Bats, balls and what not!

Dr Amit Rangnekar with son Avighna (left) amidst their sporting memorabilia collection at home in Matunga. Pics/Satej Shinde

Not far away from Shivaji Park, where willow wielders are seen, heard and admired on 22-yard strips of turf, the Matunga (West) living room of father-son duo of collectors Dr Amit and Avighna Rangnekar plays home to a set of willows which are seldom seen, barely heard and offer plenty to admire.

Their welcoming doors are adjacent to the brightly lit cabinet of bats which, in a way, resembles a sports shop.

But unlike a sports equipment establishment, for which a decent stock is imperative even in the early days of business, the Rangnekars' collection began with just three mini autographed bats. Sachin Tendulkar, whom Amit knew and played against, generously added to the collection of autographed bats and other cricket memorabilia (which Amit had been collecting from his childhood) when they visited his Bandra West home in 2013. "That [Tendulkar's offerings] set us dreaming big. We started realising the potential of the IPL and the Legends League with their galaxy of active players and star ex-players as coaching staff and commentators.

Generous friends

"It dawned on us that many of our friends were actually a part of this set up, and suddenly we had the access to take our collection to the next level. We asked them if they could help get us autographs of players and well-known members of the coaching staff. Seeing our passion and commitment, they opened their hearts to us, and we got extremely lucky," says Amit, a club level cricketer, who also captained IES English School, Ruparel College and Matunga Gymkhana.

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The signed jerseys of legends Pele, Sachin Tendulkar, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona

The bond between Amit, 54, and Avighna, 22, got stronger with the growing collection. Their passion for collecting sporting memorabilia rubbed off on each other and observing how they go about talking about their wares and pursuits, it leaves one with no doubt that they are nothing short of partners in prime. Their sincerity comes shining through to one and all, so much so that visitors with a cricketing background are moved to pass on their treasures to the Rangnekars who will provide a better home for them. One such visitor noticed that they did not have a famous bat brand which the cream of international cricketers used chiefly in the 1970s, so he decided to present them that particular piece of willow. Signed bats from Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ricky Ponting, and Steve Waugh, extend to the West Indian knights like Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards as well as Brian Lara and Chris Gayle. The Rangnekars know their cricket history. As far as possible, they get signatures on bats whose brands the players used in their career. Richards has inscribed his name on a miniature SS Jumbo, which he used in the 1970s and early 1980s. Tendulkar ended his career using an Adidas bat, so he has signed on a blade of that make. Ditto Ponting (Kookaburra), Vengsarkar (Gunn & Moore), Lara (Gray Nicolls), and AB de Villiers (MRF). An Australian cricket enthusiast would marvel at the miniature bat with printed signatures of Sir Don Bradman's invincible 1948 side, in addition to a Bradman-signed postcard dating back to 1950. Gavaskar dropped in for a look at their collection in January.

Work and pleasure

Amit, who earned a doctorate in Business Strategy, is a pharmaceutical industry professional. In the evenings and on weekends he teaches marketing, branding, and strategy at India's top B-Schools, while Avighna is an Assistant Director in the entertainment industry. It's not all bats at the Rangnekar dwelling. There's balls, gloves, and treasures from other sports. Again, historic significance comes into play. They couldn't possibly have the 1983 World Cup final ball, but they got Balvinder Singh Sandhu, who claimed the first wicket for India in the 1983 final, to sign an old ball. Signed balls by the late Shane Warne and Lankan lion Muttiah Muralitharan are part of their collection. I was impressed with their Sir Richard Hadlee-signed cherry, but not surprised. Farokh Engineer, MS Dhoni, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant have signed wicketkeeping gloves for the Rangnekars.

Autograph-collecting can be testing and could lead to a lose-patience-lose-the-battle situation. "After five serious attempts, we recently managed to get a Virat Kohli-signed t-shirt. Our packet came back twice and finally we managed it at the Taj lobby [in Mumbai]," revealed Avighna.

Autographs on sheets of paper are treasures too. "Just the other day, we managed to get Eoin Morgan's signature, so now we have the autographs of all 11 ODI World Cup-winning captains," said Amit.

Others sports are well followed by the Rangnekars; perhaps more by Avighna. His pursuit for footballing bobbleheads seems relentless. That cabinet is crowded and impressive. Bobbleheads of all 15 football World Cup-winning captains from 1966 to 2022, has to be seen to be believed. Signed jerseys of World Cup 2022 stars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are amongst their prize possessions, with the Argentine's attire being mighty costly.

Amidst other treasures are a Tiger Woods-signed golf ball, a Lewis Hamilton cap, and tennis balls signed by Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Rod Laver. And, as if to say why should big balls be ignored, they show us their Cristiano Ronaldo-signed football.

The one collectible which is on Amit and Avighna's wish list is a pair of Muhammad Ali boxing gloves, although they have a Mike Tyson-signed pair of Everlast gloves, and the No. 10 signed jerseys of Pele and Diego Maradona, nine-time gold medal winner Carl Lewis, and an Usain Bolt-signed shoe.
Hopping and shopping

Like many families, they go on overseas vacations. But time is not only spent on soaking in the pleasant environs, natural beauty and less crowded streets. It is also invested in hunting down sporting souvenir shops, especially if their travels take them to the United Kingdom. Buying of memorabilia is done within their allocated budget, and the rest of their sporting wealth comes from contacts and goodwill. Occasionally, they cross their budget without going overboard - unlike IPL franchises do at auctions. Questions about how much they shelled out for particularly valuable items are met with a smile. At the end of the day, they are happy with what they could buy. And unlike the glitzy T20 tournament, all players are ‘retained' and not ‘traded'. The Rangnekars' collection is not a public museum, but if sporting bodies are serious about drawing up their museum blueprint, the Rangnekars are the ones whom they
should turn to for inspiration and guidance.

The Rangnekars' top five signed collectibles

. Lionel Messi 2022 World Cup jersey

. Sunil Gavaskar flicker book (1983)

. Signed photographs of India's two individual Olympic gold medallists: Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra

. Michael Phelps swimming cap

. Autographs of five WI pace greats - Roberts, Holding, Garner, Croft, and Marshall