MCA coach Vijay Shirke's son says losing dad to COVID was 'numbing for the family'

Vijay Shirke (extreme left), daughter-in-law Roshni, son Sangram and wife Vandana

Vijay Shirke was a well-known figure in Mumbai's cricketing circles. He troubled many star batsmen with his outswingers in the late 1980s. That was before he started guiding budding cricketers at the Kopri ground in Thane, something that the 57-year-old continued to do till the novel Coronavirus cut short his inning in last December.

In a matter of nine days, the popular coach lost the biggest match of his life, recalled his distraught family that is still to come to terms with his departure.

Shirke, who played for SunGrace Mafatlal on the inter-office circuit, paraded alongside big names like Sachin Tendulkar, Sandeep Patil and Vinod Kambli. He was a BCCI Level 1 coach and trained young cricketers at Mumbai Cricket Association's summer vacation camps.

Vijay Shirke with budding cricketers at Kopri Ground, Thane

It was Shirke's dream to start a cricket academy in Thane, which is now fulfilled by his son Sangram, 29, who has represented Shivaji Park Youngsters in club cricket.

"Though dad was actively guiding youngsters, it was not in an academy. But, when my colleague Darshan Bhoir and I resumed coaching at Kopri ground on January 12, we named our coaching facility the Vijay Shirke Cricket Academy," Sangram told mid-day.

Shirke's illness was a testing time for his family as his wife Vandana was on Narmada Parikrama (circumambulation the Narmada river) in Madhya Pradesh and had to rush back home on December 14.

That cricket was his lifeblood was manifest in the fact that Shirke was coaching youngsters only a day before he was admitted to Mira Hospital in Kalyan on December 10.

"Dad and I were running a temperature and we did our tests. I was infected with malaria, while he tested positive for COVID-19. My wife and I later tested positive. It was all unexpected. December was a very painful month for all of us. We don't want to think about that month but we have to accept it," said Sangram.

Vijay's death was numbing for the family. It was like someone took away the light of their dwelling and the atmosphere at home was more than just depressing, said his son.

Vijay Shirke

"At some point in time, we all had to resume work. There were a lot of tasks that had to be sorted including a backlog of insurance claims since my father dealt in insurance. I had to settle the death claim of one of his clients. So, steadily we started working again," said Sangram, giving enough indication of how hard it was for him to articulate on the bereavement.

Sangram has all the good wishes from his father's friends and colleagues. Former Indian cricketer Sandeep Patil, who captained Vijay at SunGrace Mafatlal in the 1980s and 1990s, delivered a heartfelt one. "Vijay displayed a lot of sincerity in his cricket and I wish his son goes about his coaching activities with the same kind of sincerity."