09 March,2017 02:00 PM IST | | A Correspondent
The cream of Indian cricket chill out after an intense Test match at the BCCI awards function where Mumbai’s spin ace Padmakar Shivalkar and late pacer Ramakant Desai were honoured
Bangalore: Spin stalwart Padmakar Shivalkar received the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award from his 1960s and 1970s Mumbai and Shivaji Park Gymkhana captain Ajit Wadekar here yesterday.
Shivalkar was called on the stage which had another former Mumbai colleague - Ravi Shastri - who played in the same Mumbai and Tata Sports Club team.
'Tiny' Desai honoured
Shastri hosted the special awards section of the evening. He also had the honour of calling on stage Anagha Desai, the wife of the late Ramakant Desai, to receive an award on behalf of her fast bowling great husband, who passed away in 1998. Former India leg-spinner VV Kumar and erstwhile India women's captain Shantha Rangaswamy received lifetime achievement awards as well.
What kept Paddy going?
Shivalkar, who couldn't earn an India cap despite churning out consistent performances, was asked by Shastri as to what kept him going despite not getting an India call-up. "My desire to win every game kept me going. Of course, I could not win them all, but I had that (desire) so I just went on," he said. Of the peerless Bishan Singh Bedi, who was his main obstacle, Shivalkar said: "Bishan was the best and everybody had to stand in his shadow."
Leg-spinner Kumar spoke about how he idolised Subhash Gupte, whom Sir Garfield Sobers rated a better spinner than Shane Warne while Rangaswamy remembered how late PM Rajiv Gandhi helped the Indian women's team when it came to traveling on overseas tours. Farokh Engineer, who delivered the MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture reminded the present Indian team of how players of his era played purely for honour. He also spoke about being open to the idea of neutral curators considering the "sub-standard" Pune wicket and suggested that visiting captains be given the choice of batting or bowling first.
Honours for Kohli, Ashwin
PTI adds: Indian captain Virat Kohli and spin ace Ravichandran Ashwin were honoured for their phenomenal run of form through the season. Kohli won the Polly Umrigar award for best international player of 2015-16, becoming the first player to get the award three times.
Windies bounty
Much like his skipper, Ashwin too has been on a record-breaking spree in the ongoing season, winning the CK Nayudu award for his performance in the West Indies in 2016. He picked up 17 wickets in four Tests, including a haul of 7-83 in North Sound. On receiving the award, Kohli said, "It's been quite unbelievable the last 10 to 12 months. We learn to win together and lose together. I wanted to be the best in all formats. I saw it as an opportunity and I decided to follow a path and the whole team believed it."
