Powar misses Mumbai

WHAT could have distracted a few of Virender Sehwag’s teammates while he blazed away to his record breaking triple ton during the first...

WHAT could have distracted a few of Virender Sehwag’s teammates while he blazed away to his record breaking triple ton during the first two days of the Multan Test? Answer: The Ranji Trophy final at Chennai. After keeping update with the action on internet, the Mumbai players finally got the good news on the afternoon of the third day. Mumbai had retained the title and that meant a reason to celebrate for Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar. Team manager Ratnakar Shetty, who also is the joint-secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), too was delighted. But Powar was a bit disappointed. ‘‘I have been with the team right through the league stages and when they have won I wasn’t around to enjoy the win,’’ he said.

So does Moin

THERE was another player – this time from the Pakistan camp – who missed Mumbai. The veteran Pakistan wicket-keeper Moin Khan still can’t forget the ‘great time’ he had in Mumbai when he toured India with the under-19 team in 1989. While Nayan Mongia, Ajay Jadeja and Sourav Ganguly didn’t give an inch on the field, evening were fun. ‘‘We were staying at that Nataraj Hotel. In the evenings we would spend time at an ice-cream parlour next to it. Not that we loved the ice-cream there but there was a girl’s college close by.’’ And as an afterthought he adds: ‘‘At that age you always do such things’’.

Khurram too

MULTAN is touted as the best place to get cheap VCDs and DVDs. And that meant a visit to the ‘Shaheen DVD and VCD Centre’. The USP of this shop: You name a movie and we have it. But Indian pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji wouldn’t agree to that. He asked for a Tamil movie but had to settle for Hollywood flick. The 23-year-old owner of the shop, Khurram, is quite keen to impress me when he finds my Bollywood connection. ‘‘You are from Mumbai. Great. I want to become an actor. Am confident I can do well,’’ he says with a smile.