Ravi Shastri and 10 Other Sports Icons Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards in Mumbai

Celebrating Sporting Excellence

Ravi Shastri, the former Indian cricketer and head coach, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sports Journalists' Association of Mumbai (SJAM) at a prestigious event held at the Bombay Gymkhana on Wednesday. A total of 11 distinguished athletes received this accolade.

Although Shastri could not attend the ceremony in person, his mother, Lakshmi Shastri, graciously accepted the award on his behalf. She captivated the audience with delightful anecdotes from his remarkable cricket journey, particularly highlighting his famous record of hitting six sixes in a single over.

Reflecting on the memorable 1984-85 Ranji Trophy match against Baroda, where Shastri became only the second player after Sir Gary Sobers to achieve this feat, Lakshmi shared a touching family story.

“Ravi has given us countless cherished memories, but the six sixes in an over stand out,” she reminisced. “I was completely unaware it had happened at Wankhede Stadium until our bhelpuri vendor informed me while watching the match!”

She continued to recount how Ravi playfully kept the news a secret upon returning home. “When I inquired about the match, he cheekily said, ‘If you want to know, tune into All India Radio at 7 PM.’ Since the bhelpuri vendor had mentioned it, I sensed something special had occurred. I called my husband at his clinic and told him to listen. To our astonishment, the news reported that he had ‘Sobered Sobers,’ as a banner on Marine Drive proclaimed the next day.”

Lakshmi fondly remembered 1985 as a pivotal year in her son’s career. “Those six sixes during the Hong Kong Six-A-Side Tournament made that year unforgettable. Following that, Ravi excelled at the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket, earning the title of ‘Champion of Champions.’ He won an iconic Audi car, which I honestly didn’t even know how to pronounce back then. Very few people in India had seen one before! I’ll always remember the victory lap at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.”

In addition to Shastri, several other sports legends were recognized with Lifetime Achievement Awards, including:

Shubhangi Kulkarni – Former Indian women’s cricketer

Michael Ferreira – Three-time World Amateur Billiards Champion

Niraj Bajaj – Veteran table tennis player

GM Pravin Thipsay – Chess Grandmaster

Anjali Bhagwat, Suma Shirur & Deepali Deshpande – Acclaimed shooters

Mervyn Fernandes & Joaquim Carvalho – Hockey Olympians

Sanjay Sharma – Former national badminton champion and team captain

The event was a celebration of decades of sporting excellence, honoring the rich legacy established by India’s sports pioneers over the years.