The National Cricket Club (NCC) - one of the oldest in Mumbai, that has produced players such as Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer, Sudhir Naik and Rajesh Pawar - has honoured over 55 groundsmen working in the city's maidaans. In a recent event attended by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Ajinkya Naik and former India cricketer Jatin Paranjpe, groundsmen from Cross Maidan, Oval Maidan, Shivaji Park and Dhanu grounds were felicitated. Naik said that the MCA is trying to make groundsmen's jobs easier by providing advanced equipment. “It's due to our groundsmen's contribution that Mumbai can produce great cricketers. The (MCA) Apex Council has decided to provide new rollers, grass cutting machines,” Naik said on the occasion. NCC president Rajdip Gupta recognised the crucial role groundsmen play in the development of a cricketing culture. “It's not easy to put your entire career into a thankless job as that of a groundsman. But they are the reason Mumbai is known as cricket's home. It is they who help us hit those sixes and bowl those bouncers. Coaches strengthen a player's cricketing basics, but groundsmen strengthen the game's foundation. It is only natural to recognise their contribution in shaping Mumbai's cricketing scene,” Gupta said. Maidaan cricket is an old and cherished tradition in Mumbai, with some of the biggest stars in the game starting out in the various open spaces around the city. Ramchandra Shaw, a senior groundsman who has spent over 40 years shaping the pitches of Mumbai's maidaans, said he feels proud when the players he has seen at a young age score big and represent the country. “I was brought up on these grounds, and in a manner of speaking, these grounds raised me, especially the NCC. We make pitches, but come to think of it, the pitches make us and our lives,” he reflected.
