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Cricketers hail Indian schoolboy Dhanawade AsianVoiceNews
Cricketers around the world hailed the feat of 15-yearold Indian schoolboy Pranav Dhanawade for scoring record 1,009 runs not out off 323 balls in an innings. Dhanawade, the son of a rickshaw driver, spent more than six-and-ahalf hours at the crease over two days, and broke his bat, in scoring 1,009 runs. His performance, in a school tournament in Mumbai for KC Gandhi School, electrified Indians. Sachin Tendulkar was quick to congratulate the schoolboy on his mind-boggling knock and gifted his own autographed bat to Dhanawade. "Congrats #PranavDhanawade on being the first ever to score 1,000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks!" Tendulkar had tweeted. Harbhajan Singh, a member of India’s national team, said: “No matter what level cricket it is, the numbers are just unbelievable.” The Maharashtra government was quick to promise to take care of the costs of the teenager’s future schooling and coaching. The previous record innings was set by 13-yearold Arthur Collins, who scored 628 for his house at Clifton College, the British independent school, in 1899. David Gower, the former England captain, chastised himself for “giggling” at the one-sided scorecard, which recorded that KC Gandhi won by an innings and 1,382 runs after their opponents, Akul Gurukul, were bowled out for just 31 and 52 runs in two innings. Prashant, his father,
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Asian Voice | 16th January 2016
Here's a record that can't be broken
said he had rushed to the ground when he heard his son was approaching 300 runs. He explained that he used to ferry his son to the suburb of Bandra to take advantage of better coaching. “I would drive my rickshaw in the morning and then we would leave for MIG cricket club in Bandra in the afternoon and return at night.” He added: “Cricket equipment costs a lot of money. I have tried to find sponsors for my son but on one occasion I was told that he first needs to make a name for himself.” MS Dhoni, India's present limited-overs captain, said: “It is a tremendous effort. It is just that we need to nurture his (Dhanawade’s) talent, guide him at the same time, because all of a sudden the limelight will be on him. He will be compared to a lot of individuals who have been very successful. “It is important for the individuals who are close to him, his coach,
his parents to guide him to move in the right direction.” India's middle order batsman Ajinkya Rahane also heaped praise for Dhanawade, saying that his knock was massive and hoped that he would play for India some day. "It's a massive feat to do this. He has started well. Scoring 1009 runs take long to say it but to achieve an individual score like this is a big feat. I hope he plays with us someday. He should just focus on doing well," he said. Dhanawade's epic 395minute knock included 129 fours and 59 sixes, both world records for an innings. “I have always been a big hitter,” he said. “When I started I never thought about breaking the record. I just played my natural game, which is to attack from the word go.” By stumps on the first evening of the two-day game, Dhanawade had reached 652 and he pressed on, reaching 921 by lunch
off the unfortunate bowling of Arya Gurukul school. Dhanawade passed the 1,000-run mark before his team declared on 1,465 for 3. Amid chaotic scenes, the young star was carried from the field on the shoulders of his team-mates, brandishing his bat. Like millions of Indian children from humble backgrounds, Dhanawade started by playing street cricket. His father drives an autorickshaw and worked extra hours to pay for his kit and early coaching. “I want my son to become a great cricketer. He has proved that he has the talent today. Cricket is not an easy sport and expensive too,” Prashant Dhanawade said, adding that his dream was to see his son play for the Mumbai under-16 side. It is hoped that Dhanawade enjoys a happier fate than the record breaker he eclipsed. Arthur Collins never again matched
Squash star 'auctions' kidney on social media Ravi Dixit, a 20-year-old squash player who won gold in the 2010 Asian junior championship, has "auctioned" his kidney to fund his campaign for next month's South Asian Games. Dixit has posted on social media that he wants to sell his kidney and asked interested buyers to bid for it. "I have been playing squash for the last 10 years. Even after winning so many medals and representing India so many times, I do not get any support to take my squash to the national and international levels," Dixit said. "Dhampur Sugar Mill has supported me but how long will they continue to support me? Next month, the games are starting in Guwahati and I am representing India. To prepare for the tournament, I am training in Chennai but I have not been able to arrange enough money to fund my campaign for the games. I have lost my
Ravi Dixit
determination. I am ready to sell my kidney. If anyone needs a kidney, they can contact me. The price of my kidney is Rs 800,000,” he said in a Facebook post. Dixit's attempt to sell his kidney, illegal under law, has his parents worried. Ramkailash Dixit, his father, said, "I have
A spur of the moment comment: Ravi Dixit
Ravi Dixit on Tuesday clarified that he doesn't intend to sell his kidneys to pursue his career and "his spur of the moment" remark was blown out of proportion. Dixit said he was sorry about his comment and did not realise that a post on Facebook would attract so much attention. Dixit, in a hand written letter to president of the Squash Rackets Federation of India
(SRFI), said he would continue playing the game. "Squash is my life and I wish to continue playing it. I am keen to pursue the game as my career and would continuously look for sponsors. I never intended to sell my kidney and it was a spur of the moment statement for which I am sorry. I apologise to my family and the people who have supported me," Dixit added.
