Just a few weeks ago, 36-year-old Ajinkya Naik was elected President of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), considered one of the most powerful cricket associations under the BCCI. Ajinkya, who was earlier elected as the Secretary of the MCA, assumed the role of President following the death of former President Amol Kale during the T20 World Cup in the USA. The election saw Ajinkya win against Ashish Shelar-backed Sanjay Naik by 107 votes, a significant victory. Ajinkya Naik, after taking charge as President of the MCA, spoke exclusively to our News Editor Mayuresh Ganapatye.
“Election is over and now it’s time to actually work and deliver what I have promised. It’s a very huge responsibility which I have taken on my shoulders. When you work in such a big association, you need to take everyone with you, and you are responsible for all the good and bad work your team does,” said Ajinkya Naik, the new President of the Mumbai Cricket Association, in an interview with News18.
Naik believes that Mumbai cricket is the backbone of Indian cricket and he, along with his team, will continue to strengthen that backbone so India can get good players.
“My aim is to produce good players for Team India from Mumbai, for which we are taking all necessary steps. Mumbai, which has won the prestigious Ranji Trophy 42 times, has the potential to produce players of international quality,” he added.
Naik, who served as Secretary under former President Amol Kale, wants to continue his legacy. Kale, who recently passed away in the USA, was leading the MCA team and tackling many technical issues like renewing the lease of Wankhede Stadium from the State Government of Maharashtra. There is currently no international-standard gym for MCA players at Wankhede, and the existing gym needs an upgrade. The MCA has also filed a bid for 50 acres of land in Amane village in Thane district to start a new academy. This facility will help find new players from neighbouring small towns and provide various cricketing facilities.
Naik also noted that every year, the MCA works on levelling the outfields of Mumbai’s iconic grounds like Azad Maidan, Oval Maidan, Cross Maidan, and Matunga Maidan.
“Maidan cricket is the backbone of the MCA, and from there, the Mumbai Ranji team has received the most players. Our aim is to provide good facilities to maidan cricket to get quality players from the grassroots level. We have a unique and robust tournament structure that helps us find good players,” Naik said.
“Tournaments like the Kanga League, where many Indian players have participated, occur in the monsoon and prepare players for all conditions. Annually, we conduct 105 tournaments under the MCA. We will strictly follow the BCCI timetable to ensure that before the Ranji Trophy, we conduct tournaments like the Times Shield and the Police Shield, which are day matches. Just before the Mushtaq Ali Tournament, we ensure our local T20 tournaments are held,” he added.
The Mumbai Ranji team has traditionally produced good batsmen, but in recent years, it has also started producing good pace bowlers like Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande, who play for India in different formats.
Speaking about developing new fast bowlers for the Mumbai team, Naik said, “Under the guidance of Balvinder Singh Sandhu, we conducted a talent hunt for pace bowlers and found 30-35 amazing young bowlers in two groups, under-19 and under-23. They are now training at our indoor academy in Mumbai. We have the best indoor academy after the BCCI’s Bangalore facility. Many Indian players, when in Mumbai, practice at the MCA’s indoor academy. We now aim to upgrade the mat pitches to actual pitch-based ones so that players practicing in the indoor academy experience playing on actual cricket pitches.”
This victory wasn’t easy for Naik, as he faced tough competition from veteran Sanjeev Naik, who had the support of BCCI Treasurer and BJP leader Ashish Shelar. However, Ajinkya Naik managed to garner the support of prominent figures who have significant influence.
“Senior members see who has the potential to carry forward the MCA legacy. They have seen my work from being a member of the Apex Council of the MCA to the Secretary of the MCA and decided to support me. Now my responsibility is to do good work for Mumbai cricket and produce more players for Team India,” he said.
Naik also said that on the priority they are approaching different corporate houses, government and semi-government companies with requests to hire players from Mumbai so that these players can play professional cricket and have one fixed income source. Last year 40-45 players were hired by these companies. Ajinkya Naik aims to increase this number significantly by approaching more corporate houses.