Firoz Mohamedali Jina

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Firoz Mohamedali Jina
IMG-20220215-WA0000.jpg
All Nicknames
  • Firoz Bhamji
  • Bhamji jnr.
Town of birth
Country of birth
Date of Birth
  • 18/9/1942
Name of institution of highest education achieved
Place of longest stay
Profession or occupation carriedout for the longest period in life
  • Cricketer
  • Machinist
  • Dairy Farmer
Where-City or Country
Family tree
Parents
Siblings
Partners


Firoz Jina or (Bhamji Jnr.as he was known for most of his life) had a remarkable start to his working life – unlike many of his colleagues who either went on to join their parents’ shops or other establishments - even before completing his secondary education in 1962, Firoz and his elder brother Badru started a dairy farm at the Mtoni area of Dar es Salaam supplying fresh milk to city residents.

Being hard working, in 1964, they then established Bhamji Farms on Morogoro Road which grew over the years into a large outfit that supplied over 10,000 eggs together with 700 pints of milk in the morning and 500 pints in the afternoon every day and also included an 80,000-tree cashew farm.

The name Bamji was coined based on his brother name, Badru Mohamedali Jina, shorted as “Bha..m..ji.” In 1966, Firoz married his wife, Dilshad Gulamhussein Haji, (of Haji Bros of Dar es Salaam) and switched work to join Delta affiliated to Tanganyika Motors, a well-known local car dealership, as a parts manager, a job he held until he left for Canada in 1970.

Once in Canada, he trained as a machinist in Calgary and worked for the same company for the next 27 years.

But Firoz’s life is remarkable for another admirable reason- he was one of Tanzania’s foremost cricketers and has represented that country and his new homeland, Canada on their national cricket teams many times.

Firoz was glued to cricket from early childhood and started playing for the AK Boys School from 1957. By 1962, he was the captain and won the prestigious Isherwood Cup for them with his teammates, Mohamed Abuali & Allu Visram. In 1963 he stared playing for the AK Club and shared pitch with the likes of the legendary brothers Hasnu & Gulu Kalyan. By 1966, he was on the Tanzania National team as an all-rounder batsman, playing against Zambia, Kenya and Uganda as well as Hyderabad. Here is was playing with Tanzanian legends like RD & CD Patel; John Solanki and of course, his equally famous brother, Badru Bhamji - he remembers Pranlal Divecha; Nazir Hussein ;Alba Fernandes, Vasant Tabu and many others. Firoz travelled extensively to play and in 1970, went to Karachi. In Canada, in 1973, Firoz was selected on the Calgary South team and was honoured as the best all-rounder for the Intercity games. Between 1970 and 1978, he represented the Canada in matches with the US, Kent, and West Indies.

He also captained the Calgary AK teams to two wins as Alberta Champions. Bhamji Jnr never smoked nor consumed alcohol in his life-not even when his Canadian team’s win was toasted in champagne. He never needed to…. he says cricket was his “nasho” intoxication.

Firoz lives in comfortable retirement with his large family in Calgary. His one daughter is a lawyer and the other kinesiologist. He has five grandchildren.

Firoz Bhamji Photo Album

AK BOYS SCHOOL, Dsm Tanzania (1957-1961)
AK CLUB, Dsm Tanzania (1961-1971)
Tanzania National team (1967-1971)
Canadian & Alberta National Teams (1971-)
FIROZ BHAMJI'S TV INTERVIEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFj2jU3Fgwc

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