Pranav Dhanawade, record-making school cricketer, detained for arguing with police, let off later

Mumbai: Schoolboy Pranav Dhanawade, who achieved fame with record-breaking unbeaten 1,009 in a school match, was allegedly involved in argument with the police, after he refused to vacate a ground being used as helipad. The Subhash ground in Kalyan where Dhanawade was playing along with his friends, was handed over to the police for security reasons, a senior police official said. [caption id=“attachment_3161942” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Pranav Dhanawade. Getty Images[/caption] The Public Welfare Department has constructed a helipad on the ground in view of Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar’s visit to Kalyan. A guard, who was on duty to protect the helipad, came to the players and asked them to stop the game. Dhanawade and his friends started arguing with police asking where to play if not on the ground. In a few minutes an officer and some police constables reached the ground, said the police. A heated argument started between the police and locals over playing on the ground. Dhanawade asked the police to show permission and hence the cops took him to the police station, said DS Suryawanshi of Bajarpeth police station. Hence Dhanawade was taken to the police station and later let off after police gave him a warning, said the officer. The player has secured a monthly scholarship for five years from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) after becoming the first batsman in the world to notch up a four-figure innings. Dhanawade from the KC Gandhi Higher Secondary school in Kalyan had batted for 395 minutes in a two-day match against Arya Gurukul in the MCA-conducted Bhandari Cup inter-school cricket tournament to remain unbeaten off 323 balls, in which he struck a staggering 59 sixes and 129 fours. Meanwhile, Javadekar has decided to travel by road and not by helicopter from Pune. “It is not proper to make use of the playgrounds for helipad hence I would be travelling by road and will not use the helicopter this time,” the minister told a regional news channel.