The Ajit Naik Memorial U-14 selection tournament is a stepping stone for aspiring Mumbai cricketers. India captain Rohit Sharma made his mark in the fifth edition of the tournament in 2000. Prithvi Shaw stole the show in 2009 and 2011, while countless other city cricketers attracted the eyes of junior selectors and made the grade.

Who is Ajit Naik? He was an all-rounder—a seam bowler and a middle-order batsman, who led the Indian Schools team comprising the likes of the Amarnath brothers—Mohinder and Surinder and Syed Kirmani on a highly successful tour of England in 1967, incidentally the same English summer in which MAK Pataudi’s Indian Test team were at the receiving end of a 0-3 thrashing from England.