M. G. Bhave, the secretary of the Poona Cricket Association, requested Baba's darshan and blessing for the team of seventeen Indian cricketers who were about to leave for England for the upcoming test match. Baba made an exception to the darshan-only-on-Sundays rule and agreed to see the cricket team on Thursday, 2 April 1959, at 9:00 A.M. That day Baba was ready in the hall of Guruprasad at exactly 9:00 A.M., but as the cricket players were undergoing a medical examination the same day, they were delayed.
Representatives of the press had also been allowed to come, and they took advantage of the opportunity to put a few questions to Baba. Baba was in a welcoming mood and answered them. Telling them about his childhood, he related:
Of all games, I love cricket the most. I used to play as a boy. I was particularly good behind the wickets. I was a member of the junior cricket team of St. Vincent High School which I attended, and I was selected as a wicket keeper even on the senior team. Ever since my childhood days I was always chosen as the leader by my schoolmates, and whenever there was a quarrel or fight among the students, I was invariably chosen to arbitrate between the quarreling parties.
When I was a child, children were attracted to me. When I grew up, God was attracted to me. And when I became one with God, people all over the world became attracted to me.
After St. Vincent's, I went to Deccan College; and there, too, I played many matches. Once a cricket match was being played on the grounds of the Poona Club. [Mirza] Yusuf Baig, the famous all-rounder of those days, was batting.1 Yusuf knew of my ability in wicket-keeping and he challenged me to "out" him. I accepted his challenge. Yusuf played the first four balls very carefully, but he stepped out of his place a bit to strike the fifth ball. That was his undoing, as my throw shattered his wickets and he was out. I won the challenge. Yusuf Baig came over and congratulated me.
Footnotes
- 1.An "all-rounder" is a cricket term, used to describe a player who excels at both batting and bowling.