Darling of Shivaji Park
He was a darling and doyen of Shivaji Park — and as a result Mumbai — cricket. We, youngsters, used to copy whatever Ajit did: the way he walked to the crease, his playing style, how he stood at slip, even his unique way of talking. Even before he played for India, I — as a kid who would primarily manage scoreboards for most of Shivaji Park Gymkhana games —worshipped him. My father (Madhusudan) was the SPG captain and he would invite a few seniors home for lunch during Kanga League games. Wadekar would be a permanent fixture, along with the likes of Ramakant Desai and Vijay Manjrekar. I used to get excited hearing the sound of their spikes. They would walk to our home, still wearing their playing boots.
— Sandeep Patil, former India batsman,
coach and chairman of selectors
He was elected the vicepresident of the Mumbai Cricket Association four times between mid90s and 2001. Manohar Joshi, the former Lok Sabha speaker, was the president so Wadekar chaired most of the managing committee meetings. He virtually conducted the daytoday business of the association and was such a smooth operator. He played a big role in staging the 1996 World Cup. Except for becoming the MCA President — he lost the election to Sharad Pawar — he held every post that mattered in Mumbai cricket. We used to be overwhelmed to see his commitment and support for differentlyabled cricket. As the president of the differentlyabled cricket association, I have seen him making multiple representations to BCCI about recognising them. Now that the Supreme Court has made it mandatory for the BCCI to support differentlyabled cricket and cricketers, it is sad that the man who worked so hard for it won't be around to see it.
—Ratnakar Shetty, former BCCI chief administrative officer and Mumbai Cricket
Association vicepresident
That he was an exceptional manmanger is welldocumented by those who played with him. I also noticed this trait in his role as a manager with the State Bank of India. I remember in Dadar, where he was heading a branch, he roped in Sandeep (Patil) for an innovative scheme. He announced that whomsoever opened a Fixed Deposit, Sandeep would sign the receipt. It worked wonders and the business increased manifold for SBI. Innovative branding, isn’t it? No wonder that whenever I met Azhar (Mohammed Azharuddin), a good friend, the first question he would ask was: “kya bolta hai hamara manager? (how is our manager?)”
— Prakash Kelkar, former Shivaji Park
Gymkhana secretary
AMOL KARHADKAR