The job MD Rege missed out on

For someone who helped select a legion of young and exciting cricketers for the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team right from the 1980s Milind Rege 76 ought to have been an India selector at some point in his life He passed away on Wednesday morningRege probably wasnrsquot successfully backed by the Mumbai Cricket Association MCA at the BCCI level to be on the national panel then Rege admitted to me in August 2022 that this was a disappointment but what he expected more was a place in the India junior selection panelIn his younger days Rege idolised Dilip Sardesai to a point where his wallet had a photograph of the late India batting hero Sardesai too was never made a national selector One of the future stalwarts picked by a Mumbai senior committee that included Rege was Sachin Tendulkar mdash against Gujarat in 1988Rege wrote in Sportsweek ldquoWe decided to induct Sachin straightaway in the Ranji Trophy XI and proposed that he would bat at number four Every member in the team was delighted with the way Sachin batted In fact he was the only one to drive on the frontfoot to Pradeep Kasliwal Anirudh Kher and Anup Sabnis who work no indecent pace as the Wankhede practice wickets are fairly nippyrdquoWhile Rege was known to be a sharp selector he was also the lone 1960s 1970s offspinner who claimed 100plus wickets for Mumbai And he was more than just a useful lowerorder batsman who could hit big Rege took great pride in playing alongside some of the greatest Mumbai players He was proud to be part of every Mumbai Ranji Trophy or Irani Cup team When Ajit Wadekarrsquos Mumbai won the 197273 Irani Cup in Pune Sportsweek magazine right had the winning team on the cover with the wordsBOMBAY BEST Rege who had played that game continued to be aghast as to why he was not in the team picture the inside page caption mentioning ldquoMilind Rege was absentrdquo exasperated him more Rege will probably get his answer up there when he meets his mates Nevertheless Milind Dattatreya Rege sat well with the greatest names in Mumbai cricket and a fitting farewell he deserves for sure at Shivaji Park todayIn TributeThe late Milind Rege treasured this photograph with Sachin Tendulkar who autographed itSachin Tendulkar on XSad to hear about Milind Rege Sirrsquos passing He was a true Mumbai cricketer with immense contributions to the cityrsquos cricket He and other CCI members saw potential in me and asked me to play for CCI which as I look back now was a landmark moment in my career He could pick out a talented player from a sea of hardworking hopefuls He had a special sixth sense to pick talent at all levels but especially at junior levelsRavi Shastri on XReally sad to hear about the demise of a dear friend Milind Rege A true Champion in his contribution to Mumbai and Tatarsquos cricket allround A Mentor Par Excellence Heartfelt condolences to Raj and family God bless his soulSanjay Manjrekar on XLost a friend and true well wisher today RIP Milind RegeShishir Hattangadi Former Mumbai captain on XHe was a true Mumbai cricket tragic In his passing a romantic of Mumbai cricket has left us Besides being a personal loss to so many of us cricketers his music for the game may have paused but his melodies will linger Rest In Peace my DearProf Ratnakar Shetty ExMCA Secretary on FacebookMilind Rege has made immense contribution to Mumbai Cricket and will always be remembered May his soul rest in eternal peace The last time we spoke was when Mumbai beat Haryana in quarter finals a few days ago Even in the hospital bed he was concerned about Mumbai Cricket