Madhav Mantri was a role model for professionalism in Mumbai cricket

By V Raghunath

When I met Madhav Mantri last month on Tamil New Year’s day at the Indian Gymkhana-he was there alongwith Ramakant Achrekar,Vasu Paranjpe and Madhav Apte for the Old Cricketer’s association annual lunch (Vada,Payasam, appalam and Rasam served on Banana leaf). He was quiet but alert following most of the conversation around the table.My friend and host Satyamurthy whispered to me that Mantri was 92 and the oldest living Indian Test cricketer.

My memories of Mantri were from the early seventies, when he was not yet known as Sunil Gavaskar”s uncle, but revered as the strict disciplinarian of Dadar Union Cricket Club. Alongwith VS Marshal, Sandeep Patil and Naren Thamhane, the trio ran Dadar Union, which was then spawning Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and others. Mantri and Thamhane used to sit in chairs watching the matches played at Dadar Union.All the players used to troop along and pay their respects and I saw for myself the deference shown to the older retired cricketers-and it was true that no player sat down in their presence.

Playing just four Tests for India in the fifties as Wicket-keeper/Opening batsman, Mantri had an unspectacular international career but must have mentored club-mate Thamhane and put him through the paces; a significant contribution to Indian cricket for many former cricketers consider Naren T the best keeper India has had, better even than Syed Kirmani.

In his later years, Mantri took great interest in the development of Women’s cricket in Bombay. He and Satyamurthy were President and Vice-President of the Bombay Women’s Cricket Association and played a significant role in promoting a neglected aspect of the game. Satya fondly remembers that the tough disciplinarian had a puckish sense of humour and recollected how he laughingly remarked that women’s cricket in Bombay was in the hands of two crusty old bachelors.

Mantri believed in the old adage that a sound body and mind was the essence for a long life and was the role-model for the professionalism that Bombay Cricket stood for.