Top 5 cricket grounds in Mumbai

Cricket plays a very important part in the lives of Indians. It is the only sport in the country that brings people of various religions, caste, creed, ideology together. A sport that has the entire nation glued to its television set, people share a common passion for the sport. It is something that can connect the younger generation with the older generation.

However, the only difference between both the generations is the area where they used to play. Some used to play at the iconic stadiums while some used to play at their local grounds. The games were played with similar intensity and that is what makes this game different than every other game played in the country.

A ground is as important as the sport itself. Over the years, the city of Mumbai has seen many grounds made just for Cricket. Be it the Wankhede stadium, Azad Maidan, Cross Maidan or Shivaji Park, these places have given numerous memories to the people of Mumbai.

However, a few grounds in Mumbai are especially known for their facilities and infrastructure. Young players can be seen sweating it out daily on these grounds to earn a chance of playing for the national side one day.

Below is the list of top five grounds in Mumbai, let’s take a look at the grounds and also the cost of these grounds for rent: -

First in the list for Maidans is

Azad Maidan - This ground needs no introduction. Azad maidan has been the epicentre of Mumbai cricket for quite some time now. With a total of 22 pitches, you can always see the ground buzzing with young cricket players. Situated in South Mumbai, the pitch has over the years produced one of the finest cricketers for India and is still continuing to do so.Moreover, matches of the Kanga League, Times Shield, Harris Shield and various inter-school cricket matches also take place here.Also on this ground, during one of the matches for their Harris shield, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli scored a 664 run partnership.

Although the clubs that take up most of the space, one can always find place to play a match of cricket in this open to all field.

The clubs that function here are:-

RBI Sports Club

SF Sassanian CC

Young Friends Union CC

Naoroz Cricket Club

Young Muslim CC.

Baronet CC

St. Xavier's CC

John Bright CC

Muslim United CC

Bohra Cricketers

Prabhu Jolly Young Cricketers

Hindustan Construction

Shree Lad Club

RTO

Young Mohamedan CC

Elphinstone CC

Parsee Cyclists SC

Young Zoroastrian CC

New Era Cricket Club

Fort Vijay CC

Times of India SC

Bombay Gymkhana

The price for renting this ground is around Rs.1200 / 1500 on weekdays.

Shivaji Park - With an area of 27 acres, Shivaji Park is largest ground in Mumbai. Shivaji Park has always been home to numerous cricket players who have ended up playing for either domestic or national sides. Cricket academies like of late Anna Vaidya and Ramakant Acharekar have produced many iconic players like Eknath Solkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Pravin Amre, Vinod Kambli who ended playing for the national side.

Situated at the heart of Dadar, Shivaji park is home to eight cricket clubs that carry out training sessions the entire year. These clubs are-
Bengal Club

Young Maharashtra SC

Kamath Memorial CC

Mahim Juvenile SC

Mumbai Municipal SC

Central Railway Institute

Bharat Cricket C

Shivaji Park Gymkhana

The price for renting this ground is around Rs. 1000/ 1200 on weekdays.

Cross Maidan - Another iconic ground in the city of Mumbai is the Cross Maidan. The ground got its name from a cross that was built by the Portuguese which is situated on the northern part of the ground. Moreover it has been always open to everyone who want field day with their friends.

Cross maidan has also been home to the Kanga league which takes place after the monsoon season.

The ground has a total of eight cricket pitches -

Karnataka Sporting Association

MB Union Cricket Club

Western Railway

Youth's Own Union C.C.

LIC

United Cricketers

Sunder Cricket Club

National Cricket Club

The price for renting this ground is around Rs. 1200/ 1500 on weekdays.

Oval Maidan - One of the main attractions in Mumbai, Oval Maidan overlooks Bombay high court and Rajabhai towers in South Mumbai. As many as six cricket clubs run on this 22 acre land and people can also book the pitches for their own corporate cricket leagues and tournaments. However, the ground has a lot of extra space so one does not usually have to wait for their turn to play. Moreover, it is also one of the best maintained out of the 3 grounds in South Mumbai area. It is also one of the most expensive grounds to book. Oval maidan also hosts Indian cricket legend Dilip Vengsarkar’s cricket academy.

The six cricket clubs in Oval Maidan are-

Elf Vengsarkar Cricket Academy

Elphinstone College Gymkhana

Directorate Of Industries

Sachivalaya Gymkhana

Sydenham College Gymkhana

Govt. Law College Gymkhana

The price for renting this ground is around Rs. 1800 – 2000 on weekdays.

Dadkar Maidan - This ground is situated in the Dadar area of Mumbai. Although the ground comprises of five pitches, you can always see school and college students from the neighbouring locality play here.

It is also one of the grounds for the Dadar-Mahim cricket tournament that takes place every year in which clubs from all over Mumbai participate.

The clubs that have pitches on this ground are:

Dadar Union

Dadar Parsee Colony CC,

Dadar Parsee Zoroastrian CC

New Hind CC

Matunga gymkhana

The price for renting this ground is around Rs. 2000 on weekdays.

Mumbai's maidans have given India some of the finest players. As a matter of fact, it is from these maidans that Gavaskars. Tendulkars and Kamblis have come up and made a place in the heart of not only Indians but also people from worldwide.