The dwindling Khar Gym gang

The list of surviving cricketing stalwarts of yesteryear that made Khar Gymkhana a fun team to watch play and interact with is getting depressingly shorterThe week started in gloomy fashion with the news of Bharat Kunderan passing away at 74 The brother of former Test stumper and batsman Budhi could well have been the most gregarious of the Khar Gymkhana lot although in many ways he kept to himself outside the cricketing sphereThe cricketers of the 1970s and 1980s who wore the KGembossed whites were charactersmdashcommonly referred to by their nicknames Bharat was called Sidney because he resembled the late African American actor Poitier or was it Sydney because Bharat loved the Australian city when he toured Down Under with the Indian Schools team in 196869 Prakash Naik their batsman was Dougie to his Khar Gymkhana mates because some felt he batted like Doug Walters the great Australian batsman of the 1960s 1970s and early 1980s Fast bowler Nitin Shirodkar who played one Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai in 196768 after five Rohinton Baria interuniversity games for Mumbai in 196061 was known as Speedy Gonzales the famous cartoon charactermdashthe fastest mouse in Mexico Indians related more to Speedy Gonzales the 1962 hit song by Pat Boone The late Shirodkarrsquos daughters are famous actors Shilpa and NamrataAnd Sunil Gavaskar in his Sportsweek article on his victorious 197677 Ranji Trophywinning team referred to offspinner Ranjan Baindoor as lsquoLipstonrsquo BaindoorRanjanrsquos elder brother Suryakant also deceased was known as Surya at Khar Gymkhana and beyond And Dinesh Nanavati the Saurashtra batsman who is now immersed in coaching is called NanaKhar Gymkhanarsquos middle order batsman Kumar Hansraj was known as Puddles because he kept falling into puddles during Kanga League gamesProbably the most fascinating story behind a Khar Gymkhana nickname was the one that Harendra Upadhyaya acquiredmdashKandlyThe story goes that Upadhyaya used to address letters to his college sportsincharge asking for cricket equipment with the word Kandly instead of Kindly His friends learned about his gaffe and started calling him KandlyKandlyrsquos postplaying days were spent ensuring all matches at Khar Gymkhana were well organised and visiting teams were well looked after He too is missed at Khar Gymkhana just like Arun Wagh the wellbuilt former fast bowler who performed his role as emcee for functions at the Gymkhana with aplombI got to interact with some of the Khar Gymkhana old faithfuls during my short stint as manager of Sunder Cricket Club Vinod Bhimani a close friend of the Ashar family who owns the club was a willing tabpicker of our teamrsquos lunch whenever they played there The late Vinodbhai was a fast bowler who was coached by Alan Moss when the former England fast bowler held a camp for aspiring pacers on these shores in 1958 In 1985 his son Rahul then 17 became the youngest hattrick taker in the Kanga League premier division when his triple strikes helped beat National CC at Khar GymkhanaSitting beside Bharat at Sunder CC I got to hear stories sweet and sour He took great pride in the fact that he represented the Indian Schoolboys in Australia Indian Universities for whom Sunil Gavaskar opened the innings at Ceylon in 1970 and Bombay UniversityHe seemed bitter over the fact that he missed the bus as the reserve wicketkeeper in the Mumbai squad that travelled to Bangalore for the 197374 Ranji Trophy semifinal And in between drags of his Benson amp Hedges cigarettes he reminisced about playing with Salim Durani at Khar GymkhanaWhen Durani passed away in 2023 I got Bharat to repeat a story for me for an article in these columns Bharat recalled ldquoI was keeping wickets and Salimbhai told me from his position at slip that he was getting bored He asked me to put him on I threw him the ball and he promised me hersquod finish off the game in our favour But there was one condition I would have to treat him to a few beers after the game Salimbhai ran through the opposition and didnrsquot miss an opportunity to enjoy his beerrdquoIncidentally Bharatrsquos brother Budhi and Durani were fellow debutants in the 195960 Test against Richie Benaudrsquos Australians at the Brabourne StadiumBharat adored Budhi He recalled taking great pleasure in visiting him at the Brabourne Stadium each time the Indian team stayed there He also used to speak about how much of a heartthrob his famous brother wasBharat celebrated whenever Budhi succeeded and shared his pain during the down moments He just couldnrsquot understand why the BCCI refused to give Budhi his benevolent fund money just because he lived in Scotland Ultimately Jagmohan Dalmiya ensured that justice was done to him A cheque was sent to him within 10 days of Budhi informing the then Board president about the pending duesBudhi and Bharatrsquos similarities went beyond the fact that both were wicketkeepers Both BK Kunderans also went to the same school Bharda They were both outspoken Budhi revealed in an interview to me in 2004 that he had a blue with MAK Pataudi and he had no qualms in telling the then captain of India that he was out of order Probably the best commonality was that the two cricketing brothers had large hearts and friendships nourished their soulsThere was no shortage of moist eyes on Wednesday at Bharatrsquos funeral as he undertook his final journey with Khar Gymkhana and Elphinstone College caps accompanying himHis family and friends Bharda School Elphinstone College Bombay University Bank of India and Sunder CC teammates along with members of the A to Z friends group bid him a tearful goodbye Needless to say his Khar Gymkhana pals toomiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper