City Life – Star Cricketers, Old Delhi Life by The Delhi Walla - September 14, 20240 Lest we forget. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] During your next walking tour to Old Delhi, try catch glimpses of Nadeem, Kashif, Atif, Arib, Hayat and Kamran. These super six are being hailed by the historic quarter’s cricketing world as among the top players in the recently concluded BMMTA Cup (full form—Bazar Matia Mahal Traders Association). Matia Mahal with about 700 shops is among the Walled City’s most boisterous bazars. Last week the market’s association hosted a T10-style cricket tournament involving eight Old Delhi teams in seven matches held over four days in Chandni Chowk. The audience at the Shanti Desai Sports Club was made of Walled City’s cricket fans, along with students of a school close to the playground. The commuters from the nearby metro station frequently joined the spectators. Each team was sponsored by the pairing of an iconic Purani Dilli establishment with the resident welfare association of an equally iconic Purani Dilli street. So Apex (the tournament’s winner!) was sponsored by Noori Masale and the RWA of Pahari Imli, White Tiger by Karim Hotel and Gali Choori Walan, United Team by Al-Jawahar restaurant and Katra Gokul Shah, Spartans 313 by Naresh Chandra Jain & Co garment shop and Matia Mahal, D. Super Kings by Al-Yamin restaurant and Dujana House, Delhi Warrior by Aslam Chicken and Gali Gadhiya, Haveli Riders by Kamaal Sweets and Haveli Azam Khan, and Knight Riders by Haji Mohd Hussain chicken fry restaurant and Madarsa Wali Gali. Talking of galis, it is prudent to remember that gali cricket is impossible in Old Delhi’s maddeningly crowded galis. The serious players drive every Sunday to the grounds of distant Ghaziabad and Noida. Their weekdays though are devoted to careers outside the cricket. Take the tournament’s aforementioned six cricketers. Batsman Nadeem helps run Hayat Guest House in Matia Mahal, all-rounder Kashif manages a paint shop in Gali Choori Walan, batsman Atif has a crockery store in Meena Bazar, all-rounder Arib has a job in a Gurugram multinational, and bowler Hayat mans a call centre in the same so-called Millennium City. And Kamran, who divides his time between Gali Pahari Darziyan and Dubai, and trades in scrap metal, was the tournament’s only bowler who did not concede a single boundary or a single chakka. As for the tournament’s Man of the Series, all-rounder Abdul Hadi administers a machine tools shop in Meena Bazar. He captained the winning team Apex, which defeated White Tiger, chasing the target with 7 balls to spare. The team was awarded a cup, medals. plus 11,000 rupees. This week on Wednesday evening, Captain Hadi stood outside his shop to pose for the camera, acutely aware of not being dressed in a cricketer’s uniform—see left photo. Also see the other photo of his mobile phone, showing him in his team’s dress, holding the cup on the Jama Masjid stairs. FacebookX Related Related posts: City Life – Line of Control, Matia Mahal City Landmark – K & R Pickle and Murabbas, Matia Mahal Bazar City Life – Bird Flying, Matia Mahal City Walk – Gali Kebabiyan, Old Delhi City Hangout – Matia Mahal Bazar, Old Delhi