When the renowned teams in other group were winning matches on innings margin, it was a completely different story in group D for a match between Anjuman-I-Islam and Hansraj Morarji public school. Anjuman-I-Islam, a well-known school in Mumbai’s junior cricket, struggled to register an easy win in tournament opener. But eventually they won by 27 runs.
Famous for their strong batting line up, Anjuman-I-Islam opted to bat after winning the toss. But a tight bowling from Hansraj bowlers meant that they had to struggle to put the runs on board. Their two players were dismissed for golden duck including their opener Faiz Rathod who got out on 2nd delivery of match. The middle order tried to do some repair work with Manoj Prajapati and Vaibhav Tyagi scoring 36 and 24 each. But their efforts went in vain as next batsmen collapsed for single digit score. As a result, Anjuman-I-Islam scored 112 in 54 overs. Satyak Patel was pick of the Hansraj bowlers who took 5 wickets.
A low score meant that Ajuman-I-Islam had to bowl really well to stay alive in game. Their bowlers did exactly the same. It was the same story for Hansraj Morarji batsmen as they couldn’t take any advantage of restricting Anjuman-I-Islam to 112. They ended up scoring exactly the same no. of runs. Courtesy to 25 extras given away by Ajuman-I-Islam bowlers whereas Hansraj had conceded only a single extra run during their bowling. Faisal Patel and Aman Singh were the heroes for Ajuman-I-Islam as they picked up 4 and 3 wickets respectively.
Match was evenly poised as both teams scored exactly the same in their 1st innings. But Ajuman-I-Islam batsmen did same mistakes again in 2nd innings and ended up scoring 110, 2 runs shorter than their score in 1st innings. None of their batsman could cross a score of 20. Satyak Patel got a Fifer while their spinner Ayush Sharma ended up with 4 wickets.
Hansraj Morarji had to score 111 to win this match. It was indeed an arduous task given the low scores in three innings of match. Losing their openers early, Hansraj Morarji couldn’t survive in that pressure situation. They ended up at a score of 83 with 7 of their batsmen getting out at single digit score. It was Faisal Patel again who won it for Ajuman-I-Islam taking 6 wicket in 2nd innings and 10 wickets in match.
It was a narrow escape for Ajuman I-Islam but there was still plenty to learn for them in this match. This match was dominated by bowlers completely. Both these teams will be playing against Don Bosco and Paranjpe vidyala in their remaining couple of matches. It’s a neutral situation in group C with every team having equal chance to qualify for semi final.
Al-Barkat clinched to top spot after crushing Lilavati Potdar School by an innings and 176 runs. Lilavati Potdar made a blunder when they put in Al-Barkat to bat after winning the toss. They were looking to restrict Al-Barkat to a small total but what happened was exactly the opposite of it. Al-Barkat were 66 for 3, in walked Jahangir Ansari and then was a big partnership of 138 runs for 5th wicket between Ansari and Mantosh Yadav. Scoring with a strike rate of 136, Ansari completed his ton in just 85 balls with 19 fours. Meanwhile, Yadav gave a support from other end scoring a patient 89. With their heroics and some good support from others (including 40 extra’s which Lilavati Potdar conceded) they declared at 400 for 7 with Ansari remaining unbeaten.
They scored these runs pretty quickly at the healthy run rate of 4.76 in 84 overs. No bowler from Lilavati Potdar could resist Al-Barkat batsman. Lilavati Potdar’s openers started well as they made 51 runs for 1st wicket. Rajesh Sardar got both their openers and they were reduced to 86 for 2. Jahangir Ansari once again strike back, this time with a ball taking 3 wickets for just 39 runs. Lilavati Potdar’s batting collapsed completely after that and eventually got all out for 145 in 59.4 overs. They were short of 255 runs at that time.
Al-Barkat enforced a follow on but Lilavati Potdar performed even worse in 2nd innings. None of their batsman could hang in there thus resulting in all out on mere 79. It was Jahangir Ansari again who took 4 wickets this time. It was indeed a spectacular win for Al-Barkat. At the same time, with such a poor performance, Lilavati Potdar’s journey in Harris shield is almost over. It will be a miracle if they turn this around from here.
