Meet Anil Gurav, the man who wants his SG bat back from Sachin

Mumbai: In a dingy 200 sqft 'kholi' (room) in Mumbai's Nalaspoara slum lives Anil Gurav, the man who was once projected as Mumbai's Viv Richards, whom Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli once used to address as "sir", who had once lent his SG bat to Sachin to score a century, but did not get it back. The man Anil Gurav fell a victim to circumstances, beaten up and hounded by police when his brother Ajit became a sharpshooter of an underworld gang, and became addicted to alcohol. Any, everything was lost, his career, his dreams, all went up in smoke. In an interview to Indian Express, Anil Gurab revealed how Sachin and Vinod Kambli once used to be his ardent fans, as coach Ramakant Achrekar asked the youngsters to watch Gurav's strokeplay. "Sachin loved my cut and hook shot. He also took a few tips regarding how to go about playing with as power as I used to play", recounts Gurav.Anil Gurav used to be star among Mumbai's upcoming batsmen, representing Bombay Schools and Bombay U-19 team. "I was his captain at Sassanian (cricket club). He wanted to use my bat but was too shy to ask me directly. The request came through Ramesh Parab (now international scorer at Wankhede stadium), and I told Sachin he could use it provided he made a big score. He said,'I will, sir' and went on to score a century with my SG bat", says Gurav. Gurav says how we last met Sachin in the early 1990s at the Islam Gymkhana at Marine Lines, when he saw Sachin getting into hisw car with some 10 security guys keeping people at bay. Sachin called him, spoke for a couple of minutes and asked him to come to his home.A few days later, when Gurav went to Sachin's home at La Mer, he was told Sachin had left for England the previous evening. "My main intention was to take my bat back. The SG one that he never returned. That was the only bat I ever owned in my life. I hope to meet him after retirement and ask him to return it, since he's not using it", says Gurav. Gurav disclosed how coach Ramakant Achrekar once saw him drunk at a local match five years ago. "He suddenly signalled to me, asking me to join him. All he said was, 'Khelaayla shikavle mee, daaru pyaayla naahi' (I taught you how to bat, I never taught you how to drink alcohol)Gurav has joined Alcoholics Anonymous, but is yet to kick the bottle.