Just the way world will miss Raj Singh Dungarpur, so will the game (Photo: The Hindu).

I’ll kick my self for not following my heart; for last four weeks I had been wanting to meet Raj Singh Dungarpur. I’ll never get that chance again.

The last time I met Raj Sir (I could never call him Raj bhai), we talked on cricket, rather he did and I listened, for over two hours. A raconteur extraordinaire, he, like Michael Holding in his bowling stride, effortlessly glided through one cricket anecdote after another. For him, it was a piece of cake.

His passion for the game was unmistakable but one felt, perhaps, the game had also taken a liking to him. Uncannily, he was always in the thick of cricketing action for over 40 years. First as a medium-pacer for Rajasthan, whom he led to Ranji Trophy finals on three occasions, and then as a cricket administrator with exemplary vision. The affair between him and the game was truly intense and enduring.

A story on cricketing memorabilia had taken me to Raj sir. I couldn’t have asked for more, as he opened a Pandora’s Box before me. He took me to Polly Umrigar Sports Bar, housed in the Cricket Club of India (CCI) premises, which is a veritable treasure trove, and allowed me to soak in the history of Indian cricket.

With utmost care and pride, he took out a silver-plated bat, which was gifted to Col CK Nayudu by the captain Arthur Gilligan of the visiting MCC team in 1926. The bat was a mark of respect to CK Nayudu’s sublime batting skills, which he had showcased in his incandescent knock of 153 while playing for the Hindus against MCC XI.

“That one knock from CK Nayudu convinced Gilligan that India merits a Test status and he had lobbied in the MCC for six years till India finally got the Test status,” he recalled with a smile. The great raconteur was just warming up.

A little later, he stood beside a picture of Polly Umrigar and Vijay Merchant and he started again. “Polly once told me, ‘how come you don’t have my picture with my guru (Merchant) in CCI’. I was caught on the wrong foot for Polly was a very dear friend. Without wasting time, I managed to pull out a picture of him with his guru, got it framed and placed it here,” he fondly remembered India’s one of the most underrated batting legends, Polly Umrigar.

After a guided tour of the CCI, he took me to his suite where he showed me personally autographed pictures of three of the greatest batting legends of all time, KS Ranjitsinhji, KS Duleepsinhji and Don Bradman.

His rather spacious suite was a true reflection of how he lived cricket. The walls were adorned with pictures of some of the finest moments of Indian cricket and the chests proudly exhibited some of the rarest memorabilia.

Over a cup of coffee, he recalled how he once threw a challenge to Subhas Gupte, that magician of a leg-spinner, to beat his bat in a span of one over. “I was bowled neck and crop twice by the bowling wizard,” he recalled with a hearty laughter at his own expense.

“Gupte had two googlies, one that spun sharply and the other was a slower one,” he explained the maestro’s incredible skill.

The story-teller in Raj Sir was in fine form.

Notwithstanding one of her nieces waiting to meet her, he was off to another one. “In a match, I mocked Vinoo Mankad when a batsman stepped out and hit him for a boundary. In his unflappable manner, Mankad said, ‘I am giving him bait.’ Surely enough, a few balls later, he had the batsman caught and bowled. He always patiently plotted the batsman’s dismissal,” recalled Raj Sir.

I could not have made the lady (Raj Sir’s niece) wait longer and I excused myself with a handshake. “Do visit more often,” he had said.

I wish I had listened to him.

But thanks Raj Sir for introducing 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar to international cricket. For this and many other master strokes, you’ll always have a special place in our hearts. Just the way we’ll miss you, so will the game.