From a temporary stadium in 1981 to skyscrapers in UAE, this cricket legend has seen it all

Leaning back on the couch, Dilip Vengsarkar seemed at ease in a plush Palm Jumeirah apartment overlooking the stunning Atlantis, The Royal Dubai. It’s been more than 32 years since he stopped enthralling connoisseurs with those majestic cover drives.

At 68, the ‘Colonel’ looks fit and good enough for a few big hits in a 10-overs-a-side veterans’ game. Now, the scorer of almost 7,000 Test runs with 17 hundreds, six of which came against the fearsome West Indies fast bowling attacks of the 1970s and 1980s, divides his time between coaching youngsters at his academies in Mumbai and playing peekaboo with his grandson in Dubai.

He breaks into a smile when you ask him about his first memory of Dubai. A very small road with nothing but sand on both sides connected Dubai with Sharjah when Vengsarkar landed here for the first time for an exhibition match alongside the Who’s Who of cricket in 1981.

Now sitting in a cosy corner of his daughter’s living room on a man-made island, Vengsarkar could not stop admiring the miracle in the desert.

In a chat with City Times, the former Indian captain looked back on the glory days of cricket in Sharjah as he also reminisced about a delicious mutton curry made by Lata Mangeshkar for him in her London apartment and how the ‘Nightingale’ helped raise money for India’s 1983 World Cup heroes. Excerpts from the interview

Before we speak about Dubai, let’s talk about Sharjah, which started the cricket revolution in this part of the world. And you played the very first match here featuring two international teams in 1981…

Yes, I remember it very well. We had just come back from the tour of Australia and there was this game organised by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir (Emirati businessman and legendary cricket promoter). It was an exhibition game and I think the two teams were named Gavaskar XI and Miandad XI. They had put up makeshift stands in Sharjah, but that temporary stadium was packed with people. We were all surprised to see that kind of response and that kind of excitement for a game of cricket in this country.

Spurred on by that success, Bukhatir built the Sharjah Cricket Stadium that went on to host annual tournaments in the 1980s and 1990s…

Yes, they progressed a lot from there and the matches between India and Pakistan were very big in Sharjah. Then they started inviting teams like Australia, Sri Lanka and all other top teams. I remember they used to have two tournaments annually, which was a big thing to do for a neutral venue. The other good thing in Sharjah was that they also started the Cricketers’ Benefit Fund Series, which was to help the retired players. I think each selected player for the benefit fund got $50,000 from the tournament. That was a great initiative.

Sharjah also produced matches, especially between India and Pakistan, that are now part of the cricket folklore. Who can ever forget that (Javed) Miandad last-ball six match?

Oh yes, the games were very exciting, people enjoyed the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Nobody wanted to lose the game. The intensity of cricket was very high. So the quality of cricket, the rivalry, the excitement from Indian and Pakistani fans in UAE, I think it all played a part in Sharjah becoming such a popular tournament in the calendar.

Also, Sharjah’s cricket organisers were ahead of their time in terms of promoting the tournament to the global audience. They had the best teams, the best players and even got the biggest celebrities from Bollywood to attend those matches …

Yes, Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, I remember all those film stars who attended matches in Sharjah. I think they were all invited by Bukhatir to add glamour to those matches. It was a masterstroke from him, and Asif Iqbal (former Pakistan captain and the coordinator in Sharjah tournaments) and Qasim Noorani (former general manager of Sharjah Cricket Stadium) also played a big role in the success of those tournaments.

In the 1980s you played those matches in Sharjah. But what is your memory of old Dubai?

I remember we used to stay in the Intercontinental Sharjah. It was a nice hotel. But most of our friends from India used to stay in Dubai. So we were invited almost every evening for dinner at their places. I remember coming to Dubai from Sharjah during those evenings, there was just one small road connecting the two cities. The road was very small, with sand on both sides. I think it used to 30-35 minute drive and once we saw the lights, we realised we reached Dubai!

Now you fly to Dubai very frequently. But have you been surprised by the city’s glorious transformation?

I really can’t stop admiring the way they created the whole infrastructure. It’s absolutely world-class, you have to admire their vision. Every time I come here, I see a new area which is being developed. It’s mind boggling what they have done in the desert. In a lot of places here, I see greenery and some lovely golf courses. I went to the Emirates Golf Course the other day, it’s a fantastic golf course.

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