Milind Rege, the former Mumbai captain, died of a heart attack on Wednesday just days after turning 76.
Rege took 126 wickets with his offbreaks in 52 first-class matches between 1966-67 and 1977-78. He also scored 1532 runs at an average of 23.56 in those games. After his playing career, Rege was associated with Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in various capacities, including selector and chief of selector in separate stints.
He was one of the Mumbai selectors when a young Sachin Tendulkar was added to the Ranji Trophy squad in 1988. In 2006, he backed Mumbai's use of a
video analyst in domestic cricket, one of the earliest to use the then-fledgling tool in the sport.
Rege was also
Sunil Gavaskar's childhood friend. The pair played together at Dadar Union Sporting Club. Gavaskar paid glowing tribute: "He was like my elder brother. We lived a building across each other and grew up together, went to the same school and college. Played tennis-ball cricket in the compound. He played Ranji before me and like Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani have done for Mumbai this year, Milind always came to the rescue when we, the so-called top order, failed. He was good enough to play for India but there was Prasanna and Venkataraghavan around, so he couldn't break in.
"Then at the age of 24 he had his first heart attack. It speaks volumes of his love for Mumbai cricket and his determination that he made a comeback a few years later and even captained Mumbai.
"Last week after he was first admitted to the hospital, when I told him that Mumbai had taken a small lead
against Haryana you could see how he immediately perked up. For him Mumbai cricket was his life. Yes, he had strong opinions and so may have upset a few people but nobody could question his love and commitment to Mumbai cricket."
"To play for Mumbai, you had to earn your cap and fight to retain it,"
Rege had told ESPNcricinfo in 2017 on the eve of Mumbai's 500th Ranji Trophy match. "Vijay Merchant, Madhav Mantri, [Polly] Umrigar and Manohar Hardikar - these men sat on the selection panel that picked me. These were not mere selectors, these were giants of Mumbai cricket. They were all disciplinarians, and great captains of Mumbai. One failure and you were out, so you valued every innings. This ethos was followed at every level of the game, especially in the intensely competitive club cricket, one of the legacies of Mumbai cricket."
Both the Mumbai and Vidarbha teams in the ongoing Ranji Trophy
semi-final in Nagpur observed a minute's silence before the start of the third day's play in Rege's memory. The Mumbai players, of whom many earned their first-class debuts when he was selection chair, wore black arm-bands.
"Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Milind Rege sir," MCA president Ajinkya Naik said in a statement. "A stalwart of Mumbai cricket, his contributions as a player, selector, and mentor were invaluable. His guidance shaped generations of cricketers, and his legacy will forever be cherished. May his soul rest in peace. Heartfelt condolences to his family and loved one."
Since 2020, Rege was an advisor at MCA.
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