Specimens of the evolution of the cricket bat from its days of looking like a rudimentary hockey stick to the current angular blade. A collection of bats signed by Sir Donald Bradman. Sachin Tendulkar's cricket gear,and autographs of virtually everyone who is well-known in the cricketing world. These are just a few of the many collectibles and souvenirs that make up the new Blades of Glory Cricket Museum. Located within the winding lanes of Sahakar Nagar in the heart of Pune,the museum is the brainchild of former cricketer Rohan Pate,who has been an ardent cricket memorabilia collector. With wooden interiors and dim lighting,the museum,as Pate puts it,"is in the process of paying an ongoing tribute to cricket's greatest". Some of the artifacts on display here are quite interesting. Ricky Ponting's cricket bat sits in one corner,along with those of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. There is also a collection of bats that belong to cricketers who have scored over 10,000 runs, says Pate,proudly. The same room also houses a golden bat signed by Sir Donald Bradman - with one corner displaying his career statistics,and there's another one,signed by Sir Garfield Sobers. I started thinking about a museum about two years ago,when Sachin (Tendulkar) gifted me one of his bats. I had travelled extensively with Team India to various countries and had gathered autographs,bats,balls and jerseys during those trips,but they were all part of my personal collection. I seriously thought of creating a museum only a year back, says Pate. Once he had made up his mind,Pate embarked on the hard task of contacting veteran cricketers,since his display also contains bats signed by the members of the World Cup winning teams,right from 1975. Getting the first signature was difficult. Last year,when the national team lifted the World Cup for a second time,I got signatures from a lot of the players. Contacting older players was difficult but everyone helped. Desmond Hayes helped me get across to cricketers in West Indies,Dilhara Fernando helped me get in touch with players in Sri lanka and Ricky Ponting introduced me to so many people in Australia, he says. There is also a room reserved for the bowling legends. It has Shane Warne's jerseys and the sweater Muttiah Muralidharan wore when he scalped his 800th wicket,along side the jerseys worn by Waqar Younis and Shaun Pollock. The room also has Kevin Pietersen's jersey and gloves and MS Dhoni's jersey and wicket-keeping gloves. The Pakistani players were some of the nicest people I have ever met. They were so cooperative - Waqar Younis,Wasim Akram,Saeed Ajmal and Misbah-ul-Haq have been really generous, says Pate. Perhaps the biggest crowd puller would be the room dedicated to Tendulkar. Pate admits that the items in the room are beyond any valuation in monetary terms. His World Cup-winning jersey,his entire gear from the match where he scored his 50th test century,and more such priceless gems occupy a place of pride here. There's an entire wall that has 100 miniature bats displayed on it,each one bearing details of Sachin's 100 centuries, he says. Pate has interesting anecdotes to share about the manner in which he has collected these items. He mentions that getting South African cricketer Dale Steyn's autograph meant a wait of three days,while the toughest ask was to chase down former Sri Lankan player Asanka Gurusinha for an autograph. When I had gone to Sri Lanka,I learnt that he now stayed in Melbourne. I took a flight to Melbourne only to learn that he wasn't home. But as soon as I left for Sydney to meet Steve Waugh,I got a call mid-way that Gurusinha had returned. I had to fly back to Melbourne to meet him,and then again fly to Sydney - all in a day. It was hectic but the effort paid off eventually, he recalls. The museum will officially open its gates on May 2. Sachin will be coming for the inauguration. After that,the entry will be only by appointment," says Pate.
