Ball in Palghar’s Court

In the dusty recesses of Tarapur MIDC in Boisar where small scale industries have mushroomed providing employment to the local fishing and agrarian communities open green spaces are not easily visible Arriving here at 10 am on a road flanked by factories we search for an entrance that can lead us to Palghar Dahanu Taluka Sports Association PDTSA We go around in circles courtesy Google Maps taking a wrong gate more than once before the car crawls into a gully pockmarked with potholes On the other end is a white iron gate that opens into a large green field dotted with netted cricket pitchesBipin D Patil general secretary of the PDTSA has been here since 8 am training a group of boys and girls from the nearby villages of Palghar He is joined by cricket coach Bharat Chamre The duo will only call it a day around noon when the players pack up to make it in time for their school or college classes ldquoShardul Thakur trained hererdquo says Patil when he catches us stare at a banner comprising a collage of photographs of its star players including the India fast bowler whose speed gun pace has earned him the moniker Palghar Express Thakur has made it to Indiarsquos ICC ODI World Cup 2023 squad for the first time with the team playing its first match against Australia in Chennai todayCoach Bharat Chamre training Mumbai U15 player Snehlata Dhangada 15 and nineyearold Ambar Patil at his home in Wadrai pada Kelve Mahim PicsSatej ShindeThe mood is upbeat at the Boisar ground While Team India is top contender for the coveted trophy everyone here is rooting for local hero Thakur ldquoHe has made it possible for all of us to dreamrdquo says Ashley Patrick DrsquoSouza who played for Mumbai U19 in 2021 DrsquoSouza hails from Devisha Road and travels 30 minutes daily to train at this ground He studied at Anand Ashram English High School where Thakur also did his early schooling Here DrsquoSouzarsquos father was a cricket coach ldquoMy dad remembers coaching himrdquo he shares DrsquoSouzarsquos eldest brother Silvester has also played for MumbaildquoNone of us ever imagined getting there Mumbairdquo he confesses ldquoBut when we started watching Shardul on TV playing against some of the leading giants we felt that so could werdquoA group of boys practising on the pitch at the Palghar Dahanu Taluka Sports Association PDTSA ground in Boisar Sharad Pawar who was then president of the Mumbai Sports Association facilitated the allotment of this open space for cricketDreams are slowly being realised On a board near the PDTSA office therersquos a poster listing the achievements of 17 players in 202122 Thakur is the cream of this crop having played for Team India so is Sharvi Save who played for the India U19 womenrsquos cricket The rest have represented the various Mumbai U151925 teams ldquoWe are now aiming higherrdquo exclaims Bipin Patil At his office he shows us the goal they have set for the year 2025mdashfive players from Palghar to play for Team India and the Indian Premier League each 10 to represent Mumbai and a minimum of 20 at least in the Maharashtra Premier LeaguePossible ldquoForty years ago definitely notrdquo he admitsFor the longest time Palgharrsquos cricket remained only in Palghar Like any cricketloving town it had its share of small and big tennis ball tournaments ldquoVillages had their own cricket clubs and wersquod play against each other every time someone organised a match But it was only a hobbyrdquo says Patil ldquoIf you received a good education you were expected to get a wellpaying job in the nearby industriesrdquo Patil did exactly thatSnehlata Dhangada who played for Mumbai in December 2022 with her father Kamlakar a teacher in Bahadoli Kamlakar has adjusted his school timings around his daughterrsquos coaching sessions in the morning and evening ldquoIn our village girls donrsquot play cricketrdquo says the Khamloli native ldquoBut this is what she wanted and my wife and I didnrsquot want to leave any stone unturnedrdquoOriginally from Saphale in Palghar taluka he studied at Annasaheb Vartak College Vasai where he played cricket at the universitylevel before joining as a trainee officer in the Special Steel Wire Rod Mill run by Shapoorji Pallonji in Boisar This was the early 1980s ldquoWe didnrsquot have cricket here but we did have trade union leader Sharad Raorsquos labour unionrdquo he jokes In 1983 Rao ordered a strike and all the labourers stopped working ldquoOur bosses at Shapoorji Pallonji had however