Shardashram's rich legacy at stake after yet another disappointing season in inter-school cricket
Shardashram's rich legacy at stake after yet another disappointing season in inter-school cricket
It was yet another disappointing year for Shardashram (Dadar), the alma mater of prominent India cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, in inter-school cricket this season.u00a0Yesterday, their Marathi team made an exit from theu00a0U-14 Giles Shield Elite Division, despite winning their third round tie against VPMS Vidyamandir (Dahisar) by 56 runs, while their English team did not even feature in the top group this time.u00a0
Over & Out:u00a0Shardashram Vidyamandir team after losing to Rizviu00a0
Springfield in the Harris Shield Elite Division earlier this month.u00a0
Pic/Suresh KK
In the Harris Shield tournament for U-16 boys, Shardashram Marathi beat their sister team in the third round, but got a thrashing at the hands of defending champions Rizvi Springfield (Bandra) in the semis earlier this month. u00a0
Once known as the nursery of Mumbai's cricket, Shardashram is finding it difficult to live upto its rich legacy. In the last five years, only twice have their teams managed to reach the final of the Giles and Harris Shield Elite Division tournaments.
Former India batsman Vinod Kambli, who alongwith batting great Sachin Tendulkar etched Shardashram's name in the history books with the then record partnership of 664 runs in February 1988, is disappointed with his school's performances. "It upsets me when I read about my school not doing well in cricket. The level of competition has also gone down over the years. Unlike now, we never had one team dominating," Kambli told MiD DAY.u00a0
The dashing left-hander blamed the ever-increasing pressure of academics put by parents as the main reason for poor showing. "Too much pressure on excelling in academics confuses children who want to pursue cricket. Parents should let the kids decide about their future," he added.u00a0
Another Shardashram prodigy, Amol Muzumdar, felt lack of quality players as a prime reason for the school's downfall. "Shardashram has always been a force to reckon with in schools cricket. They must be short of quality players especially with so many schools coming up with better facilities. Earlier, Shivaji Park used to be the hub of all cricketing activity, but now cricket has spread to the suburbs too.u00a0
"I don't think their coach Naresh Churi should be blamed for poor performances because it is the players who slug it out in the middle. I'm sure they will get back their glory days soon," said the former Mumbai skipper and Ranji Trophy's secondu00a0highest run-getter.u00a0
Mumbai's current Ranji Trophy player Abhishek Nayar, who left Bombay Scottish (Mahim) to join Shardashram only to play cricket, said: "I don't know about the current situation, but the school used to be supportive during our times.
"One reason why Rizvi is dominating is because the school takes care of the academics, while the guys can concentrate on their game. So, naturally kids would like tou00a0play for a school thatu00a0encourages them."u00a0
Performance in the last five years:
2005-06 u00a0 u00a0 Giles Shield: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 Giles Shield: 3rd round
u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Harris Shield: Runners-up u00a0 Harris Shield: 3rd round
2006-07 u00a0 u00a0 Giles: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Giles: Runners-up
u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Harris: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 Harris: 3rd round
2007-08 u00a0 u00a0 Giles: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Giles: 3rd round
u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Harris: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 Harris: 3rd round
2008-09 u00a0 u00a0 Giles: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Giles: 3rd round
u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Harris: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 Harris: 3rd round
2009-10 u00a0 u00a0 Giles: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Giles: 3rd round
u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Harris: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 Harris: 3rd round
2010-11 u00a0 u00a0 Giles: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Giles: 3rd round
u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0Harris: 3rd round u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 Harris: 3rd round
