Cricket that was

Cricket was not always the many-splendoured spectacle it has now become. There were times when there was very little money in it and almost all players were amateurs. When a player retired, they used to pass the hat around and collect money for the poor soul's retirement. Before the war, the most popular tournament was the so-called quadrangular in Bombay, later enlarged to pentangular. There were five teams in the latter - Hindus, Muslims, Parsees, Europeans and the Rest, meaning mostly Anglo-Indians. Nobody took these 'communal' divisions seriously. There were different gymkhanas in Bombay for each of these sides and they decided the teams. Today, you can see those gymkhanas alongside Marine Drive, facing the sea. Each gymkhana had its pitch o

This article was originally published on November 14, 2021.