In Group B, there is tough competition between IES and Al-Barkat now. Both of them have won their games with an innings margin. With only one team to qualify from each group, the match between these two giants will be an interesting contest. The other 2 teams have no chance at all to get back into competition after suffering heavy defeat. Having said that, they can play a key role in deciding the fate of these two top teams as ultimately it will come down to run rate in case the points are same. Overall, the situation is quite interesting in group B, with one of the 2 teams, Al-Barakat and IES to qualify for semis.
The 22 yards is the most important area of cricket. Quite often these 22 yards decide fate of the game. We get to see different kind of pitches in different parts of world. In India, the wickets favor spin bowling and most of the time it favors batsman too. In Australia and South Africa, the pitches are very live and bouncy. Whereas in England we get a seam friendly wickets. But just imagine, how good it will be if all these different kinds of wickets can be prepared at single venue. This obscure task has been achieved by Yuvraj Kamble who is working as a curator for Green Earth organization. Yuvraj talked about the techniques which he uses to prepare such wickets.
“Basically there are certain steps that should be followed to prepare a pitch. We dig a patch 1 meter below the ground level and then start preparing the pitch. This patch has dimensions of 80 meter by 10 meter. Then there are five layers in which the work is completed. In 1st layer we put soil and stones to form a foundation. In 2nd layer there is a special type of rabbit used. Then we put some bricks in 3rd layer. 4th layer is one of the most important layer as an organic compost is used in it. The top most layer contains a mixture of sand and soil. Then we leave a space of 1 to 2 inch from top which is used later for plantation in order to put some grass on wicket,” Yuvraj explained.
He also told about the key elements required to prepare and maintain any pitch. He also told about how he made one bouncy pitch using these techniques. “Rolling and watering are the two fundamentals of preparing a pitch. Initially we use a light weight roller and let the soil settle on its own. We sprinkle some water to make user that soil particles hold themselves together and it doesn’t start to crack because of dryness. Now if a match is after 15 days then we progress based on trial and error method. After some heavy rolling and watering we test the bounce. It will vary depending on location and slope at that place. Then accordingly we adjust while rolling and watering. You get a good bounce when the surface is hard and hence heavy roller is used while preparing a bouncy pitch,” said Yuvraj.
He uses same kind of a soil that is being used at local cricket matches. According to him, the final outcome depends on how you apply your techniques on that soil while preparing the pitch. Yuvraj has a decent experience as a curator. “I am in this field for last 4 years. Earlier I used to work at Maharashtra Cricket Association. I was the co-curator at Subrata Roy Sahara stadium in Pune. I learnt a lot about curatorship over there from our chief curator Mr. Salgaonkar. I prepared a pitch for 2 international matches at Sahara stadium. Our owners at Green Earth wanted me to work there so joined them and now I am working with them,” said Yuvi.
We have recently created a pitch and the complete ground in Palava City in Dombivli. This pitch is very bouncy in nature.
He also talked about different kinds of pitches and outfields which he has prepared over the years. “I was called to make a pitch at one ground in Pune. It was basically a football ground. There I made a pitch by removing a turf and once matches were over then I again converted it back to football ground by removing a pitch. This kind of technique is used in Australia and New Zealand where they play footy for half year and cricket for the rest. I am also working on developing a golf course in Pune. It is spread over large area and it is quite a task to prepare it. Talking about cricket, I think now we have advanced technology by which we can prepare any kind of wicket anywhere, like I made one bouncy track. If you want wicket to turn then simply keep it dry so that ball will grip the surface and it will turn. For seam bowling, we keep some grass on pitch. Currently I am enjoying my work and looking forward to make some quality tracks in future,” said the curator.
While watching a match at stadium or at ground, one often feels that something is missing and cricket is not complete. The players are there, the match officials are there, scenic ground and surroundings are there, thousands of other spectators are there. But that one missing element is a crispy commentary, without which cricket looks soporific. There are many commentators who have created their unique style at domestic at international level. But there is one man who is been doing commentary for past 21 years in local and domestic cricket in India.
