Al Capone once said, “I am like any other man.  All I do is supply a demand”. Virat Kohli seems to echo the sentiments of this legendary and notorious persona, albeit in situations that are more circumspect and sober. The stylish Indian Number 3 has of late morphed into a universally acknowledged monopolistic supplier of … Continue reading VIRAT KOHLI – THE MONOPOLISTIC SUPPLIER OF A BILLION DEMANDS

During the course of a magnificent, marauding and merciless century which took the wind out of the collective sails of the Sri Lankans at Hobart, when Virat Kohli essayed a powerful cover drive, an impressed Ian Chappell exclaimed that this stylish right handed batsman had a bit of ‘swagger’ about him. The former Australian cricket … Continue reading The Wrath of Virat Kohli

On an overcast August day in the year 2002 at Headingly, Leeds, Sourav Ganguly won the toss and, much to the bewilderment of experts and laymen alike, choose to bat. The skeptics seemed to be justified in their dissent with such a move when the explosive Virender Sehwag perished after notching up eight measly runs. When … Continue reading Rahul Dravid and the Assurance Factor

The erudite and extremely readable George Dobell, in an insightful piece has gone on to describe Shivnarine Chanderpaul as not only a dogged batsman, but also as one possessing a selfish gene. In the said piece titled “Selfish gene fails shallow talent pool”, Mr.Dobell has also cited a few instances supposedly lending credence to the … Continue reading Shivnarine Chanderpaul – A Blind Watchmaker but never Dobell’s ‘Selfish Gene’

The man who according to the former Australian captain Ian Chappell, was in possession of ‘peripheral awareness’ prepared himself to face Shakib Al Hasan, an under-rated all rounder from Bangladesh who was all of two years old when his opponent first got a taste of international cricketing experience. The batsman was steady and statuesque in … Continue reading Sachin RameshTendulkar – The Brook of Alfred Lord Tennyson

The swagger that had etched itself as an integral part of cricketing folklore was unmistakably there. The attitude of nonchalance accompanying every step bordered around being contagious. The dark shades on the broad face hid whatever message or meaning the eyes were intending to convey. As the almost imperial figure advanced towards an elevator manned … Continue reading Boycott, Richards and the Dilemma of an Autograph Hunter

When the compact former India opening batsman Aakash Chopra penned Beyond the Blues: A First-Class Season Like No Other”, he revealed that he had as much dexterity holding a pen as he had flourishing a willow. Now with “Out Of The Blue – Rajasthan’s Road To The Ranji Trophy”, this prolific run getter in the domestic circuit has proved … Continue reading “Out of the Blue – Rajasthan’s Road to the Ranji Trophy” by Aakash Chopra

The first time I set my sight on a portly cricketer was in the form of a picture of a rotund Colin Milburn essaying what seemed to be a fierce pull shot. This image was from a magazine which I was accidentally perusing. For some unfathomable reason, the picture left an indelible impression on me. … Continue reading THE PORTLY CRICKETER – A FAST DEPLETING BREED

E.W.Swanton, an undisputed doyen amongst the chroniclers of the pristine game of cricket, in this masterpiece, pays tribute to 75 of the most ebullient, enlightened and entertaining players, and 9 of the best chroniclers to have graced this game. This phalanx of English, Australian and Caribbean stars reads like a veritable who’s who of the cricketing … Continue reading Cricketers of our time by E.W.Swanton – One for Times Immemorial

“Controversially Yours” arguably has to be the most wayward delivery bowled by Shoaib Akthar in his career till date! Irreverent, irascible and for the most part injudicious, this is an autobiography that in the end analysis, leaves a lot to be desired. One singularly glaring feature of this autobiography is the extraordinary self-praise and gloating … Continue reading Controversially Yours by Shoaib Akthar – An aberration of an autobiography