Mumbai: There used to be a time when top India players — Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar included — treated a Kanga League match as seriously as they would a Test match.
No sooner than the first drop of rain kissed the cityscape, young cricketers would start polishing their bats and gear up for the inter-club tournament, the only monsoon league in the world.
The past few years have seen many cricket experts write obituaries for the 65-year-old league. However, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has stemmed the rot. Or so it seems.
The Ravi Savant-led association has done its best to revive interest in the league by refurbishing the format. Apart from a set of new rules, the league — which starts on Saturday — will be a post-monsoon fixture.
Season after season, the association was forced to declare every other Sunday a `washout`. “Even the umpires did not know when to start a match,” said former Mumbai Under-25 coach Vilas Godbole. “The new format is an experiment. It is better to have faith than to jump the gun and dismiss it. But there are a few disadvantages,” he added.
“There should have been a knockout stage. A player will pull up his socks only when he knows that a poor performance could knock his team out. I also feel that playing for one-and-a-half days will be a hassle as a lot of players are employed with banks and their availability will be an issue,” Godbole said.
Savant, though, lent a different perspective. “We want optimum number of matches for players. Since it is a league, the selectors will also get a chance to study a player if they miss him once.”
However, former India player Praveen Amre, who grew up playing Kanga League cricket at Shivaji Park, feels that it is difficult to revive the old charm of the event as it is no longer associated with the monsoon.
“As a player, if you perform in adverse conditions, you feel very confident. Unfortunately, that won`t be the case hereon,” he said.
Amre lauded the MCA, though. “What they are doing is ultimately going to help cricket in Mumbai. But it won’t be a typical Kanga wicket. I understand they don’t want any more washouts,” he said.
Talking about the good old days when the superstars used to play in the league, Amre said, “Upcoming cricketers used to be excited to share the dressing room with their heroes. They also learnt a lot from them.”
Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya/ DNA
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.