K.K.Saxena-a civil engineer by profession hardly has to do anything with construction and buildings now. Instead with is magnificent commentary, he constructs an exact match scenario in front of listener’s who is hearing him from any other location. Mr. Saxena started commentary at few of the local tournaments when he was in his early 20s. “I used to play cricket before I actually started commentating. In fact for few years I was doing commentary and playing cricket simultaneously. Later I stopped playing cricket and focused on commentary. Alina Muslim tournament and All India university tournaments were the ones where I did commentary for the first time,” said Mr. Saxena.
“Back in those days I did commentary for Lala Harilal tournament which used to take place in Delhi. It was a day night tournament, the experience was wonderful for me. One has to ensure that people will be involved in a game and they won’t get bored. I did it for 5 years. That tournament used to go on for a month. Mr. Anil Chaudhary who is now a BCCI umpire called me there when he was a conveyer of BCCI back then. That tournament used to take place at Delhi’s Nehru stadium. The overall experience of commentating over there was brilliant for me as I learnt lots of things about commentary”
Two years ago Mr. Saxena was a commentator at BPS T20 school world cup. “I was called at Ranchi for commentary. Th
ere were few other commentators along with me like Mr. Deepak Sharma and Mr. Srivastava who does commentary at Doordarshan. Over the years I have seen many players while commentating. Ashish Nehra often used to play matches at our university ground in Aligarh. Also Piyush Chawla, Narendra Hirwani, Manoj Prabhakar, Chetan Chauhan, Chetan Sharma are the players whom I have watched when they were playing in various matches.” said Mr. Saxena in his blissful voice.
Mr. Saxena learnt everything about commentary from his idol Mr. Sunil Doshi. Sunil Doshi is a well-known commentator from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. “I used to listen to his commentary a lot. Indeed he is my idol when it comes to commentary. He is so famous for commentary that as an honor the commentary box at Holkar stadium was named after him few years ago. I am lucky to learn the tricks and trades of commentary from him. The basics of commentary in cricket are very simple. One should know about all the fielding positions and various strokes that batsman plays. Also one should understand the game thoroughly. If a captain makes any changes in field then it’s a job of commentator to make the audience understand the possible strategy behind it. I think commentator shouldn’t talk too much about things not relevant to cricket. Instead it should be a germane commentary with a good rhythm,” said Mr. Saxena.
In international cricket Suresh Raina is his favorite player while in domestic and local cricket he likes to watch Mr. Neelu who is an all-rounder in Delhi’s local cricket and boy called Rinku who is playing for Uttar Pradesh under 18’s. Mr. Saxena is looking forward to excel further as a commentator and cover an international match in near future. The fans of his commentary are waiting to hear his prominent voice at the highest level.
K.K.Saxena’s commentary in Cricket Video
DTDB struggle against Siyaram in a 7 wickets defeat
DTDB had their opening match of Corporate T20 which they would like to forget as they suffered a 7 wicket defeat against Siyaram. “Things didn’t go our way since beginning. We lost the toss and then we were put in to bat first. I think wasn’t good to bat first as it was a wet. I think conditions were not ideal for playing,” said Ravi Shankar Yadav who is a DTDB captain.
“We couldn’t bat complete 20 overs. We were bowled out for 72 runs in just 18 overs. The Siyaram batsman chased down that target in 12 overs. Our bowlers could take just 3 wickets. There were some mistakes from our side but I can tell you that the pitch was not dried up. We were playing at young friends union ground. We lost 6 wickets in just 30 runs. Out of those 6 just on one occasion it was batsman’s fault else it was an uneven bounce which cost us a game. When I checked the wicket almost half of my figure was going inside it. You can imagine how damp the wicket was,” said DTDB captain in despair.
“We are placed in E division and we will be playing our next match against Hindustan Unilever. It is a good team and it is a good challenge for us. The match will be played in the afternoon at 2 o clock so we are hoping that the conditions will be good. We will be playing at Navroj ground. I am hoping it to be a good competition.”
