A young writer with an abiding interest in cricket has come out with a very readable book on the new stars of Indian cricket. Soumya Bhattacharya, a well-known author, has paid minute attention to the emerging talents of Indian cricket, bestowing on them some fine prose even as some of them struggle to attain the kind of consistency at international level that the preceding generation did at that level to become absolute legends of the game. What I found most intriguing in the book is an analysis of the psyche and persona of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. While the legendary members of the famous quartet or quintet were known to me right from the days of their international debut, India’s greatest sensation of the new millennium is an enigma because of the lack of opportunity to study him at close quarters, apart of course from shooting the odd question at a media conference to get a glib enough answer suiting the mood of the time and the preceding events on the field. The author’s way of placing Dhoni among the greats of Indian cricket seemed to open up a nice and trendy characterisation. Now Dhoni is an original, so much so, a more difficult man to capture within the framework of any known Indian stereotype. As Mukul Kesavan wrote, “Dhoni, though, turned up on our television screens fully formed, untouched by influence, wholly, weirdly, wonderfully himself.” How do you get down to capturing the essence of such a man who is the first small town boy to go on to rule Indian cricket and do so like none ever before him. Bhattacharya has done a wonderful job of describing Dhoni, his background, his beliefs, his cricket, his style. Today, Dhoni may be struggling to live up to the image of the instinctive, nearly infallible personality who captained as he pleased in his own distinctive style and still won everything worth winning. Where we have to measure Dhoni is how he came to be where he is considering where he came from from the back of the boondocks of Jharkhand. It was almost providential that he should lead a bunch of young and inexperienced cricketers in that mad and merry world of the first ever T20 world championship and come out triumphant. That is a surprise Indian cricket is still coming to terms with it, even as it made Dhoni what he is today. The background of some of the other cricketers who came through from small towns also makes fascinating reading. What we see in Cheteshwar Pujara today is a far more rounded cricketer than what he was at the start of his career. His trials and tribulations help put light on what it takes to be one of the very few who break through into the top rungs of Indian cricket and stay there unlike the many one-day wonders who come and go, right back to the wilderness they came from, although immeasurably richer than players of preceding generations would ever have been in such short international careers. We must thank the IPL-loaded system for this. The slotting of Tendulkar’s career into three phases has also been tackled with figures to go with it. This would make good reading for those who wish to understand a man whose life may seem like an open book but who still kept most things to himself even in writing his ghosted autobiography. The author tackles the task without creating any acrimony in describing how the greatest of them all may also have tarried a bit after declining to take the finest exit route at the end of the 2011 World Cup, in which everyone in the nation was praying for a win even as 10 others played specifically to win it for the man who played Atlas to Indian cricket for so long. By his own admission, 2010 was his sweetest year and 2011 immediately brought him the greatest moment of his career in the World Cup triumph. There is a lot to read about the new stars of Indian cricket Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli. The generation shift came quite some time ago, certainly long before Sachin decided to say goodbye. It is a reference book to the future as it also contains some text from the on-going Supreme Court case into the murky affairs of the IPL. The reality of the conclusion that the promising youngsters will form a team that will be formidable at home, but remain unpredictable travellers lends a touch of percipience, but then history told us long ago that Team India would, like wine, not travel well. Source: The Asian Age
Cricket transition captured
Ellyse Perry meets with super talented 4 year old girl ‘Lil K’
March 28, 2013: ‘Lil K’ is the little Newcastle girl that has caught the attention of Cricket Australia after footage of her playing cricket went viral. She joins us this morning for a bit of backyard cricket, Lil K with Ellyse Perry. click to watch above video.
Ellyse Perry Had the pleasure of meeting a super talented 4 year old girl! For those of you who missed it on the Today Show this morning, see below: The Today Show was on hand as four-year-old cricket prodigy Lil K Lewis met her Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars idol Ellyse Perry: http://cricketa.us/14tnakM, If you haven't seen Lil K's highlights package, you can view it here: http://cricketa.us/19jf2ac, Source: https://www.facebook.com/ellyseperryofficial
Salman Khan and Preity Zinta to co-own IPL team?
Salman Khan and Preity Zinta were co-stars in several films like Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Jaan E Mann, etc. Now, they might be partners in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Preity Zinta and her ex-partner Ness Wadia co-own the team Kings X1 Punjab. If the buzz and the reports are to be believed, Salman Khan is well on his way to becoming a co-owner of the team. “Salman was the chief guest at this marathon that was organised by BJ Wadia hospital for underprivileged children. Post the flag off, Salman was seen talking to Ness. The two were discussing the IPL in great detail,” says a source. “There is no clear indication that he will pick up a stake in an IPL team his interest in it has only grown with time. He has been making enquiries with Ness. In fact, he has also been asking his other friends about the same. The actor is trying to work out how he can get a piece of the IPL pie as he loves cricket and has a lot of cricketer friends,” adds the source. Salman Khan is already an active participant in the Celebrity Cricket League and his brother Sohail Khan owns the team Mumbai Heroes. So will he be a part of IPL too? The league in which his rival Shahrukh Khan owns a team. The post Salman Khan and Preity Zinta to co-own IPL team? appeared first on Bollywood Celebden. Source: Article
