Batting belt

For three decades, boys in Munaf Patel8217;s village have been obsessed with cricket, with dreams of turning out for English leagues and seeing the game as a passport to better lives.

After 4:30 pm if they want to look for their boys, parents in Ikhar village head for the nearest barren patch amid the lush green fields. There, about 200 of them from seven-year-old boys to grown-up men, comprising about 30 teams are absorbed in what has been the village8217;s passion for years: cricket.

Such is their concentration that on that small ground8212;where wickets at the non-striker8217;s side of one team is the striker8217;s end for another team and the pitch of one team is boundary for another8212;they never lose sight of their team8217;s ball. The village echoes with cheers and sounds of bats connecting balls even as threshers beat the harvest in a corner of the 8216;khadiyu8217;8212;the ground.

Long before Munaf Patel emerged as a bowling sensation from this small village of roughly 5,000, Ikhar8217;s boys turned cricket into an obsession. They follow the game almost religiously and every evening, after returning from school, or putting aside their work in the farms and fields, join their mates at nets. Says Mohammad Patel, father of Faiyaz who goes by the name Sachin in the village: 8220;I scold my son often for playing instead of studying. He needs to study also but cricket is such an obsession here that you just can8217;t stop the boys. After seeing Munaf representing India, many parents have just given it up. In fact, some of them even accompany the boys to the ground in evening.8221;

FOR such a small village, the number of teams it has thrown up is surprising. The village even has its own cricket club: the Golden Cricket Club. Says Yunus Bapu, clerk of the village8217;s M M High School, where Munaf studied: 8220;Even during recess timings, students go and play cricket.8221;

To satiate the spirit of competition there is the Balu Cup, hosted by the village for the past 10 years. It is a popular tournament that draws teams from neighburing villages. And whenever Munaf is around during the tournament, he makes it a point to be present at the ground.

IT8217;S not just love of the game that inspires Ikhar8217;s boys. It8217;s also the dream of getting a chance to play in English league cricket. It is also a passport to a better life. Some boys from Ikhar have proved that and are now settled abroad.

Harun Chanchwalia, known as 8216;Handi8217;, who got Munaf to pad up for the region8217;s biggest club, Matadar CC, played for Leicestershire for two years and wants to make it again this year. Yunus Patel 1999-2000 and Noman Morvania 2001-2, who too represented Matadar, played for Dusenberry. Sajid Kapti turned out for Leicestershire and now runs the Euro One Club there.

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Says Harun Handi: 8220;We8217;ll have a better chance in life if we manage to play county cricket abroad. Sometimes monetary assistance from NRIs is also available which can be of a great help. You know, with our boys around, anything can happen and Munaf is an example of that.8221;

Cricketing ties remain strong and players who make it abroad ensure they are on hand to assist Ikhar8217;s cricketers. That was how Matadar CC travelled to the UK and played in the Bolton League in 2004-5.

Across south Gujarat8217;s NRI rich region, cricket is the common bond. The Meghmani Tournament at Kharod near Ankleshwar, the Tankaria Trophy, Ikhar8217;s Balu Cup, Raju Thakor Cup at Bharuch College Ground, a tournament at Dahegam and district and state events at the GNFC Sports Complex are hugely popular. Around 30 teams participate in each tournament and matches are held over four months.