The news of 15-year-old Pranav Dhanawade scoring 1 000 runs in a school game was depressing to read.

It is perhaps one of the most dispiriting and heart-rending stories I have read on a sports platform.

Before we go any further, it is necessary to imprint firmly in your mind that this was a SCHOOL game, an U16 tournament, the H.T. Bhandari Cup inter-school cricket tournament organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association. Guys aged 15, with a smattering of 16-year-olds who fall within the date frame.

For Pranav, a pupil at the KC Gandhi English School in Kalyan, Mumbai, it is an amazing innings: 1 009 not out off 327 balls, 129 fours, 59 sixes. The team went on to make 1 465-3 before declaring. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and MS Dhoni used Twitter to send their congratulations.

But I see nothing to celebrate in this feat. Absolutely Nothing.

The opposition was the Ayra Gurukul School, who, because of exams, sent their U14 team; and even that was a scratch team: mostly 13-year-olds with a smattering of 14-year-olds. I want to quote their coach, Yogesh Jagtap, because I found his tone so admirable: