Cricket is a craze in India, but more than 200 years ago, it was the sleepy coastal town of Thalassery at the Malabar coast in Kerala that first saw a game of cricket being played on its shores. The game has now spread to every nook and corner in the country and is followed and worshipped like a religion. But one man in Thalassery has taken it upon himself to preserve the place’s rich cricketing history by maintaining a priceless cricketing collection.
V B Ishaque’s love for cricket has seen him rise to the post of the Kannur District Cricket Association secretary. But between governing cricket in the district and being an active member of the Kerala Cricket Association, 65-year-old Ishaque has managed to amass a collection of photos, letters, scorecards, newspaper cuttings and books that gives an insight into the cricketing history of both the Malabar coast and the country.
“Thalassery is the place where cricket was first played in India and hence we have a history that no other place in the country can match. I inherited most of my collection from my uncle Macky and have maintained it, just so that future generations can appreciate the role that we played in the propagation of cricket in the country,” he says.
One of the prize items in his collection, which is currently housed in his residence, is a scorecard that was used to jot down the scores of match held in 1923 between a British Eleven and a Malabar Eleven. Scorecards from matches played between British and Indian teams in later years offer proof that the Moplahs of Malabar held their own against the seasoned veterans from England and rare photos of these games offers fascinating insight into the way the game was played back then. A plaque that contains the names of every test cricketer, who has played in Thalassery reveals some famous names like Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Mohammed Azharuddin.
A former player who still takes an active interest in the affairs of his local club, the 100-year-old Town Cricket Club, Ishaque is also a massive cricket fan. His fandom can be gauged from the pictures and posters of superstars of the game that supplement his collection of artifacts from cricketing past. Rare pictures of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in their prime as well as paintings of Indian legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarker find a place in his collection along with pictures of Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh in their teens long before they came into cricketing prominence.
Ishaque is looking to expand his collection and would one day like to see it housed in a museum dedicated to the game. “The collection used to be much bigger but a number of pictures and cards including one of C K Nayudu playing in Thalassery, were either damaged or lost. I am now trying to expand the collection.”
During the last government’s rule, state tourism officials had asked Ishaque if he would donate his collection to a cricket museum if they came up with one. However nothing came out of it. “I do hope that my collection can be part of a project that will properly highlight the role that the town and Malabar had in introducing cricket to the country,” he says.