Ravi Shankar Yadav talked about his role as a captain. He said that he is very happy to be the captain of a team. According to him it is a challenging job. “I don’ get too excited after winning or losing a game. After all you can’t win all the games neither you can lose all. We always look to give our best and have that fighting spirit within us. We will always try to take the game till the end instead of giving up and losing without any efforts,” said the captain.
DTDB is playing since 2007 in various tournaments. Ravi Shankar was selected as a fast bowler for Moffatlal back in 1990s. “I have played lots of cricket since beginning. I have good experience as well. DTDB team also plays in Times Shield. We have recruited some good players. We reached till quarter final couple of years ago in times shield. Apart from playing we also organize domestic tournament. So there is good scope for cricket in our company,” said Ravi Shankar Yadav.
Like all other captains, Ravi Shankar Yadav also applauded the efforts put in by organizers and sponsors. “No doubt that this is one of the most prolific tournament I have ever seen. Right from organization to a prize money everything is really fascinating. In other tournaments we don’t even get a glad of water but here they have arranged good food too for players. We still believe in ourselves and we will work hard to turn tables upside down,” said Ravi Shankar Yadav.
The first day of Capital league T20 tournament turned out to be an exciting day. LIC won the low scoring match in which their bowlers thrashed Pidilite for just 45 runs. “It was a remarkable victory for us. It is always nice to start a tournament with win. Initially we looked little shaky as we fell short by 1 run to put a 3 digit total on board. But we backed ourselves, bowled in right areas and got the results, “saidMr. Samar happily.
Samar-a development officer, is also a captain of LIC cricket team. He talked about his views on captaincy. “It is wonderful opportunity for me to lead this side. I have been playing cricket for almost past 22 years now. Everyone wants to be a captain of a team and I got that chance. I am enjoying my job as captain. Besides cricket it is also helping me in my profession. As a development officer I often interact with different LIC agents. So it helps me to improve our team work.”
“We knew that we can defend this total because the wicket was very slow and wet. Also the outfield had lots of grass because of which ball wasn’t reaching to boundary. I must applaud our bowlers and specially Pramod for his efforts. Our attack was terrific in that game. This is what any captain expects from players. Now we are looking to capitalize on a kind of start we have got in this tournament”
Currently, they are placed in F division in this tournament. “We are experienced campaigners. We have been playing in various tournaments since many years. We even grabbed the Times shield title couple of times. We were runner’s up in a tournament organized by Dreamz sports few years ago and we have been in Semifinals of various tournaments for countless number of times. It won’t be an exaggeration if I say that any tournament in which we play, we reach till the semifinal for sure. That kind of confidence I have in my team and players,” said the captain.
Samar was very happy about the sponsors and organizers of the tournament.” It is a really nice tournament. Sponsors and organizers have done a great job. We are very determined and I think we can win the title this year,” said the captain.
He talked about his opponents and next matches of this tournament. “I think there are various groups in this tournament. That basically means that teams with equal potential are placed in same groups. So I think every team has got the caliber of same level. T20 is a format of uncertainty, team which plays better cricket on that day wins the match. Even a batsman or bowler can take a game away from opponent single handedly. On has to be watchful always until the game is completely over. I think that is our prime goal. We want to give our best and win the key moments.”
As LIC team is high on confidence, it will be interesting to see if they can carry this momentum to book a place in finals.
The spectators at Azad maidan experienced a thriller on the first day of corporate T20 tournament. They enjoyed watching game to the fullest. But the atmosphere in both the dugouts during last over was way too different. They were all tensed and were hoping to see their side win. A situation was somewhat like this-Last over, 11 needed to win with just a single wicket in hand. Globe Group were defending but Sachin Jagtap of United India insurance was main hurdle in their way. After couple of dot balls the opponent needed 11 from 4 deliveries. Just when the players from Globe Group were about to relax, there came a turning point. Sachin hit a six over mid-off to make the equation 5 needed from 3! He went to finish the things off by trying to put the next ball beyond the boundary. But Alas! He was caught at mid-off and Globe Group won a low scoring thriller.
