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The passing away of freelance cricket writer Dwarkanath ‘Pappu’ Sanzgiri (1950-2025) not only meant that he ended his battle with cancer on Thursday in a determined and dogged fashion. It also caused his admirers to exclaim that they’ve seen the last of his kind.
For, Sanzgiri’s style of writing was unique to a point that he could come up with comparisons that would evoke a chuckle even as he made a good point.
Patil: Will miss Pappu
“Ever smiling, most sincere, great memory and good cricketing knowledge, Pappu was one of the most respected amongst print/electronic media and players too. We will miss him badly. His last interview was with me and Dilip [Vengsarkar, at a talk show last year],” said former India batsman Sandeep Patil, minutes after news of Sanzgiri’s death started doing the rounds. Patil worked closely with Sanzgiri as editor of Marathi fortnightly magazine, Ekach Shatkar, where Sanzgiri was executive editor, after a debut stint with Dinank magazine.
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Sanzgiri was among the small group of Indian journalists to witness the 1983 World Cup triumph by Kapil Dev & Co. He toured most cricketing countries too, entertaining readers with his creative writing and making friends. Sanzgiri befriended many Sri Lankan cricketers, especially those who were part of their 1996 World Cup team. There was also a special place in his heart for cricketers from Shivaji Park Gymkhana — the late Ramakant Desai, Ajit Wadekar and more recently Pravin Amre.
To say Pappu Sanzgiri was a big hit among his readers would be as obvious as saying Kapil Dev was an outstanding striker of a cricket ball. His body of work matched the most prolific of writers.
Hosting cricketing talk shows was something he enjoyed too, apart from writing. Fans who followed the cricketing careers of EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and S Venkataraghavan knew of their engineering backgrounds. The connection between the two fields holds true for Sanzgiri too. “My engineering career was the quintessential partner that I knew would always be there for me, providing stability and support while journalism was [and still is] that street-smart companion, who held my hand and led me on frequent and fantastic journeys in return for my professed loved for it,” he said in a message to me in May 2024, a few days before he was felicitated, among other journalists, by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Mumbai. And like all those great spinners, he knew how to balance engineering and cricket.
Well-fought innings
The last few years of his life were confronting, painful. Long before cancer struck, he stayed away from sugar and salt, I’m told.
“His ever-so-loving and caring wife Kalpa took care of him and all his dietary needs on countless tours. His commitment to not consuming salt went to the extent that he would pack yogurt and rice and carry it to the stadium and while other reporters would indulge in often sumptuous food, he would pull out his yogurt and rice from his bag — such commitment,” said Sanzgiri’s US-based friend Dr Nilesh Mehta, who visited him in Mumbai last week.
And the only thing he lifted was spirits of those who wanted to talk and listen to his cricket stories, not glasses of the hard stuff.
The doyen of Marathi sports writers has exited when he had so much more to give. His funeral will be held at Shivaji Park Crematorium at 11.30 am today.
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