Pranav Dhanawade's 1009* - The world record of new beginnings

Pranav Dhanawade
Pranav’s innings was beyond records and fame
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A prime example of how opinions are influenced by external factors in such a short span of time is the case of Pranav Dhanawade’s innings.

A couple of days ago, while the world was basking in the glory of the world record, everybody was looking at it from a positive outlook, praising Pranav for his innings. But it didn’t take too long for someone to look at it from another angle and brand the feat unsporting and disrespectful.

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Suddenly, the same people who were showering epically elevated words of praise started speaking the language of sportsmanship and respect. Or the lack of it.

KC Gandhi’s side on that day were facing a weaker and unprepared side. Fact. It was a school level tournament being played on a relatively smaller ‘maidan’. Fact. The opposition dropped many number of catches during the course of the marathon innings. Fact. K C Gandhi should and could have declared the innings much before rather than humiliating the opponents. True. But they did not. And there’s a strong reason behind it. A reason far more significant that records, fame or any other personal gain.

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Stay with me on this.

Kalyan hides way down the central suburbs of Mumbai. The record put Kalyan on the world map. The kind of change the feat is going to bring to cricket in this part of the world is beyond imagination.

Not just K C Gandhi but every school in Kaylan/Dombivali, including Arya Gurukul will benefit and how. The amount of opportunities and prospects that the city will enjoy due to this achievement is something it could have never got otherwise.

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K C Gandhi is probably the only school in this city that has had a proper cricket team since the last 15 years or so. Yet, no one outside Kalyan had even heard of it. The number of tournaments that they get to participate in a calendar year is two or at best three. That makes it less than eight matches in a year.

This, after being the most active team in the city. Imagine the plight of other schools. I can assure you that there is no dearth of talent or potential. The only thing lacking was opportunities and exposure. A lot of people and a lot of clubs have been doing a lot since the last decade to improve the situation, but no amount of efforts were going to bring the kind of impact this has made.

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Without any kind of match exposure, it is no surprise that teams from here are not able to compete when they play in tournaments like Giles Shield or Harris Shield, against teams from Town and South Bombay who play that number of matches on a monthly basis.

Anybody with the slightest understanding of cricket would agree that no amount of practise or preparation can replace the experience that comes with match exposure. Imagine what aspiring cricketers from here were missing out for years and years in spite of having the skills.

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I’m sure a little amount of ‘”this branded un-sportsmanship and lack of respect” is a small price to pay for all the benefits that it’s going to bring along.

Talking about Pranav Dhanawade’s innings, it is an undeniable fact that situations like these arise everyday in local cricket matches in Mumbai, or for that matter anywhere else (Stronger teams facing weaker opponents).

Yet, no one had ever achieved this. As per reports, the opponents were at a serious disadvantage. For the last two decades, teams from here were at a disadvantage while playing major tournaments in Mumbai, yet you never saw us complaining. Again, taking all aspects into consideration, standing there and hitting those number of runs is no mean feat no matter what.

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Lastly, for the nth time it is probably true that K C Gandhi should have declared instead of going for the world record. But then, the record is not significant. The record is just a medium to knock on the world’s door asking for opportunities for people, who were invisible until now.

I am ready to put the record behind. The people of Kalyan are willing to put the record behind. K C Gandhi is ready to put the record behind. Knowing the coach, I’m sure Pranav Dhanawade must have already been instructed by him to put the record behind.

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The record is irrelevant. The record doesn’t matter. What matters is the kind of positive impact it will bring with it. Hoping that it presents an optimistic new beginning to cricket in Kalyan, which is all set to enter its second innings.

A word of thought to the opponents. They showed tremendous courage and spirit standing there and continuing put in their efforts while facing such an onslaught. The kids after enduring that will certainly be in a position to face any odds in their future endeavours.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda.

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Edited by Staff Editor
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