City cricket has a martyr

It was a regular tennis-ball 8220;friendly8221; match. The GCC won the toss and elected to bat and scored a healthy 75 for eight in their scheduled 12 overs. In reply, the Modern Cricket Club MCC were 31 for two when the batsman edged the ball to the wicket keeper. An appeal that was turned down by the umpire. 8220;We decided to leave the field,8221; said Prafulla Deshpande, Atul8217;s childhood friend who too plays for the GCC. For Amit Shinde of the MCC, who was to come in next, this meant that he would miss his chance to bat. 8220;As we were walking off, Amit walked up from behind and suddenly swung his bat at Atul8217;s head,8221; recalled Prafulla. There was panic all around and team members rushed Atul to the Deen Dayal hospital.

Atul was the Jonty Rhodes of the team. A good fielder, he impressed with his reflexes rather than his batting or bowling prowess. A resident of downtown Kasba Peth, he had grown up in the typical wada culture with his team members, most of them childhood friends. For them cricket had been a passion and a regular feature on weekends.

Atul, the younger of the two brothers in a family of six, had dreams of becoming a chartered accountant after completing his BCom. The favourite of his parents, he also wanted a career in computers.

8220;We thought that he would be the most successful one among us,8221; says elder brother Anant, a driver with a tourist agency. 8220;He was the most enthusiastic among us, actively participating in every festival, be it the Ganpati pooja or the Growing up in this neighbourhood, cricket was a game that they played with passion. The boys in the wada formed their cricket club and would play regular matches with other similar clubs in the city. Their usual haunt was the Modern College grounds but on Saturday they decided to shift to Fergusson College due to a book fair which is going on at Modern College.

Both Amit and Atul came from strikingly similar socio-economic backgrounds. Amit, who has been remanded in police custody till May 6, also has an elder brother and two sisters, with a father who works as a wire operator at the Ammunition Factory, Khadki. Batting was his biggest claim to local fame, having given up his studies after passing the HSC examination. Atul8217;s father, a retired employee of the Central excise department supported the family on his pension. With two unmarried daughters, he now has Anant to share his burden.

Inspector Ram Khondalkar, investigating the case, said that Amit was angry that the GCC had denied him the chance to bat. With passions already running high, it was 8220;young hot blood,8221; as a constable remarked, which turned a 8220;gentleman8217;s game8221; into a blood sport.