From A Barber’s Chair To A Cricket Dressing Room: Vaibhav Maloo Recalls Charity Match With Cricket Greats

A chance encounter at a Mumbai hotel nearly two decades ago led Vaibhav Maloo to share the cricket field with some of the sport’s most recognised names in a charity match aimed at bringing children closer to the game.

Maloo was getting a haircut at Mumbai’s Trident hotel when he met the late John Van Groningen, founder of Red Dust, an organisation that works with underprivileged children through sport and other programmes.

Van Groningen was organising a charity cricket match bringing together children, sporting personalities and cricket enthusiasts. Their conversation led to an invitation for Maloo to represent the Red Dust team against a side from the D.Y. Patil Sports Academy.

The Red Dust team featured former Australia captain Allan Border, fast bowler Damien Fleming, former Australia women’s captain Melanie Jones and former India cricketer Vinod Kambli, alongside young Australian cricketers.

One of the few Indians in the Red Dust side, Maloo found himself playing alongside cricketers he had grown up watching.

Recalling the match, Maloo said Border handed him the ball, after which he went on to take the first wicket. Kambli also dropped a catch, an incident that became a source of light-hearted banter after the game.

“I remember Allan giving me the ball, taking the first wicket and Vinod dropping a catch, which gave us plenty to laugh about afterwards. But what stayed with me most was why we were there in the first place — the children and the experience cricket could give them,” Maloo said.

Fleming, who was part of the Red Dust side, said such matches demonstrated how cricket could bring together people from different backgrounds while creating opportunities for young people to engage with the sport.

“Cricket has always had the ability to bring people from very different backgrounds together. Charity matches give players an opportunity to share the game in a much more personal way, particularly with young people. John understood that very well, and the work he did through Red Dust showed how sport could be used to create experiences and opportunities that stayed with people long after the match was over,” Fleming said.

For Maloo, Van Groningen’s role in organising the match and bringing its participants together remains central to his memories of the occasion.

“John genuinely believed sport could open doors for children who may otherwise never have access to these experiences. I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing, and I will always remember him with gratitude. A chance conversation with him gave me a memory that has stayed with me for nearly two decades,” he said.

Beyond the presence of international cricketers and the moments on the field, Maloo said the match’s lasting significance lay in giving children the opportunity to experience cricket up close and interact with sporting personalities.

“Sport has a unique ability to bring people together. And when you can use that ability to give children an experience they may otherwise never have had, it becomes even more meaningful,” he said.

Maloo also called for more initiatives that bring cricketers, fans and children together, arguing that such opportunities could help extend the sport’s reach beyond the professional arena.

“I would like to see more charity matches that bring players, fans and children together. I am also glad that T20 cricket will be part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. As cricket reaches new audiences, I hope we also continue using the game to create opportunities and memorable experiences for communities,” he said.

He said the initiative reflected Van Groningen’s belief that sport could give children experiences and memories that would stay with them for years.

“Giving children the opportunity to play, watch and interact with their heroes, and simply creating more days like that for them — those are the kinds of memories that can stay with a child for a lifetime,” Maloo said.

Nearly two decades on, Maloo remembers the match as an example of cricket’s ability to bring together players, enthusiasts and children, with its significance extending well beyond the result on the field.