Paddy: The forgotten man of Mumbai maidans

MUMBAI: Long before technology or Google dominated our lives, it was a tough task keeping tab on young and upcoming players strutting their stuff across the Mumbai maidans. In the mid-1980s and early 90s, with his in-depth knowledge and a keen eye to spot talent, Pradeep Jadhav was a blessing for many Mumbai coaches and selectors.
Such was his passion and understanding of the sport that the selectors would regularly pick Jadhav's brains before selecting junior Mumbai teams.Jadhav's sharp and unbiased inputs would come in handy for the selectors.
For years, Jadhav, who was once among the forty probables picked for Mumbai's Ranji Trophy team, would reach the ground with a few boys in tow and train them at different nets (Cross, Azad Maidan and Shivaji Park). If he wasn't in a position to train them personally, Jadhav did all he could to provide those players with the best of facilities. He would go all out to convince the coaches or selectors of a player's abilities.
The coaches on their part, would trust Jadhav's word and spend time on the recommended boys and work extra hard with them. Jadhav would also accompany junior teams as a manager and has also served the BCCI for a few months. While he was a strict disciplinarian, Jadhav never ever reported the boys for misconduct. Many of his wards later went on to play for Mumbai, and some, even for the country.
Jadhav's ways to groom young talents were rustic in nature but yet it got the desired results. For instance, his idea of a warm-up before the game was to ask his players to rid the playing square off stones and other foreign objects. "Shram Daan, toh karna mangta hai (you need to do some labour donation)," he would say in his typical Mumbai accent.
Jadhav's eccentric ways and the undying passion for the sport and those associated with it - groundsmen in particular - has landed him in a difficult situation. Although he claims he has earned enough over decades to keep him going, people who have known him for years feel otherwise.
"I know for sure he doesn't have the resources. It is because of a few friends he is surviving," said one close friend who has known him for years.
Because he wants to be associated with Mumbai cricket even at the age of 63, he has chosen to leave his home. He spends most of his time in the maidan.
"Kisi ko takleef kyoon dene ka"? he says. "I sometimes sleep here (Cross Maidan) or I sleep on platforms (Virar seems to be his favourite destination). Jidhar man karta wahan so jata hoon," he says.
Jadhav wasn't willing to reveal why he has abandoned his home. When asked why he wasn't staying with his brothers, he shot back: "Why should they bother me? I have chosen to stay away from home. They have not asked me to leave. My father (former Assistant Commissioner of Police) has ensured that all the siblings have a home of their own and I have one in Bandra," he says.
Heavily diabetic and in need of urgent medical help, Jadhav is left staring at an uncertain future.
For a man who has a wealth of knowledge stored in his mind and spouts statistics and anecdotes every other minute, he, for now, appears to be a stranger in his own land.