Times Shield awards function: An evening to remember for BPCL

MUMBAI: It was that evening of the year when some of the city's best cricketers celebrate their favourite sport - when their achievements are recognized and hard work gets due reward, when they trade their customary whites for formals, adorned in suits, and ties.
Arguably the most prestigious cricket tournament in the city, the Times Shield held a glittering annual awards function at the MCA Lounge at the Wankhede on Friday evening.
And the honours in the 81st edition of this revered cricket meet were stolen by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. BPCL not only bagged the 'A' Division trophy, they also ran away with the 'best batsman' award, which went to Bhavin Thakkar, and the 'fastest scoring' (493 runs in 121 overs at 4.07 against Western Railway Sports Association 'B') prizes too.
BPCL, whose skipper Abhishek Nayar was missing in the function due to Ranji duty, had won the Times Shield in 2008 too, but at that time they had to share the honours with Indian Oil.
This triumph, therefore, was all the sweeter. Tata SC had two awards to cheer for, the runners-up trophy in the 'A' Division, and the 'best bowler' prize for Mithun Mukherjee.
'Best batsman' Thakkar was elated. "I know that several great players have won this award in the past, and so many have made it to the Mumbai Ranji team after playing well in this prestigious event," he told TOI. The 29-year-old opener is presently serving a "cooling-off period", which means he will have to wait for a year before he becomes eligible to play for Mumbai again, since he played for Himachal Pradesh in the previous season.
"I can't tell you how desperate I am to play for Mumbai again. I am a Mumbaikar, my heart beats for Mumbai cricket," Thakkar added. "But I know that you have to earn a Mumbai cap, you don't get it just like that. This award is for my last season's performance. I'll have to play equally well this season too."
Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president, Vilasrao Deshmukh, dwelled on the importance of the tournament. "I am very happy that I was invited for this function. This is a tournament that has gone on for more than eight decades, and I am told that there are around 150 office teams that take part in it. The Times of India itself is more than 150 years old," Deshmukh, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said.
The former Maharashtra chief minister said he got a "fair idea of the issues plaguing local cricket" while contesting the MCA elections earlier this year. "Many clubs, offices told me about their problems, and I promised to look into them. One of the major problems that has cropped up is that budding cricketers are no longer recruited by public sector companies. I myself am a part of the government, and I shall do my best to solve this issue.
The beverage partners for the event were Royal Challenge and Kingfisher.