instructed all the officers to continue production at the mill So we started operating the machines on our ownrdquo he remembers adding that for six months the staff lived inside the mill ldquoWith nothing else to do we started bonding with our seniors over cricket during the weekendsrdquo Around then the idea of developing a cricket ground in the industrial township took rootIn 1984 they received funding of R4000 to develop a ground in Kurgaon not far from where PDTSA stands today ldquoWe did some research and learnt about cricket matting being available in Surat So we purchased that for R1700 brought it by train with us and laid it on the groundrdquo Patil recounts ldquoThatrsquos how cricket began in BoisarrdquoA small group of boys seen playing cricket after school in the coastal village of SatpatiIn 1988 says Patil Shapoorji Pallonji Group sold their shares to Tata Steel the latter started a dedicated sports fund for its cricketobsessed employeesThe ground was converted into a turf in 1990 with the help of groundsmen from Azad Maidan in Mumbai Two years later Tata Steel organised a charity match for Tarapur Medical and Research Charitable Trust Hospital between Tata Sports Club and Team India which included legends like Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar ldquoBeing able to see these players from such close quarters bolstered everyonersquos confidencerdquo he recalls ldquoAfter that we created such a solid team that we started participating for the Times ShieldrdquoIn order to inspire locals as well as recruit talent for their team they organised a Presidential Tournament where several village clubsmdashWadrai Mahikavati Mahim Shirgaon Satpati Dahanu Vangaon and Chinchani Jolly Cricket Clubsmdashwere encouraged to participate ldquoThis is where Shardul Thakur comes into the picturerdquo Patil informs us Thakurrsquos father Narendra Thakur led the Mahikavati Mahim Cricket Club from Kelve Mahim ldquoAt the time Shardul was six or sevenhellip he would join his father to watch the gamerdquoBipin D Patil general secretary of the PDTSA and coach Bharat Chamre at the associationrsquos office It was Patil who convinced Chamre to pursue coachingEven as Patil worked on building a formidable team the late cricket umpire AM Mamsa who was a friend suggested that he do something bigger for Palghar cricket ldquoHe asked lsquoWhat would happen after I retire Who would take on the mantlersquordquo It was on Mamsarsquos advice that Patil and other cricket playing members of Special Steel registered the Palghar Dahanu Taluka Sports Association in 1997 ldquoTata Steel continued to support us through this timerdquo he saysOnce the sports association was formed PDTSA was able to participate in the Kanga League Knockout in Mumbai ldquoIn 1998 we won the knockout and for the first time were able to enter the lower division of Kanga League a cricket competition with a legacy that goes back to 1948rdquoFrom left Deputy Sarpanch Abhijit Nishikant Tare Satpati Krida Association president Vijay Mukund Raut and former sarpanch Arvind Patil have spent the last many years fighting to reclaim the cricket ground so that kids can enjoy the sport They now plan to convert it into a cricket turf where MCA can organise coaching campsLike Mamsa Professor Ratnakar Shetty former Chief Administrative Officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI also egged them to push the envelope ldquoProfessor Shetty said we should start coaching young talentrdquo Patil remembers ldquoWe approached Shardulrsquos father Narendra an allrounder then asking if we could organise a cricket coaching camp in Bhuvnesh Kirtane Vidyalaya in Kelve Mahim He made the arrangements and also got Shardul to the camprdquo he says ldquoWe selected 15 boys from Kelve Mahimhellip Shardul was among themrdquoEven at the age of eight the boy was a treat to watch on the field Patil says back then he was a great batter A coach from Boisar Vidyadhar Patil would travel daily to Kelve Mahim to train the 15 boys ldquoHe saw something in Shardul and told us about itrdquo At the time Shardul was studying at Anand Ashram English High School ldquoWe asked his father if he could be shifted to Tarapur Vidya Mandir School in Boisar as we were planning to start cricket there He agreed His serious coaching began only after thatrdquoTarapur Vidya Mandir and Junior College in Boisar is the only school from Palghar to participate in the Harris and Giles Shield cricket tournaments held in Mumbai Apart from