Former Mumbai and Karnataka cricketer Sharad Rao passes away

60-year old Karnataka and Mumbai cricketer Sharad Rao breathed his last yesterday night following a cardiac arrest. The former right-arm pacer was part of the then Bombay Ranji Trophy squad, which was led by late Eknath Solkar. The team had defeated Bishan Singh Bedi’s Delhi side in 1980-81 final to clinch the trophy. Rao’s first class career spanned from 1980-81 season to 1985-86. He played 10 matches and took 16 wickets at an average of 33.81 and economy of 3.89. His best bowling figures are 4/27.  The pacer also scored a decent amount of runs with the bat. Rao piled up 118 runs with a best of 40.

Bowling to a 14-year old Tendulkar

Rao also represented Karnataka in the national championship and turned out for the Karnataka Sporting Association in local cricket tournaments. He had a few outings with the Tata Sports Club in inter-offices tournaments. Interestingly, Rao once bowled to a 14-year old Sachin Tendulkar in a Kanga League match. Hemant Kenkre, Tendulkar’s first captain for Cricket Club of India (CCI) in the 1988 Kanga League ‘A’ Division recalled the game once.“Against Karnataka Sports Association, we were batting second and the pitch was deteriorating. Young Sachin walks in at No. 4 and I was the non-striker. The first ball he faced off Sharad Rao, a former Karnataka Ranji medium-pacer, he hit it straight over middle-stump for a six. That six spoke a lot about Sachin’s attitude; it showed his fearlessness. It was not a slog, but a beautiful shot — copybook,” he said.

The Kanga League is a very popular cricket tournament, founded in the year 1948. It is held in Mumbai during the monsoon season. The league is named after Bombay cricketer Hormasji Kanga, who represented India in five Test matches. he was also the first Indian to score a double hundred in a first class match. Rao was one of the cricketers who went on to establish himself in the domestic circuit.