His performances fetched him some close friends in the senior Cricketing fraternity of the mid 40s.. Prominent among them were Mr. Vinoo Mankad, Mr. Vijay Merchant, Mr. Hemu Adhikari, Mr. Chandra Sarvate etc..

He was among the initial batch of professional cricketers in India. He switched over to Siddharth Law college (1946 - 48)

He was also selected for Indian team led by Vijay Merchant in April 1945 to play against Ceylon and then his sudden respiratory health issues braked his cricketing career for a few years. He underwent an operation.

Though his passion for Cricket always saw his active participation at various high ranking Cricketing forums. He joined the Bombay Cricket Association in 1945, and served on several successive managing committees during his association of over three decades. Bombay Cricket Association regulates & promotes Cricket in Bombay. It is also a constituent of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the regulatory authority of Cricket in India.

In early 1950s, he founded a Friends Cricket Club, a constituent of Bombay Cricket Association. Friends cricket club participated at the prestigious Dr. H. D. Kanga league cricket tournaments and led at the high tables of the tournament. It also participated at the Purshottam Shield Cricket Tournaments, and had also won the Championship in 1961. It served as an incubator of cricketing talents, and several prominent National and State level players played for Friends Cricket Club, that included Mr. Ramnath Kenny, Yashwant (Baba) Sidhaye, Ashok Vinoo Mankad, Eknath Solkar, Subhash Ambiye etc. He was a life time Hon. Secretary of this club.

He was also closely associated with P. J. Hindu Gymkhana as a life member since mid 40s. It was established by the Governor of Bombay, Lord Harris on 5 May 1894. It was also the founding constituent of Bombay Cricket Association in 1930.

While his being in the managing committee of Bombay Cricket Association, under the Presidentship of H.E. Mr. S.K. Wankhede, who was also the then Chairman (Speaker) of the Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly, they decided to build their own stadium at Churchgate, Bombay. The work began in 1974 and finished making one of the finest stadium of that time in India, with a capacity of 45000 people. He was actively involved in planning & execution of this project of Wankhede Stadium. The first Cricket Test match was played there on 23 - 28 January 1975, between India & West Indies. In 1979, the management of the Wankhede Stadium was entrusted by Bombay Cricket Association to the BCA Garware Club House. Mr. Umakant Desai also actively represented on the managing committee of the BCA Garware Club House for first 8 years.

The Bombay Cricket Association honoured him with a memento on its Golden Jubilee in 1980.

The BCA Garware club house and the Wankhede Stadium management too honoured him with a memento.

In 1980, he also started a Vinoo Mankad trophy for under 15 years at the national level. (later the age limit was extended to 19 years). He was honoured by the Wadala Jaycees in appreciation of his successful execution of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy

He also held as a CEO in Birla group companies, and after his retirement, he continued as an advisor.

He became a popular name in the senior Cricketing fraternity of Bombay during 1950s - 80s.

In 1984 while planned to shift from Bombay to his native place Bharuch in Gujarat, his Cricketing instinct did not stop. He initiated Bharuch District Cricket Association, and served as its Hon. Secretary for over 10 years.

After having made Bharuch his native, as his post retirement place of stay, In Feb 86 he arranged a single wicket tournament at Bharuch, in which leading national players - Sandeep Patil, Lalchand Rajput, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ghulam Parkar, Eknath Solkar, Karsan Ghavri etc participated, which was won by Mr. Sandeep Patil.

His efforts resulted in Bharuch District Cricket Association getting a full Constituent membership of Gujarat Cricket Association, and became a regular host of Ranji Trophy matches too.This had inspired many local Cricketers to rise to national / state levels.

Exerting his rich experience and influence, approached the Industries to build a cricket stadium at Bharuch. Mr. Ramnath the then CMD of Gujarat Narmadavelly Fertilizer Company Ltd (GNFC) supported his vision and generously donated to build the first official stadium of Bharuch. Mr. Umakant Desai having close alliance in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), arranged at Bharuch a benefit match of Mr. Dhiraj Parsana, in which national players including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Mohd. Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kiran More, etc participated.

These efforts of his meant a huge inspiration for young cricket fans of Bharuch. Later he organised Ramakant Achreker coaching camp, and also organised Ranji Trophy Matches, interstate under-22 matches, interstate under-19 matches and interstate under-16 matches conducted by BCCI at Bharuch Cricket Stadium.

In 2001, he also inspired Manufacturing & Supply of Industrial Oxygen Gas for Ship Breaking, under the aegis of their family owned company Accost Impex Pvt. Ltd., and then further diversified into Processing, Trading and Recycling of Ferrous & Non - Ferrous Metals, Industrial Steel and Ship Machineries.

He breathed his last at Bhavnagar on 2nd April 2012. He is survived by his sons Nachiket, Hiranya, and Kartik, who have carried forward his vision.