Ravindra Jadeja started here: Inside the Cricket Bungalow in Jamnagar that has shaped generations

Ravindra Jadeja began his cricket journey at Jamnagar’s historic Cricket Bungalow. Decades later, Mahendrasinh Chauhan still coaches youngsters there for free.

Updated : Sep 24, 2026 13:21 IST , JAMNAGAR - 3 MINS READ

A century of cricket in one frame: Jamnagar’s Cricket Bungalow, where Ravindra Jadeja and many greats before him learned the game. | Photo Credit: Shayan Acharya

Ravindra Jadeja started here.

Years before earning the India cap and becoming one of the stars of the game, he spent hours at the Cricket Bungalow in the heart of Jamnagar, learning his cricket under Mahendrasinh Chauhan.

Chauhan is still here. So is his academy.

The building around him has changed, too.

The old pavilion still has its arches, wooden doors and long balcony overlooking the ground. But the years are visible everywhere. Paint has peeled off the walls. Plaster has come away in places. Some window panes are broken, the old staircase is covered in dust and debris, while parts of the ceiling and roof have clearly seen better days.

On one wall, an old plaque carries the name Ajitsinhji Cricket Pavilion. It says it was built in 1908, during the reign of Maharaja Ranjitsinhji, one of the legends of Indian cricket.

That is the strange thing about walking through the place. The history is everywhere. So is the neglect.

However, the cricket continues.

From six o’clock in the morning till late evening, Chauhan still runs his coaching centre here without charging the children. His academy operates from a small room within the complex. The surroundings may be modest, but the routine remains familiar. Boys arrive with their kitbags, pad up, pick up their bats and wait for their turn.

He has watched generations come and go. At 63, Mahendrasinh Chauhan is still at the Cricket Bungalow, teaching the game he has devoted his life to. | Photo Credit: Shayan Acharya

“On a given day, more than 300 young cricketers train here, across age groups. They come here and spend the day playing cricket,” Chauhan tells Sportstar with a smile.

He is 63, but doesn’t look it. His mornings start early.

“By six o’clock, the students start coming in. So, I have to be here before that,” he says.

He spends most of the day in his small room. “I leave for home for an hour, and then I am back again. That’s how it has been for so many years…”

Chauhan has run his academy here for the past four decades. There are a couple of nets, but none of the modern facilities that have become standard at many cricket academies today, such as a gymnasium or swimming pool.

But the children still come.

Faded walls, weathered arches and a ground still alive with cricket: Jamnagar’s Ajitsinhji Cricket Pavilion carries more than a century of the city’s cricketing history. | Photo Credit: Shayan Acharya

For some, this is simply a place to learn cricket. For others, it is steeped in history. Vinoo Mankad trained here. So did Salim Durrani and Ajay Jadeja. Years later, Ravindra Jadeja came through the same ground.

Chauhan knows he cannot compete with the state-of-the-art academies. He is clear about what he wants to do. “With so many modern academies around, children go there. But there are so many youngsters who can’t afford those academies. My door is always open for them,” he says.

Despite having produced a star like Jadeja, Chauhan has remained grounded. He is not one to boast. He still uses an old analogue phone. Ask him about starting a social media page for his academy, and the veteran coach simply says: “My work is my publicity…”

A retired policeman, Chauhan has seen the glory days of Jamnagar cricket. He has watched several generations of cricketers come through the Cricket Bungalow and remains one of the last links to that era.

Published on Sep 24, 2026

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