Sudhir Naik, a National CC treasure!

Zaheer Khan (left) and Nilesh Kulkarni savour their lunch with the late National CC mentor Sudhir Naik (right) at Cross Maidan in 2004. Pic/mid-day archives

Among the many memories I have of Sudhir Naik, who passed away last week, is the dressing down he gave his team, National Cricket Club, for being defensive in their approach during a Kanga League match at Cross Maidan in 1992.

National let their Cross Maidan neighbours Sunder CC off the hook. It gave me a fair idea how tough and ruthless Naik would have been in his playing days, especially under a lion-crested Mumbai cap.

Naik's leadership in 1970-71 stands out in the Ranji Trophy chapter of Mumbai cricket's history. Chandu Borde's Maharashtra were in fine fettle that season and posed a big threat to Mumbai's hold over the trophy since 1958-59. Their chances brightened with five Mumbai regulars (Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai, Ashok Mankad, Eknath Solkar and Sunil Gavaskar) away on India duty in the West Indies. Cricket followers were made aware that Mumbai were chasing their 13th successive title in the national championships and No.13 could prove unlucky in the final.

But, led by a calm, shrewd captain, Mumbai ended up victors. Ramnath Parkar was encouraged to play his natural attacking game. He got sparkling hundreds in the semi-finals and final. Spinner Padmakar Shivalkar was assured that he wouldn't pay the price for going for runs. He came up with a match haul of eight wickets in the final. And veteran Vijay Bhosale, playing against his former team, enjoyed the responsibility given to him as a senior pro. Bhosale scored a priceless 55 in Mumbai's second innings and, in many ways, was ‘the' batsman Maharashtra wanted to see the back of; a first-innings duck notwithstanding.

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It was anyone's title till the very last day at the Brabourne Stadium. But Naik's warriors won with cricketing nous and skill, amplified by their splendid fielding and
catching. Naik never forgot to credit PK ‘Joe' Kamat for that. "He [Kamat] was not our coach, but used to arrive at the Brabourne Stadium from his Bank of India office at 5.30 pm sharp to give us fielding practice, which used to commence after nets.

Kamat made us better fielders and catchers," Naik told me a couple of years ago, when his team were about to be felicitated on the golden jubilee of that
epic triumph.

Milind Rege's fine catch at slip to dismiss Borde in the second innings earned him a headline in a national newspaper - ‘Rege revives Bombay's hopes with great catch.'

Incidentally, while talking to this newspaper the other day about Naik's club cricket contribution, Rege made a pertinent point about Naik not indulging in poaching (from other premier division clubs) when it came to forming various National CC teams over the years.

It was at National CC where enduring Mumbai performers like Zaheer Khan, Nilesh Kulkarni and Wasim Jaffer were nurtured and mentored, and Naik played a big part in that process.

Zaheer was moved to post a moving tribute to his coach, a three-pager which included a conversation between Naik and him when he began his Mumbai cricket journey
in the summer of 1996: "I did not know him [Naik]. He did not know me. But that belief he had in me and the trust he showed in that initial conversation not only paved the way for my career in cricket but it completely re-shaped and re-structured my outlook and thinking. It changed my life."

Naik served National CC well as a player too. In 1982, his significant scores at the age of 37, helped them return to the premier division.

In the 1966 edition of the Kanga League, Naik shared a 173-run fourth wicket stand with Shankar More, the former Mumbai batsman. They surpassed the previous best of 170 between RV Divecha and A Mirchandani. "It was always great to bat with Sudhir. He was a good back-foot player with sound technique," More told me on Wednesday, stressing that his recently departed teammate was always captaincy material. ACC-employed More got to his 100 in 75 minutes, then a Kanga League record.

National CC shared ‘A' division honours with Shivaji Park Gymkhana and Parsi Cyclists in 1966.

Later that year, he made his debut for Mumbai, opening the batting with Dilip Sardesai, who had also played for National.

Naik played Test cricket for India in 1974, a couple of one-dayers too, and was a more than able curator at Wankhede Stadium but few things pleased him more than to see National CC doing well. Imagine how proud he must have felt when they won the Kanga League ‘A' division title from 1993 to 2000. Quite simply, he was this unmistakable force that drove National CC.

Rajendra Lele, the National CC pace bowler who played for Maharashtra and Mumbai, told me how he and his mentor kept in touch till he suffered that fatal fall at his residence. "He always stressed that one must give back to the game and he was happy that I had started coaching cricketers in Nashik," Lele revealed.

In January last year, Naik proudly shared a photograph with me of him with other Mumbai captains Wadekar, Vinoo Mankad, Ranga Sohoni, Polly Umrigar and Bapu Nadkarni along with then Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Khandu Rangnekar - all in suits - at the Bombay Gymkhana in 1971.

Regardless of that pride and all the glory, you could bet your last rupee that the following day, Naik would have been just across that road, in the modest National CC tent, preparing for their next club fixture.

mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello

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