MCA, BCCI must March for Umrigar’s ‘ton’ |
Polly Umrigar’s March 28 birth centenary needs to be celebrated by the bodies he served in more than just a few capacities
Polly Umrigar checking a file as Executive Secretary at the then BCCI office at Brabourne Stadium. PIC/MID-DAY ARCHIVES
Polly Umrigar, after whom a gate has been named at the Wankhede Stadium, is remembered each time the BCCI holds its awards function; the Polly Umrigar Award given to the Best Men’s International Cricketer. The former India captain, who served in several capacities, should be all the more remembered now as his birth centenary falls on March 28. Vinoo Mankad, the other cricketing great, who like Umrigar (affectionately nicknamed Polly Kaka) called Mumbai his home, is honoured at adjoining gate of the Wankhede Stadium.
Mankad’s birth centenary was not marked in 2017 despite the BCCI being alerted about it then. BCCI’s reputation of being indifferent and uninclined to celebrate historic occasions will take a further beating if Umrigar is not honoured at the time of his birth centenary. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) must celebrate it too.
Before the Sunil Gavaskar era began, Umrigar laid claim to most career Test runs by an Indian player (3631), most centuries (12), most Tests (59). And his 223 against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1955 made him India’s first double centurion. Umrigar’s association with the game didn’t........