Established in 1926, the Parsi Zoroastrian Club has successfully completed four decades of providing free cricket training to the students of BMC schools. One of the oldest cricket clubs in the city, it was started by cricket lover Jahangir Pithawala. It was Pithawala who took up the cause of providing free training but has tradition has continued even though he is no more.

This year, the club plans to send a documentary to Delhi supporting their work for Rashtrapati Award. Mangesh Bhalekar, 65, who has been working with the club for over 35 years said, “No matter who it is, one of the first sport the kids want to play is cricket. The students of BMC-run schools have equal right to play and learn the finer nuances of the game like anybody else.”

Bhalekar, who received the Chhatrapati award for his work in 2002 further informed that the club has been training students aged 12-14 at the club’s ground called Dadkar Maiden near Matunga Gymkhana. The kids undergo a selection process post which they are given kits for practise which is brought from donations mostly made by ex-players of the club.