Bal Pandit, the secretary of Maharashtra Cricket Association in the mid-1980s, passed away in Pune at the age of 86. A law graduate, Pandit was one among the pioneers in Marathi cricket commentary and was commissioned by All India Radio for many decades. He has authored a number of books in Marathi. Pandit endeared himself with fans of the game with his lucid live commentary of both international and domestic matches on All India Radio for over four decades.
He had also played a lone Ranji Trophy match representing Maharashtra against Gujarat in 1959-60. A prolific cricket writer, Bal wrote about 30 books and also penned newspaper and magazine articles on the subject, enhancing common man’s knowledge of the game.
Maharashtra government had recognised his contribution to the game bestowing the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award on him in 1978.
His Marathi translation of Sunil Gavaskar’s ‘Sunny Days’ became popular with the Marathi readers. During his long association with the state cricket, Pandit also held position of selector of Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA).
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