THE LATE LATA MANGESHKAR was no ordinary cricket fan. Hemant Kenkre, a popular Mumbai cricketer and Sachin Tendulkar’s first ‘A’ division captain, who was closely associated with the Mangeshkar family, tells us that she understood the nuances of the game. She appreciated the correctness of Sunil Gavaskar’s technique in his straight drive and the elegance involved in Gundappa Viswanath’s famous square cut. In fact, Lataji’s mother—affectionately called Mai—was also a big cricket fan, whose favourite cricketer was Polly Umrigar.

HEMANT KENKRE also recalls a party hosted for the Indian cricketers during the late 1950s or early 1960s when she was pictured serving food to cricketers like Umrigar, Nari Contractor and Ramakant Desai among other cricketers. “The cricketers were presented gold rings as well,” recalls Kenkre, whose conversations with her were more about cricket than music.