Bats, balls and what not!

Not far away from Shivaji Park where willow wielders are seen heard and admired on 22yard strips of turf the Matunga West living room of fatherson duo of collectors Dr Amit and Avighna Rangnekar plays home to a set of willows which are seldom seen barely heard and offer plenty to admireTheir welcoming doors are adjacent to the brightly lit cabinet of bats which in a way resembles a sports shopBut unlike a sports equipment establishment for which a decent stock is imperative even in the early days of business the Rangnekarsrsquo collection began with just three mini autographed bats Sachin Tendulkar whom Amit knew and played against generously added to the collection of autographed bats and other cricket memorabilia which Amit had been collecting from his childhood when they visited his Bandra West home in 2013 ldquoThat Tendulkarrsquos offerings set us dreaming big We started realising the potential of the IPL and the Legends League with their galaxy of active players and star explayers as coaching staff and commentatorsGenerous friendsldquoIt dawned on us that many of our friends were actually a part of this set up and suddenly we had the access to take our collection to the next level We asked them if they could help get us autographs of players and wellknown members of the coaching staff Seeing our passion and commitment they opened their hearts to us and we got extremely luckyrdquo says Amit a club level cricketer who also captained IES English School Ruparel College and Matunga GymkhanaAlso ReadNo toss in CK Trophy among big changes in domestic cricketThe signed jerseys of legends Pele Sachin Tendulkar Lionel Messi and Diego MaradonaThe bond between Amit 54 and Avighna 22 got stronger with the growing collection Their passion for collecting sporting memorabilia rubbed off on each other and observing how they go about talking about their wares and pursuits it leaves one with no doubt that they are nothing short of partners in prime Their sincerity comes shining through to one and all so much so that visitors with a cricketing background are moved to pass on their treasures to the Rangnekars who will provide a better home for them One such visitor noticed that they did not have a famous bat brand which the cream of international cricketers used chiefly in the 1970s so he decided to present them that particular piece of willow Signed bats from Tendulkar Sunil Gavaskar Rahul Dravid Dilip Vengsarkar Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh extend to the West Indian knights like Sir Garfield Sobers Sir Vivian Richards as well as Brian Lara and Chris Gayle The Rangnekars know their cricket history As far as possible they get signatures on bats whose brands the players used in their career Richards has inscribed his name on a miniature SS Jumbo which he used in the 1970s and early 1980s Tendulkar ended his career using an Adidas bat so he has signed on a blade of that make Ditto Ponting Kookaburra Vengsarkar Gunn amp Moore Lara Gray Nicolls and AB de Villiers MRF An Australian cricket enthusiast would marvel at the miniature bat with printed signatures of Sir Don Bradmanrsquos invincible 1948 side in addition to a Bradmansigned postcard dating back to 1950 Gavaskar dropped in for a look at their collection in JanuaryWork and pleasureAmit who earned a doctorate in Business Strategy is a pharmaceutical industry professional In the evenings and on weekends he teaches marketing branding and strategy at Indiarsquos top BSchools while Avighna is an Assistant Director in the entertainment industry Itrsquos not all bats at the Rangnekar dwelling Therersquos balls gloves and treasures from other sports Again historic significance comes into play They couldnrsquot possibly have the 1983 World Cup final ball but they got Balvinder Singh Sandhu who claimed the first wicket for India in the 1983 final to sign an old ball Signed balls by the late Shane Warne and Lankan lion Muttiah Muralitharan are part of their collection I was impressed with their Sir Richard Hadleesigned cherry but not surprised Farokh Engineer MS Dhoni KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have signed wicketkeeping gloves for the RangnekarsAutographcollecting can be testing and could lead to a losepatiencelosethebattle situation ldquoAfter five serious attempts we recently managed to get a Virat Kohlisigned tshirt Our packet came back twice and finally we managed it at the Taj lobby in Mumbairdquo revealed AvighnaAutographs on sheets of paper are treasures too ldquoJust the other day we managed to get Eoin Morganrsquos signature so now we have the autographs of all 11 ODI World Cupwinning captainsrdquo said AmitOthers sports are well followed by the Rangnekars perhaps more by Avighna His pursuit for footballing bobbleheads seems relentless That cabinet is crowded and impressive Bobbleheads of all 15 football World Cupwinning captains from 1966 to 2022 has to be seen to be believed Signed jerseys of World Cup 2022 stars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are amongst their prize possessions with the Argentinersquos attire being mighty costlyAmidst other treasures are a Tiger Woodssigned golf ball a Lewis Hamilton cap and tennis balls signed by Serena Williams Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic and Rod Laver And as if to say why should big balls be ignored they show us their Cristiano Ronaldosigned footballThe one collectible which is on Amit and Avighnarsquos wish list is a pair of Muhammad Ali boxing gloves although they have a Mike Tysonsigned pair of Everlast gloves and the No 10 signed jerseys of Pele and Diego Maradona ninetime gold medal winner Carl Lewis and an Usain Boltsigned shoeHopping and shoppingLike many families they go on overseas vacations But time is not only spent on soaking in the pleasant environs natural beauty and less crowded streets It is also invested in hunting down sporting souvenir shops especially if their travels take them to the United Kingdom Buying of memorabilia is done within their allocated budget and the rest of their sporting wealth comes from contacts and goodwill Occasionally they cross their budget without going overboardmdashunlike IPL franchises do at auctions Questions about how much they shelled out for particularly valuable items are met with a smile At the end of the day they are happy with what they could buy And unlike the glitzy T20 tournament all players are lsquoretainedrsquo and not lsquotradedrsquo The Rangnekarsrsquo collection is not a public museum but if sporting bodies are serious about drawing up their museum blueprint the Rangnekars are the ones whom theyshould turn to for inspiration and guidanceThe Rangnekarsrsquo top five signed collectibles Lionel Messi 2022 World Cup jersey Sunil Gavaskar flicker book 1983 Signed photographs of Indiarsquos two individual Olympic gold medallists Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra Michael Phelps swimming cap Autographs of five WI pace greatsmdashRoberts Holding Garner Croft and Marshall