BLADES OF GLORY CRICKET MUSEUM

Of all the museums I have visited so far, Blades of Glory is the ‘Smallest’ yet the ‘Biggest’.

Confused!

Sounds like a googly?

Don’t call for a ‘DRS’ as I will shed more light on this.

Blades of Glory is a tiny cricket museum built in a private home in Pune city which spreads over 4000 sq.ft of area. The rooms of the flat are converted into themed galleries housing a huge variety of signed cricketing memorabilia displayed for pubic viewing.

This exclusive museum archive has over 30,000 souvenirs making it the biggest collection ever in the world dedicated to cricket fans. Blades of Glory was formally inaugurated by India’s batting legend often referred as ‘Master Blaster’ the great ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ in 2012, and has been visited by several international players since its inception.

The idea of setting up a fine depository of cricket memorabilia which covers chronicles of the past was conceived by Rohan Pate, a former cricket player. His grand father wanted him to make a mark in this popular sport, so after receiving an autographed bat from Sachin during a formal meeting, Rohan got an idea of establishing a museum for millions of fans like him who could view the stuff used by their favorite players under one roof.

Consequently, Rohan travelled extensively to various countries, approached players and institutions and showed-up for matches in India and abroad to create this phenomenal collection of souvenirs that now embellish the interiors of ‘Blades of Glory’ in Pune.

1461201_3659907632947_593007596_n — This ticket booklet is of Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test Match at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. I had attended his farewell game and have still preserved the ticket with me. It’s not part of the Museum collection.

The Collection:

As you enter the museum the tour starts with a wall showcasing the ‘Evolution of Bats’, and that’s how the museum was named ‘Blades of Glory’.

A short film of 8 minutes capturing the recent historical events in cricket is shown to the audience.

There is a legend’s room which has bats displayed of players who have scored 10,000 runs and more in Test matches.

Autographed bat featuring all the world cup winning captains since 1975 to 2015 – Clive Loyd, Kapil Dev, Alan Border, Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, MS Dhoni and Michael Clarke is on showcase.

The golden bat signed by the Australian legend Sir Don Bradman and the frame ‘Legends of Cricket’ is sure to leave the visitors ecstatic.

A special gallery devoted to Sachin’s career is a must see for all the cricket fanatics. It exhibits a wall having 100 miniature bats that represents his 100 centuries mentioning the opponent, stadium, runs scored an the year when he scored the hundred.

A scoreboard denoting his career stats and World Cup 2011 match kit is a treat for the cricket crazy fans.

Dedicated to the bowlers, the museum has a section that displays the souvenirs of the bowling greats Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, James Anderson and others.

These are signed match balls used by the players to reach their personal best records of highest wickets in Test cricket.

Other highlights of the museum are ‘The Triple Centurion’ club signed bats by Brian Lara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag etc., Hats used by iconic players in important Test games, autographed bat of former Australian cricket Sir Neil Harvey, signed ODI jersey’s of Indian women cricket players, Cricket gear signed by Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Sir Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Mark Waugh, David Boon, Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Kapil Dev, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and many more.

Blades of Glory is a museum curated by a cricket lover for the love of cricket and open to all the passionate followers of the game. It’s a highly recommended place to visit when you are in Pune.

Tourist Information:

The museum is open on all days between 10:30 am to 07:00 pm.

Ticket price is INR 100/- and can be bought at the venue.

The museum tour can be completed in less than an hour.

It can be reached by a cab or a rickshaw from Pune Railway Station.

Address: Blades of Glory, 3rd floor, Govind Gaurav Apartment “C”, Swanand Society Lane 1, Sahakar Nagar 2, Pune – 411 009, Maharashtra, India.