Dowla Gold Cup is a passé now

Hyderabad: September holds a great significance as an important month in the calendar of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for many years but not anymore. The prestigious Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup tournament was always held around this time and the city hosted a galaxy of Indian cricketers — junior and senior. Classified as a first class […]

Hyderabad: September holds a great significance as an important month in the calendar of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for many years but not anymore. The prestigious Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup tournament was always held around this time and the city hosted a galaxy of Indian cricketers — junior and senior.

Classified as a first class cricket and virtually a selection tournament for the Indian team to play at home or abroad till the 70s, it was an ideal platform for many aspiring cricketers too.

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Over the years, the tournament has lost its charm. And since four years, the tournament has failed to take off and doubts have been raised whether this blue-riband Cup will be revived at all.

Beset by internal squabbles, the HCA has not been able to hold a tournament that is steeped in rich history. The association may have reasons not to conduct the tournament because of the Covid-19 pandemic this year too.

“It is unfortunate we are not able to conduct the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup tournament for the last two years. With a tight BCCI calendar and the Covid-19 pandemic, we are not able to slot the dates for the tournament,’’ said R Vijayanand, secretary of HCA.

A club secretary said with no tournaments around, the HCA could have been given a try as a prelude to the domestic tournaments.`The Dowla Cup could have been ideal preparations for the new season. To be honest, the association was in no mood to organize the tournament, ’’ he said.

Former secretary PR Man Singh said it is sad that a tournament like Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup has lost its way. “There should be a serious effort to revive this tournament. Many old Indian cricketers have fond memories of the Gold Cup. This was indeed a selection tournament for the Indian cricket team. Careers were made and new talent was discovered during this tournament. The richness of the tournament was evident in the way the star cricketers made a beeline to play this tournament. Sadly, it is not so anymore,’’ he said.

Senior journalist Valentine Wilson added that the Gold Cup triggers many memories to cherish but over the years it has lost its lustre. “In fact, there is a story doing the rounds that the actual Gold Cup itself is missing. One remembers rather vividly the long list of stalwarts who paraded their wares at the Lal Bahadur Stadium or at Gymkhana ground. The Bombay teams, ACC, Nirlons, Mafatlal, were very popular.

Hyderabad teams like U Foam, VST and the Hyderabad XI and the star-studded State Bank were the other attractions. M. L. Jaisimha led the U Foam and F.D. Stewart teams at different times. Pataudi, Salim Durrani, Chandu Borde, Erapalli Prasanna, Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar and later Sachin Tendulkar all showed their skills in this tournament. Rohan Kanhai was another star attraction. That he failed is another story.

Memories of Abdul Bari Wahab’s hat trick, the first in the history of Dowla against State Bank are embossed in the mind. His victims were Wadekar, Hanumanth Singh and Ambar Roy. Young Kapil Dev’s mighty six which landed right outside the Lal Bahadur stadium and Jaisimha cradling the gorgeous Gold Cup are some of the other vignettes.

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