Meet Virar resident Sitaram Tambe, BCCI's unsung hero

Meet Virar resident Sitaram Tambe, who shoulders the responsibility of delivering domestic competition trophies to venues across India

Sitaram Tambe with the trophies during the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida. Pic/Shalabh Manocha

Greater Noida: There is a man in Indian cricket who lives in Mumbai and began serving the game when he was just a 16-year-old and continues to do so. No, he is not Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He is Sitaram Kashinath Tambe. Unlike Tendulkar who retired in 2013, Tambe is still going strong as a Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) office assistant. He will be 65 in less than a month's time. While Tendulkar is a household name, only a few know about people like Tambe, who belong to the unsung lot, serving the game if not on the field, then off it.

Like the players who look forward to the start of the cricket season in India, Tambe does the same, as the BCCI, for over three decades has entrusted him with the responsibility of delivering all the domestic competition trophies to venues across India. Tambe brought the Duleep Trophy here from Mumbai to Delhi, travelling by train.
"This is my 48th year with BCCI and I started carrying trophies in 1985 when I first delivered the Deodhar Trophy to Vijayawada," he recalls.

Starting out in 1969
Tambe joined the BCCI in 1969. "My uncle who worked in the housekeeping section of the Cricket Club of India (CCI) got me this job," he says. "We were a family of four. My mother died while giving birth to my sister. Since I was the eldest, I had to work to support the family," he added.

Tambe wakes up at half past four, leaves home around two hours later to board the 7:11am local train from Virar to Churchgate and reaches Wankhede Stadium at 9.30 in the morning. After completing the 80 km journey, his first task of the day is to check if the fax machines are working. Then he makes a round of the cabins of senior officials, ensuring they are in order. His day at the office ends around 6pm.

That letter for Sachin
Earlier, his job also included delivering selection letters to players. "It was I who hand-delivered the official BCCI letter to Tendulkar's father informing him of his 16-year-old son's selection in the Indian team in 1989. "Also, when he retired in 2013, I went to Sachin's new house to get some memorabilia signed for the office," he said.

Tendulkar is not the only player he has had a connect with. Former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Bishan Singh Bedi and many more know him by name. But it is former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer and attacking batsman Salim Durrani that he has special affection for. "Engineer used to call me dikra, which means son, and Durrani used to take me out for drinks on occasions," reveals.

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