India fastbowler Shardul Thakur it has churned out other star players including Ayush Thakur Pratik Yadav Hardik Tamore Sairaj Patil and recently Atif Attarwala School principal Joan Raymond Rosario and PE teacher Prakash Palsule say that because of these children everyone knows about PalgharThe history of professional cricket in Palghar perhaps runs parallel with that of Thakurrsquos involvement in the game In 2003 as Thakur continued to hone his footwork and cover drives something unthinkable happenedPatil points to a framed photo of NCP chief Sharad Pawar on a wall of the PDTSA office ldquoYou know why we have his photo hererdquo he asksAshley Patrick DrsquoSouza who played for Mumbai U19 in 2021 feels that Shardul Thakur made it possible for many young boys in Palghar to dream about playing for IndiaPawar had been introduced to Patil by Professor Shetty at the Mumbai Cricket Association office in 2002 Pawar was MCA president at the time During that conversation Patil had casually mentioned how Boisar needed a cricket ground ldquoPawar didnrsquot say anything but later reached out to me The ground where we are today is a result of his generosityrdquo he tells us adding that Pawar was instrumental in allotting a plot on a 30year lease for PDTSA in 2003After work on filling up the ground with sand and levelling it was completed Pawar who was then serving as the Union Minister of Agriculture Government of India inaugurated the complex on May 28 2005The tiny ground at the Zila Parishad school in Kelve Mahim where coach Bharat Chamre says Shardul Thakur plays each time he visitsFortuitously around 200506 Tarapur Vidya Mandir School became the first school from Palghar to participate in the Harris Shield InterSchool Cricket Tournament organised by Mumbai Schools Sports Association ldquoMuch to everyonersquos shock we reached the finals as wellrdquo The tournament also saw Thakur give his career best performancemdashldquosix sixes in six balls against Swami Vivekanand School in BorivlirdquoThe coach at Swami Vivekanand Dinesh lsquoRajursquo Lad convinced him to enrol at their school ldquoHe told us lsquoPalghar is a village This is a cityrsquo If he was keen on a future in cricket he had to move Shardul stayed in Borivli for the next few years coming to practice at our ground during the weekendsrdquo He returned to Palghar after completing Class XII playing for the Mahikavati Mahim Cricket Club He spent time training with coach Bharat Chamre who ldquohelped him improve his line and length in bowlingrdquo Thakur was eventually given a contract by Tata Steel to play for Tata Sports Club Former Mumbai captain Milind Rege picked him to play the Ranji Trophy making him the first Palghar player to participate in the national championshipThe Palghar Dahanu Taluka Sports Association was founded in 199798 with the help of funds pooled in by employees working for Tata SteelThakur was selected to debut for India in 2018 against West Indies ldquoBut unfortunately he suffered an injury He was forced to leave the field due to a groin strain after bowling only 10 ballsrdquoIt has been a fiveyear long wait to the World Cup squad but Thakurrsquos efforts havenrsquot gone in vain ldquoThe maahaul in Palghar has changedrdquo says Patil Where children once wanted to become engineers doctors and accountants they are now aspiring to play for India ldquoEveryone wants to be a cricketer Everyone wants to be Shardulrdquo Patil adds ldquoThere was a time when the tag line of PDTSA was lsquoKhelo Mumbairsquo Today it is lsquoKhelo Mumbai Khelo BharatrsquordquoShardul Thakur and Virat Kohli celebrate after the former took the wicket of Glenn Maxwell of Australia during game two of the Twenty20 International series between Australia and India at Sydney Cricket Ground on December 6 2020 in Sydney Australia PicGetty ImagesOmkar Malekar whom we find playing at the ground post noon says he was 12 when he started playing cricket ldquoAfter India won the World Cup 2011 cricket is all I could think ofrdquo the 21yearold remembers ldquoA friend told me to visit Bipin sir and Bharat sir hererdquo Malekar was selected to play for Mumbai U19 in 202122 ldquoThe next goal is Team Indiardquo he says as he returns to the nets to strike the ball one last time before he wraps up for the dayThe Tarapur Vidya Mandir School and Junior College in Boisar is a 10minute drive from PDTSA In the last 20 years it has become a minefield for young cricket talent from the regionJoan Raymond Rosario its