The move also marked a shift in the school's priorities - sports will now have play second fiddle to academics. The president of Anjuman-Islam, Dr Ishaque Jamkhanwala, told Express Newsline that people who wanted their children ``to become sportsmen can gladly go elsewhere. Our priority is to post a good academic result...sports come second.''

But people who have watched the school grow into a veritable cricket academy are not convinced by Jamkhanwala's logic. Parvez Shaikh, himself an ex-student, had got his three sons admitted tothe school so that they could become good cricketers. ``Why else? For academics they could have gone to any school. But I wanted my sons to become cricketers which is why I got them admitted here. Now the school management is burying the cricket pitch under concrete...I don't see any future for my kids,'' Shaikh said.

Not only Mumbaiites, Anjuman's cricketing successes have attracted precocious talent from as far as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. ``This is only because Anjuman has a reputation of producing sportsmen of international calibre. Cricketers like Iqbal Khan could carve a niche for themselves in English county cricket only because they were trained at Anjuman,''claimed Mukhtar Ibji, another ex-student and now a Ranji player. Several students have managed to secure top positions in banks, private companies and sporting bodies on sporting merit. They include Mohit Farooqui, who's an officer with the Bank of India, Sayed Javed Akhtar, a Western Railway cricket coach and Ibrahim Ansari, who's a manager withthe Bombay Division team of Western Railway. Several others, including Salim Kamaluddin, Riyaz Khan, Zulfiqar Parkar, Salim Kapadia, Bashiruddin and Iqbal Thakur, play at national level. The general secretary of Mumbai Cricket Association, Arman Malik, is concerned about Anjuman's new game plan. ``Seventy per cent of Muslim sportsmen come from the talent banks of Anjuman. Today 30 per cent of the Muslim cricketers associated with various clubs and institutions are Anjuman's gift to the city. As a community we could never make a name in sports, Anjuman was always seen as a glimmer of hope. I see is fading now,'' Malik said.

However, Jamkhanwala is confident that the institute has got its priorities right. ``What we do with our ground is our prerogative. Outsiders have no say in the matter,'' he said. When asked if it was wise give up such a rich sporting legacy, he said: ``We have already made alternate arrangements with Islam Gymkhana. We have no doubt in our mind that the school ground must be thrown opento the community.'' However, parents have pooh-poohed claims of alternate arrangements. They pointed out that the contract with Islam Gymkhana was of temporary kind and that it may be never renewed. Besides, the distance between the school at CST and Gymkhana at Chowpatty would prove to be discouraging, they said. With a strength of 60,000 students, the average passing percentage of the school over the years has been 68 per cent. ``It is an institution which is known for producing cricketers and not engineers and doctors,'' maintained Ibrahim Ansari. ``Why cannot we keep doing it?'' asked Ansari. ``Why should we? asked Dr Jamkhanwala.