Lockdown woes: Cricket autographs collector Anil Karkhanis misses his Wankhede trips

Anil Karkhanis with an autographed bat signed by West Indies batting maestro Brian Lara.

With Coronavirus forcing cricket to be played in a bio-secure bubble and behind closed doors, avid autograph collectors like Anil Karkhanis are left high and dry in the new normal.

Karkhanis, 72, who has been hunting for autographs of cricketers since he was 15, has been confined to his Thane home for over a year now due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before Coronavirus struck, Karkhanis would be spotted wherever the action would be in Mumbai. Be it an international or domestic match, the diminutive Karkhanis would quietly wait outside the dressing rooms of Wankhede Stadium, Cricket Club of India, DY Patil Stadium or MCA's Bandra Kurla Complex ground.
The last autographs he managed to get were of Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan when they played for their respective office teams during the DY Patil T20 Cup just days before India went into a national lockdown in March last year.

"I really miss going to the stadiums. My family does not allow me to venture out too much for precautionary reasons due to Coronavirus. I particularly missed my trips when the IPL matches were being conducted in Mumbai.

"There was no question of going to the Wankhede or wherever the teams were practising as they were anyway in a bubble. So, meeting them for an autograph was impossible. The security would have been extra-tight as well," Karkhanis told mid-day.com.

Karkhanis followed his passion while working at Government Dental College, Fort. "I hardly missed a match in Mumbai ever since I started collecting autographs. I have never asked for any selfies with cricketers. My only aim was to get their autograph. I just love doing it," Karkhanis said.

He boasts of possessing over 2,000 autographs of cricketers. His first one was of Khanderao ‘Khandu' Rangnekar, who featured in India's 1947-48 tour of Australia. Karkhanis was 15 when he took the autograph.

Sir Don Bradman's autograph is Anil Karkhanis's prized possession to date

Karkhanis' most cherished autograph is of the legendary Sir Don Bradman. "I got it after showing a lot of patience. I first wrote to Cricket Australia who directed me to the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA). I did that and after four months, I got a reply with Sir Don's autograph. It is quite priceless," Karkhanis said.

It's not that Karkhanis begins his chase once the cricketer is established. He cherishes the fact that he got India skipper Virat Kohli's autograph when he was representing the national U-19 team. "The India U-19 team were put up at the Sea Green hotel on Marine Drive, Churchgate. I took his autograph there," he recalled.

Autograph of India skipper Virat Kohli when he was playing in the national U-19 team

Like everyone else, Karkhanis too is hoping the pandemic ends soon so that he can get back to his favourite hobby.