Ashraf Chaudhary is a known name in Mumbai cricketing circles. He was often seen with a cricket kit bag slung around his shoulder, filled with bats and bat-grips, near the Wankhede Stadium’s North Stand dressing room staircase opposite Metro Cinema.
Ashraf Chaudhary was a constant presence during matches – international or IPL and before the Coronavirus struck, bringing all cricket to a halt, he was the go-to man to fix bats for the likes of Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and even international stars like Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis, Chris Gayle, and Kieron Pollard.
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He would fix broken bats, remake them, and shave off wood to lessen weight or trim the handle edges as per demands of the hard-to-please batsmen.
However, in the past few weeks, Chaudhary has fallen on hard times and has been admitted to a suburban Mumbai hospital with issues like kidney stones to other ailments. A well-wisher Prashant Jethmalani, who knows him for the past 15 years, is helping raise funds for the treatment.
“His situation is not good. There was some kidney stone-related problem, which has resurfaced again and there are other complications too. The lockdown means his business took a major hit as cricket has completely come to standstill in the city. He doesn’t have funds; whatever he has, it’s over,” Jethmalani says.
“We managed around two lakhs but we need more. We also want to raise some funds for him for his sustenance in the near future,” he adds.
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Owner of a small shop M Ashraf Bros that has been in operation in his family since 1920, the lockdown has hurt his finances, while his other employees have returned to their hometowns. Things took a turn for the worse earlier when his elder brother passed away two months ago.
When West Indies played a T20 World Cup game in Mumbai in the 2016 tournament, Ashraf donated 16 bats to the entire squad. The generosity was after Ashraf read about West Indies players being in a tussle over money with their cricket board.
“Nobody is asking for bats these days and with IPL happening abroad, there will be no work for Ashraf. The sad part is that many players owe him money but they haven’t paid him yet. Ashraf till date has never asked money from them,” Jethmalani said.
“It’s now the turn of cricketers to help the man whose accurate workmanship helped them in their time of need,” Jethmalani reckons.
(Indian Express inputs)