principal says that Tata Steel opened the school in the 1980s to primarily accommodate the children of families that had moved to Boisar to work in the industries here ldquoThis was the first big private school hererdquo she says adding ldquoThe focus was always on allround developmentrdquo Today it has become the goto school for students who are interested in cricket ldquoWe follow an opendoor policy and enroll even those who come from beyond Boisar if they have the talent and need a strong foundation in sportsrdquo shares Rosario ldquoWe are still the only school from Palghar that participates in the Harris Shield and Giles Shield cricket tournamentsrdquo adds PE educator Prakash Palsule Apart from Thakur the coed school has churned out other star players including Ayush Thakur Pratik Yadav Hardik Tamore Sairaj Patil and recently Atif Attarwala ldquoPalghar did not exist in the consciousness of people but because of these children people now know about itrdquo says RosarioBefore Bharat Chamre became a cricket coach he was a huge fan of the game While at college in Palghar he wanted to play at the university level ldquoI came all the way to Wankhede Stadium for the selection but I was so naiumlve I didnrsquot even wear batting padsrdquo he remembers ldquoThe selectors sniggered lsquoPad up kyon nahin kiyarsquo The impression was that we were lsquogaavti logrsquo lsquoYeh log khel nahin payengersquordquo Chamre who belongs to the Koli fishing community took on a job in one of the industries and continued to play locally for the Wadrai Cricket Club After the company shut down he decided to go back to his family business ldquoWe had a boat so I started fishing againrdquoBipin Patil who had been following his game closely had other plans for Chamre ldquoHe once scored a 100 against our teamrdquo Patil tells us ldquoHe had the skill and knack to become a good coachrdquo It took a bit of convincing but Chamre finally agreed to quit fishing ldquoI did a basic coaching course in Mumbai and even gave the exam which I cleared in the first attemptrdquo Chamre smilesPatil says ldquoI wanted our coaches to learn from the best only then would they be able to prepare the students to compete against players in Mumbai and beyondrdquo At 1230 pm Chamre heads back to his home in Wadrai Kelve Mahim He asks this writer and photographer to come by at 4 pm Thatrsquos when Chamrersquos second coaching shift begins ldquoCoaching in your homerdquo we ask confused ldquoYes nets tayyaar karke rakha hairdquo Curious we visit the village a few hours later On the way we stop by the Zilla Parishad School where Chamre had told us Thakur would spend hours playing cricket Thakurrsquos house a few metres from there is locked as ldquohis family left for Mumbai that morningrdquo a neighbour tells us In the coastal pada of Wadrai which is several bends away people are already hard at work A couple is busy deshelling a tray of prawns on the parapet of their house on the other side of the road women are unloading slabs of ice from a truck and breaking it in their tubs fishmongers are seen carrying the dayrsquos catch on their heads trailing in the same directionThe village wakes up again in the evening Chamrersquos wife says She too is getting ready to leave for the market where shersquoll sell fish till 8 pm Chamre who is sitting on his couch is momentarily distractedmdashhe is watching the Asian Games on television When one of his students arrives he asks us to follow him to the top floor His terrace has been covered with nets on all four sides The cement concrete flooring is the temporary pitch Fifteenyearold Snehlata Dhangada who played for Mumbai U15 in December last year pads up and gets ready for practice A Class X student Dhangada trains twice dailymdashat the PDTSA ground in the morning and later with Chamre where he works on her footwork and strokes ldquoShe has been training with me for oneandahalf yearsrdquoDhangada lives in Khamloli village in Bahadoli an hourrsquos drive from Wadrai She picked up the cricket bug from her father ldquoBut when I was in Class IV I saw a womenrsquos cricket match and realised this is where I wanted to berdquo shares the Smriti Mandhana fan Her teacher father Kamlakar Dhangada who shuttles her between home school and coaching classes daily feels his daughter is fulfilling a dream of his own ldquoIn our village girls donrsquot play cricket But this is what she wanted and my wife and I didnrsquot want to leave any stone unturnedrdquoDhangadarsquos