Bails of Glory: The Story of IndianOil’s Entry Into Cricket

One look at IndianOil’s cricket team and one could easily think that the side is as good as any top Ranji Trophy team, and of international pedigree. The side boasts of Indian cricket stars including Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Prithvi Shaw and Khaleel Ahmed, along with stalwart Wasim Jaffer. National players including Aditya Tare, Siddhesh Lad and Ricky Bhui too form part of this formidable line-up.

However, like many origin stories, the IndianOil cricket team too had humble beginnings. The foundation for the team was sown three decades ago under the guidance of Indian cricketer and first-class veteran Hanumant Singh in 1986. Cricket was the most popular sport back then, and it marked IndianOil’s entry into sports.

“P Shreedharan, a former IOCian and then Deputy Manager (Administration), and former Ranji player for Railways, was instrumental in putting the team together. Aspiring players were called for selection trials at the Wankhede Stadium. Among 20 players who were called, 10 were shortlisted,” recollects Rajendra Lele, the first captain of the team, recently retired as DGM (A&W), Marketing Division HO.

“We didn’t even have a full squad, we used to call others to make up a playing 11,” chuckles Lele, as he recalls the time.

With a singular passion for the game, the team made best use of modest resources and equipment, and practiced at the MIG Club in Bandra, Mumbai.

The team, which had a half-day allowance for training, immediately made a mark by winning the Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB, now rechristened PSPB) tournament in the 1986-87 season.

“Money was immaterial for us, and thanks to the support from IndianOil, we just had the opportunity to play the game. The PSCB tournament was our first. The energy level in the team was very high and we won the tournament, which took place in Vadodara,” says Lele.

However, club cricket in Mumbai was very competitive, with established teams like Tata, Mafatlal, Nirlon and Mahindra ruling the roost. These teams had star players. In fact, the Tata team was a replica of the Bombay Ranji Trophy team which boasted of India players Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Kiran More and Lalchand Rajput. Other big names in the circuit included Sanjay Manjrekar and Sandeep Patil.

“Back then, there were only limited tournaments, the Times Shield, PSCB/PSPB and inter-oil. Despite being a new team and with players coming from different parts of the country, we fought exceedingly well against the might of Tata, Sungrace, Mahindra & Mahindra, which had top players of that time. We weren’t as accomplished as these clubs or their players, but we always fought very hard,” says Lele.

“Our team included Sulakshkan Kulkarni, S Ansari, Amit Asawa, MF Rahaman, BG Joglekar and Rajesh Jadhav, who always chipped in with useful contributions. We are still very close to each other even though some of us are no longer with IndianOil. We are all indebted to the Corporation for the opportunity and encouragement,” says Lele.

From 1992, the team started moving on, heralding a new generation of players: Bhavin Radia, Naman Khankar, Rajesh Gurav and Vishal Mahadi.

Subsequently, between 1993 and 1996, many youngsters including Mandar Phadke, Iqbal Siddique, Hemant Kinikar, Manish Patel, Mayur Kadrekar, Mahesh Karanskar, Amit Dani, Nishit Shetty and Wasim Jaffer joined IndianOil. The team grew from strength to strength and won consecutive PSPB & Times Shield championships from 1993 till 1996.

Today, IndianOil enjoys an elite status in the domestic cricket circles with the best of Ranji and India players in the team; however, it was a determined foundation and passion that led to this success.