MCA, BCCI must March for Umrigar’s ‘ton’

Polly Umrigar after whom a gate has been named at the Wankhede Stadium is remembered each time the BCCI holds its awards function the Polly Umrigar Award given to the Best Menrsquos International Cricketer The former India captain who served in several capacities should be all the more remembered now as his birth centenary falls on March 28 Vinoo Mankad the other cricketing great who like Umrigar affectionately nicknamed Polly Kaka called Mumbai his home is honoured at adjoining gate of the Wankhede StadiumMankadrsquos birth centenary was not marked in 2017 despite the BCCI being alerted about it then BCCIrsquos reputation of being indifferent and uninclined to celebrate historic occasions will take a further beating if Umrigar is not honoured at the time of his birth centenary The Mumbai Cricket Association MCA must celebrate it tooBefore the Sunil Gavaskar era began Umrigar laid claim to most career Test runs by an Indian player 3631 most centuries 12 most Tests 59 And his 223 against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1955 made him Indiarsquos first double centurion Umrigarrsquos association with the game didnrsquot conclude with the end of his firstclass career He got involved pitch preparation selecting Mumbai and India teams managing the India team on the tours of New Zealand and West Indies in 197576 as well as the Australia tour of 197778 He helped immensely in getting the Wankhede Stadium ready in 197475 and apart from preparing pitches for several Test matches there devoted time in the ground work at Dilip Vengsarkarrsquos academy at the Oval Maidan and other important grounds To say he was meticulous is as obvious as saying that he was an asset to any team he played for I remember entering his living room at his Sportsfield Worli home with a copy of his cricketing CV written in pencil on the table where he wanted to be interviewedOver the years I got to hear some fascinating stories about this sixfeetplus cricket giant from people who were associated with him and my few conversations with himRead onhellipgtgt Hailing from Solapur Umrigar was coached by Tehmul and Jehangir Nagarvala In the book Some India Cricketers former Test batsman Rusi Modi mentioned that Umrigar who was coached by BE Kapadia at Mumbairsquos St Xavierrsquos College also excelled in football and hockey Umrigar once told me that he visited his Solapur school long after his school days only to discover a window that was shattered courtesy his big hit was in the same state Did they let the window look the same for posterity I wonderedgtgt At St Xavierrsquos College a senior player apprised the college coach of a flaw in Umrigarrsquos technique The coach shot back ldquoDonrsquot touch him Hersquos giving you results What more do you want to teach himrdquogtgt In 1999 he authored a ForPrivateCirculationOnly book titled Cricket with Polly Umrigar The 36page book included batting bowling and fielding tips Physical fitness captaincy and equipment were other topics covered in the book ldquoCaptaincy is the highest honour which the game has to bestow and it entails heavy responsibilitiesrdquo he wrotegtgt Umrigar captained India in eight Tests For the ninth mdash against the West Indies at Chennai mdash he wanted a batsman to replace the injured Vijay Manjrekar To his dismay Umrigar learnt that the then BCCI president Rathibai Patel wanted offspinner Jasu Patel Umrigar stuck to his guns and when he discovered he wouldnrsquot have his way he resigned as captain Vinoo Mankad led the team in a series during which India were led by four different captains mdash Umrigar first Test Ghulam Ahmed second and third Vinoo Mankad fourth and Hemu Adhikari fifthgtgt Young talented cricketers were always encouraged by Umrigar He too found encouragement from a great cricketer like West Indiesrsquo George Headley After smashing a century for All India Universities against the touring West Indians in 194849 Headley told him that he has a great future in the game Umrigar made his India debut that very seasongtgt He had a poor England tour of 1952 and Umrigarrsquos detractors felt he was suspect against fast bowling Rookie Fred Trueman and old pro Alec Bedser dismissed him often and his highest score in seven innings was just 14 ldquoI said to myself this wonrsquot do On the next tour I got 560 runs in five Testsrdquo he told me in an interviewgtgt Employed by the Associated Cement Companies Umrigar played for the starstudded side long after he had enough of firstclass cricket A few days after returning from Australia where he managed Bishan Singh Bedirsquos team on a long tour Umrigar turned out for ACC along with Sunil Gavaskargtgt One would assume that Umrigar would have a smooth passage through the Polly Umrigar Gate But he along with fellow India player and Sportsfield Apartments neighbour Bapu Nadkarni were made to wait like other spectators while attending the India vs England ODI in 2002 Umrigar and Nadkarni were able to enter smoothly only after some journalists told the police that the gate was named after Umrigarmiddayrsquos Deputy Editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper