As Wankhede honours Dilip Sardesai, a tribute to an era when the city cricket’s unmatched depth, legacy, and ‘khadoos’ spirit made defeat almost unthinkable

Rajdeep Sardesai, son of Dilip Sardesai (3rd from left); CM Fadnavis, and Nandini Sardesai, wife of Dilip Sardesai, unveil the gate at Wankhede Stadium. On the extreme left are Sunil Gavaskar and MCA chief Ajinkya Naik, watched by Ravi Shastri (far right). Pic/Ashish Raje

In the age of ChatGPT, where an AI tool claims to have all the answers, here’s a cricket trivia question: who is the only Indian cricketer to have played more than a decade of first-class cricket without ever being on a losing Ranji Trophy side?

The answer is Dilip Sardesai. He played 61 matches for Mumbai between 1960 and 1973 and did not lose a single one, as the team won the Ranji Trophy an astonishing 15 years in a row.

On Thursday evening, as my late father........

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