Mumbai Cricket: Veteran curator Nadim Memon urges MCA not to ignore the maidans

Mumbai the spiritual home of Indian cricket is a city where talent rises not from plush academies but from its open sunburnt maidans Grounds like Oval Maidan Azad Maidan Cross Maidan Dadkar Maidan Matunga and Shivaji Park have raised generations of cricketers They are not just fields mdash they are Mumbairsquos cricketing soul rich in legacy and local prideOver decades I have watched legends like Ajit Wadekar Dilip Vengsarkar Sandeep Patil Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli rise from these very grounds mdash honing their skills under the gaze of streetlights amid the hum of community life I have curated pitches across Mumbai India and internationally but the heartbeat of Indian cricket has always been rooted in these simple dusty maidansNadim MemonToday it breaks my heart to see them neglected encroached upon and reduced to multipurpose venues for everything but sport These grounds are now staging commercial marathons markets political rallies and political and religious events mdash while basic sporting needs like turf maintenance drainage infrastructure and equipment access go unmet In addition to commercial misuse these maidans are also being encroached upon by state bodies like MMRDA and the police The MMRDA Metro work has taken over 17 plots at Azad Maidan while the police have taken away Fort Vijay Club and regularly use these spaces for morchas and bandobast operations What should be sacred turf for aspiring cricketers is now cordoned off or repurposed without regard for its legacy or purposeMeanwhile recently the chief minister of Maharashtra said if the Mumbai Cricket Association MCA comes up with a proposal then the government will allocate a good piece of land for MCA to build a 1 lakhcapacity stadium But I ask this mdash for whom is this new stadium being builtDr HD Kanga Cricket League games in progress at Cross Maidan PicSatej ShindeWe already have The Wankhede Stadium with a capacity of 32000 iconic and central to Mumbais cricketing identityThe Brabourne Stadium CCI one of the finest in India with a 40000 capacityThe DY Patil Stadium ranked among the top 10 stadiums globally with worldclass pitches and a capacity of 55000Azad Maidan is also a venue for protests like this one held last February PicAshish RajeMCA and BCCI donrsquot host IPL or Test matches regularly in the last two mentioned stadiumsThe issue is not infrastructure or capacity mdash itrsquos inclusivity When the IPL arrives things are different for not only fans who have to shell out far more than what they would for high profile cricket in other formats Past and present Test and Ranji Trophy cricketers find it hard to get complimentary tickets which they deserve At times even Test players find it difficult and the MCA appears helpless in the BCCIfranchisebased systemThe Mumbai public is being given stepmotherly treatment mdash locked out of the very sport theyrsquove nurtured from the grassrootsInstead of pouring hundreds of crores into another elite venue I urge the government and MCA to turn their gaze back to improving the maidans These grounds dont need grandstands or VIP boxes mdash they need working toilets drinking water facility proper infrastructure regular maintenance safety nets and access for underprivileged youth A modest investment here will yield far greater returns for Indian cricketThese maidans are Mumbairsquos nurseries Theyrsquore where dreams begin Letrsquos not forget that the legends we worship today mdash Ajit Wadekar Dilip Vengsarkar Sandeep Patil Tendulkar Gavaskar Rohit Sharma mdash were all once maidan boysWe must protect these spaces before we lose them completely Let the legacy of Mumbai cricket continue from where it started mdash not from another concrete fortress but from the heart of the people Preserve the maidans Empower the grass rootsReclaim Mumbairsquos cricketing conscience17No of plots Metro has taken over at Azad MaidanNadim Memon was once a Wankhede Stadium curator MCArsquos Maidan Secretary and Apex Council member He is presently the cricket secretary of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association MSSAatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params