Former Mumbai captain and Test opener Sudhir Naik quashes talk of selling Cross Maidan club for Rs 2.65 crore; says he has only changed a signatory
Mumbai cricket was abuzz with rumours of National Cricket Club at Cross Maidan being bought over.
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National Cricket Club has a special place in Mumbai’s club culture and has been a stepping stone for players like Wasim Jaffer and Zaheer Khan.
The National Cricket Club at Cross Maidan which has contributed significantly to Mumbai cricket. Pic/MID-DAY Archives
A Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) source told mid-day that former India Test cricketer Sudhir Naik, who handles the club's affairs, has sold the club to Rajdeep Gupta, whose team Route SMS has been participating in the Times Shield. The source said that Gupta bought the club for R2.65 crore.
However, Naik quashed those rumours. "I have not sold the club to anyone. I will be managing its affairs. I have only changed the authorised signatory. I will be the second signatory. I am still the owner of the club. My family members will also remain a part of the club affairs like they have been all these years," Naik clarified.
Often, there is money involved when the authorised signatory is changed. However, Naik said there is no financial dealings in this case. “Instead, I have asked him (Gupta) to provide extra facilities for the players. Nowadays, players expect a lot of facilities which was becoming difficult for me to manage alone. If you don’t provide facilities, the players tend to move to other clubs. We have developed a good team and I was looking for someone who would bear the financial burden. I will still be managing the affairs of the team and club. He (Gupta) will be only providing the extra facilties to players. This is an arrangement for only five years,” Naik said.
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