Dilip Vengsarkar, the former India captain and one of the greatest batters the country has ever produced, decided to donate his Test sweater and blazer to the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum, which will be inaugurated later this week. It must be mentioned that the right-handed batter wore this particular sweater when he scored 126 not out against England, setting the stage for Kapil Dev's India to win the Lord's Test in June 1986.
The Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum will be inaugurated on Saturday, August 23. Speaking about his decision, the legendary Indian batter said that the MCA means everything to him, hence he decided to donate his sweater and blazer.
However, Vengsarkar doesn't remember the exact series in which he used his blazer. He also revealed that he will be giving his bats and other gear to the museum.
"I have given MCA the sweater I wore during the 1986 Lord’s Test. I had worn it throughout the England tour. I have also given my India blazer, but I don’t remember exactly in which series I used that blazer. In the future as well, I will give my bats and other gear to the museum," he told Mid-Day.
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{{/usCountry}}“Right from the age of 12 when I played Giles Shield till I retired [from international cricket] in 1992, I played all MCA matches, so Mumbai Cricket Association means everything to me. And right from the beginning, every official has supported me hugely, whether it is school, college, university, office, club cricket or while playing for Mumbai and India. And we played for Mumbai with a lot of pride. Whatever I’ve learnt is because of Mumbai cricket," he added.
Vengsarkar, 69, scored 6868 Test runs, while in the ODI format, he registered 3508 runs for India. He had also recently donated a helmet and blazer to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association’s museum in Indore.
"When people see an international cricketer’s bats, gloves, pads, sweaters, or a fast bowler’s shoes, etc, they will surely be motivated to work hard," said Vengsarkar.
The famous Lord's Test in 1986
Under Kapil Dev's leadership, India won the 1986 Lord's Test by five wickets after chasing down the total of 134. Vengsarkar played a knock of 33 runs in the second innings. He was dismissed by Phil Edmonds.
Kapil Dev returned with a four-wicket haul in the second innings, and this spell helped him to be adjudged as Player of the Match. He also took the visitors over the line by playing an unbeaten knock of 23 runs off 10 balls with the help of 4 fours and 1 six.
India eventually won the series 2-0 after winning the first two Tests at Lord's and Headingley.