Grand innings ends at Railways

Where better-known teams, including Delhi with its abundance of talent, have been struggling to make a mark at the highest level in Ranji Trophy, much of the credit for Railways8217; winning the Ranji Trophy 2001-02 and Irani Cup the following year for the first time in their cricket history and minus Bangar, away on national duty goes to Vinod Sharma.

Sharma has not been popular only with the first-class cricketers but with younger cricketers, especially the under-privileged children from the Railway colony whom he has been imparting coaching for several years at the Karnail Singh Stadium.

Another subscriber to Wright8217;s team-before-self philosophy, Sharma fought long to improve the lot of Railways cricketers. He took several bold decisions which usually drew criticism from officials in the interest of the team and succeeded in the end. For example, his decision to open the Railway batting with Murali Kartik and Khanolkar against the touring West Indian team in 2002-03 initially came in for flak. But once the pair put on 175 runs for the first wicket, the critics were forced to eat their words.

With Vinod moving to Mumbai, it is not clear whether he would be made available to be with the Railways team once the domestic season starts although some of the senior RSPB officials have said in confidence that he would continue to be part of the team.

Sunday evening at the Karnail Singh Stadium saw young trainees in an emotional state. So too was Sharma, usually cool and collected. But as one who has seen the ups and downs of Railways cricket over the past 25 years and Sharma8217;s dedicated work, it can be assumed that wherever he goes he will be a big hit with the cricketers.