chalan”
While Gavaskar got a taste of this bitter medicine after his last ODI innings against England in the 1987 Reliance Cup; Tendulkar was booed during a Test match against England in 2006. But the same crowd went on a silent mode when Tendulkar delivered his farewell speech in 2013.
The crowd here know their game well and react accordingly. “Jo hai karta woh hai bharta, hai yahan ka yeh chalan” (People are treated as per their deeds in this city) from the famous Hindi song “Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan” perfectly epitomises this spirit.
Now anything written on Mumbai is incomplete without a mention of the city’s lifeline - it’s local trains. So, much like there are stations after every 3-4 minutes where existing passengers get down and new ones start their journey; Mumbai cricket continues to throw in stars in Indian cricket after every few years. This constant churn out of stars from the city has ensured that the interest in the game has only increased over time.
When Indian cricket started missing Gavaskar, the city produced Tendulkar and I am sure it will not be long before the maximum city provides Indian cricket with it’s next star.
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