Former Ranji Trophy all-rounder Atul Mehta at a suburban club last week. (Right) Mehta in the 1970s. Pics/Rane Ashish, mid-day archives

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet Atul Mehta, a former Ranji Trophy cricketer, who played for three of the five state teams in the West Zone — Saurashtra, Bombay and Gujarat. The tall leg-spinning all-rounder has been staying in America since the early 1980s. He owns a motel in California.