spoken to Ravi. He is in Chennai right now but I spoke to him on the phone. His mother and I are imploring him not to take the step. Together, we will figure out a way to deal with this crisis. This way, he will ruin both his life and career. I am saddened to hear that my son is taking such a drastic measure. I funded my daughter's wedding with Ravi's prize money. Since he has to support the family as well, he cannot use much of what he gets for himself." An official at the mill, Vijay Gupta, on learning that the squash player had gone to social media with his plans to auction his kidney, said, "The mill has always supported Ravi in his endeavour. We wish he had come to us before doing such a thing. We will speak to him and do whatever we can to help him." Dixit has, however, received some support from a few politicians.
Just like the record created by Pranav Dhanawade, there is a feat just as remarkable was witnessed some years back in an east London park by Nick, himself no mean cricketer. In a game between two teams of B a n g l a d e s h i teenagers, he was amazed to see one side’s opening bowler take a wicket with every ball of his first over. No wicket fell in the next. When the first bowler came back for his second over he immediately took the four remaining wickets, finishing with figures of 10 for 0 in 10 balls. his extraordinary feat as a 13-year-old. Collins failed to break into the adult game, though he did score a halfcentury at Lord’s for the Royal Engineers. He was killed, aged 29, in November 1914 in the first battle of Ypres, one of the early casualties in a war that would claim the lives of almost 300 first-class cricketers.
Reservations over Dhanawade's innings
Pranav Dhanawade became a global internet sensation. However, reservations are now being expressed about the 15-year-old’s innings. Sharmila Thakur deserves sympathy for acting as scorer, especially on the second day when Dhanawade, overcoming
cramp from the night before, resumed on 652 and media and local politicians descended on the ground. Some, though, have queried her accuracy. Dhanawade was reported to have reached 652 with 78 fours and 30 sixes. He batted on to 1,009 with 129 fours and 59 sixes, yet his boundaries alone on the second day should have raised his score to 1,030. Other inconsistencies were apparent in interim reports of his score and the team total. If the final boundary tally is right, he scored 139 off the other 139 balls faced, which on a small ground suggests the standard of fielding was as poor as you would expect from a bunch of weary kids. The playing area in a walled field between housing blocks was small, particularly square of the wicket on one side, which made boundary hits easier, but while the published scorecard shows Dhanawade hitting 59 sixes, the other batsmen hit only two while making 384 runs between them. According to Mobin Shaikh, who has coached Dhanawade since he was five, the same ball was used throughout: “Not a single ball was lost.” Shaikh said that while the ground was small, it was not small for under-16 cricket and he had played on similar sized fields in league cricket in Bradford 20 years ago. He also defended the controversial decision to bat on against a team made up of youngsters two or three years younger than him, saying the crowd were shouting, “Don’t declare, don’t declare.”
Test cricket must change ways to survive Well, it always pays if you change up with the times. Test cricket has stood the test of time, but how long can it remain supreme is the million dollar question. There is a growing fear that Test cricket will die if it doesn't change ways. Needless to say One Day International and Twenty20 format of the game is eating into its space. Test cricket is no longer popular among cricket enthusiasts and players as well. More importantly, it doesn't pay also. Unless the International Cricket Council speeds up plans to introduce a new world championship, things don't seem to be bright with the longer version of the game. “If we wait until 2019 when the ICC plans to relaunch the Test championship then bilateral cricket around the world is going to be in real trouble,” Tony Irish, the chief execu-
tive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations, was quoted as saying to The Sunday Telegraph. But ICC CEO Dave Richardson has ruled out any change before 2019 which is when the current Future Tours Programme ends. “What we are trying to impress upon the administrators is that it is not just the commercial value and the fan interest that is dwindling, but players are starting to turn away from the game because they have an alternative market now,” Irish was quoted as saying to The Sunday Telegraph. West Indian players Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo have opted to play Twenty20 tournaments rather than international cricket. The reason is obvious. More pay, less strain on the body, more attraction, more stardom and the opportunity to play in front of big crowds.