Former India batsman and octogenarian Madhav Apte said here on Friday that the competition that today’s Ranji Trophy teams faced made Mumbai’s 41st title that much sweeter.
Speaking at the Cricket Club of India’s Legends Club to mark the 101st birth anniversary of former India captain Vijay Hazare, Apte, who played seven Tests in the early 1950s, said: “TV has completely changed the scenario as it were. Who would ever have thought a fast bowler from Kerala would play for India, somebody from Jharkhand captaining India or somebody from Odisha opening the batting for India. The competition for Ranji Trophy championships has increased. And that makes your victory sweeter than normally because of the kind of competition you face,” Apte told Mumbai Ranji Trophy-winning skipper Aditya Tare at the gathering.
Tare led Mumbai to their 41st Ranji title after defeating Saurashtra in the final in Pune in February end. On Thursday, Mumbai failed to defend an overall lead of 479, losing to Rest of India by four wickets in the Irani Cup at the Brabourne Stadium. Apte, president of Legends Club, said: “Nobody ever really thought Irani Cup would become a very major event in a cricketing calendar. Obviously Bombay made the habit of wining Ranji Trophy, winning 50 per cent of the editions played (41 out of 82 editions). It is a remarkable performance.”
Apte, who played first class cricket from 1951-52 to 1967-68, a majority of it for Bombay and one season for Bengal, said, “Bombay in those years were almost invincible. As a student of the game, I cannot ignore the fact that the conditions those decades were quite different to what they are today. After the advent of TV, this game of cricket has spread all over the country,” said the 83-year-old former right-handed batsman.
