Cricket lover Shyam Bhatia added another piece of memorabilia to his ever-growing collection at his museum by unveiling a special cricket bat signed by the top three batsmen who have scored the fastest Test centuries.
The Dubai-based businessman is well known in the cricketing fraternity not just in the UAE but in all corners of the globe thanks to his amazing two-tier museum at Jumeirah.
Inside the 371-square metre building are a wide range of items including 180 signed bats as well as a cabinet of signed balls. That’s not to mention the autographed helmets and jerseys and the latest stats.
On Wednesday, Bhatia unveiled his latest piece of memorabilia – a signed bat from legends Brendon McCullum, Sir Viv Richards and Misbah-Ul-Haq, who are the top three batsmen when it comes to scoring the fastest Test centuries.
West Indies star Richards set the mark against England in 1985-6 off 56 deliveries and the same was achieved by ex-Pakistan captain Misbah against Australia in 2014 in Abu Dhabi,before McCullum beat that record with 54 balls in his last ever international against the Australians in 2016.
But before McCullum made history, Bhatia came up with the idea of having a signed cricket bat in his museum when Misbah hit his historic knock in the UAE capital.
“It has taken me a while to get all the autographs but we have managed it,” Bhatia told Sport360. “This is something that is very unique because it is the three fastest Test centuries. I had this idea in my mind earlier when Misbah scored the fastest century two years ago in Abu Dhabi and wanted to do something to remember the occasion so thought it was a good idea to have the top three batsmen’s scores.”
Very special: The signed bat by McCullum, Misbah and McCullum
Bhatia, who worked with G-Force Academy head coach Gopal Jasapara to design the bat, is ‘very happy’ with his latest addition and promises it won’t be the last.
“It’s very special,” he said. “Generally what you see in the museum is things that we have created ourselves and it’s not copied from everywhere. This is very important for me and we will keep on creating something new and which is related to the history of the game.
“We will keep on doing so many things. For example, we are planning to do something for the legends like the first person to reach a milestone, whether it’s 10,000 runs or 500 wickets. This is an on-going journey for us.”