parents wake up at 5 am ldquoIf my wife makes rotis I make the sabzirdquo says Kamlakar ldquoSnehlata and I leave for coaching at 7 am After that I drop her to school and go to teachrdquo By 430 pm they are back here Kamlakar runs other errands while she trains And when therersquos nothing else to do the dotingfather observes her game from a safe distance Chamre has a bucket with about 40 tennis balls Dhangada who is on the other end prepares in strike position while fellow trainee nineyearold Ambar Patil looks on For the next one minute Chamre will rain down balls at her one after the othermdashshe swings her bat to hit cover and square drives and flicks before her coach reins her instructing her to play frontfoot and backfoot defense Over the next two hours she will play at least 1500 balls ldquoEven more if she doesnrsquot perfect her shotsrdquo says ChamreBefore dusk settles we leave for Satpati the coastal village of Palghar which is famed for providing Mumbai a steady supply of the delicious silver pomfret The cricket clubs in Satpati have given the Wadrai Cricket Club tough competition in the pastArvind Patil 50 exsarpanch of the village leads us to a large grassy patch opposite the Satpati Fishermen Sarvoday Sahakari Society Ltd The ground is uneven and sloping with weeds mushrooming On most days kids trickle in by 5 pm bats and wickets in tow and continue to play until it gets dark Today though itrsquos empty except for grazing cattle and stray dogs lazing on the sand ldquoTherersquos a funeral in the village Everyone has gone thererdquo Arvind informs us Arvind played cricket here for nearly 35 years ldquoThis was our home turfrdquo he shares ldquoNow I am getting old and donrsquot have the energy to playrdquoSatpati alone has 64 cricket teams ldquoEvery few months we hold sixover tournaments which go on for daysrdquo he says The next tournament is slated for Diwali On the days of the final matches fishermen donrsquot take their boats out and women donrsquot hawk in the fish markets Instead they all huddle around the perimeter of the ground to watch the game ldquoPeople in Satpati are obsessed with cricketrdquo he says ldquoAnd this ground is our lifelinerdquoSome 15 years ago the owner of this property who until then had promised to donate this open space to the village sold it to a developer But on the condition that he would keep aside a ground for the villagers The new owner however allotted an open space that didnrsquot fall in the existing location ldquoThe entire village protestedrdquo Arvind remembersIn 2007 the villagers decided to register a cricket body Satpati Krida Association headed by a local Vijay Mukund Raut The case went into litigation says Raut after they filed a PIL in the Bombay high court Sometime in 2017 the owner even fenced the ground causing villagers to ransack the area Arvind Patil who was the sarpanch back then was jailed for 21 days along with several others All this for a cricket groundThe owner eventually relented and donated a small share of the allotted landmdash150 gunthamdashto the gram panchayat in Satpati ldquoThe fight was worth itrdquo feels RautA few minutes later we are joined by Abhijit Nishikant Tare cricket enthusiast and deputy sarpanch of Satpati Tare wants to develop this open space into a cricket ground with proper pitches for young kids to play ldquoWe have a lot of talent in Satpati but because of the lack of amenities budding cricketers are forced to cut short their dreamsrdquo explains Tare ldquoIf we play so much cricket throughout the year it makes sense to now play professionallyrdquo Tare wants to replicate the Boisar model in Satpati They are however struggling to put together funds ldquoWe will need lakhs to clear the ground and level the land with sandrdquo says Tare adding that they have managed to get the local governing body to allocate R7 lakh ldquoBut itrsquos going to cost us a lot morerdquo he says ldquoOur hope is that someday the Mumbai Cricket Association will conduct cricket camps here and selects our boys to play for Mumbairdquo Tare says representatives of MCA are visiting this Friday to see the ground after which they hope to begin work ldquoSomeday we too will have Satpati kids playing for IndiardquoBefore we leave Tare lets us in on unsolicited information ldquoShardul and I are friendsrdquo he says ldquoWhen he would visit Satpati we played cricket here on thissame groundrdquo64No of cricket clubs present in the village of Satpati in Palghar district alone