“Sachin played really well;overall it was an interesting game of cricket. We were batting first and we put 126 on board. Looking at the surface, the total was pretty decent. I scored 42 and one of our player, Gaurav scored 32. Yet a strong bowling efforts were needed to ensure the victory. Our bowlers delivered at right time taking us too victory. We got 1st 4 wicket in initial 4 overs. Shahul Hameed got 3 wickets. We were picking up wickets but Sachin was scoring runs from one end. He scored 72 and almost won the game single handedly,” explained Globe Group captain- Mr.Chintan Shah. Chintan was also the man of the match as he supported his batting efforts with magnificent figures of 4 overs 19 runs and 3 wickets.
According to Chintan, in that last over mid-off boundary was short so batsman had a little advantage. The morals of Globe Group players are high after this thrilling victory in first game itself. They are in group E in this tournament and are looking to give better performance in next game. Their next opponent is BEST who won their first game too. They bowled out bank of Maharashtra and chased down a target.
The key strength of Globe Group is their captain himself. “I have played lots of cricket over the years. I used to play for MCA under-17s, MCA under-19s and then played at university level too. In fact I couldn’t celebrate a victory to the fullest as I had to rush to other ground for a Kanga league match. Globe Group team is an extremely good team we are playing times shield for last 3 years now.
Chintan who is an associate manager at Globe Group thinks that captaining a side is a challenging job. “Having played so much cricket earlier, naturally I was made the captain of team. Here there are players who haven’t played cricket professionally. We have to take the best out of them and also ensure that they will not make any mistakes at key moments like the one in this match. Also there are lots of seniors in the team who are at higher designations in the hierarchy. You can’t really shout at them if they make any mistake. Everyone makes mistakes but it’s a spontaneous reaction when such things happen. But I always ensure that such thing will never happen when I am the captain,” said Mr.Chintan. With their smart and professional captain, Globe Group are all set to top the tables and win the next games by a broader margin.
It’s time for Mumbai’s 1st T20 league- Capital T20 tournament
For past few years, the cricketers eagerly wait for IPL every season. When the carnival is over after 2 months then there is not much exciting T20 action. But gone are those days when we used to wait till April. Now Mumbai has its own version of mini IPL. It is the Capital T20 tournament. Various team across the Mumbai will be participating to play Twenty 20 matches. This idea was brought into reality by Mr. Abhijeet Ghosh who is also a member of MCA. He talked about this new tournament which has caught everybody’s attention.
“Capital T20 will be staring from 1st November and it will go on till End of January. The Final will be played at the end of January which will take place at Wankhede stadium. We thought that there is a need of having good T20 corporate tournament for Mumbai city. We see that some states organize such T20 tournaments for e.g. we have Karnataka Premiere League which is an intrastate T20 competition. T20 is getting very popular these days so it will be a good platform for players to show their skills. As this is a corporate tournament, we are hoping that players will get a good job opportunities as these corporate teams appoint professional players. Considering all this, we decided to organize Capital T20 tournament,” said Mr. Ghosh.
Though this is a first year of tournament, the response from teams is fascinating. “You won’t believe but this year, which is our first year, we have got 184 teams participating in this tournament. The best part is that the matches will be played on Saturdays only. Thus this is a 16 weekend long tournament. It is just like these football league like EPL where matches usually are played on weekends. Because these matches will be on Saturdays, people can come to watch the matches, support their favorite teams and most importantly they can enjoy the game,” said Mr.Ghosh.
Already there is so much fame for this tournament. There is one more reason behind it and that is the prize money. “We have divided teams into 8 divisions. The prize for winner is 2,50,000/- and 2,00,000 to runners up for A and B division teams. Winner will get 2,00,000 and runners up will get 1,50,000/- when it comes to division C and D. The other divisions i.e. E,F,G,H will have 1,50,000/- for winners and 1,00,000 for runners up. No doubt that the prize money is huge. Apart from this there are few individual prizes too. Best all-rounder, best batsman and best bowler will all get 25,000/- that’s not all, after every match the man of the match will take home Rs. 2000/- “explained Mr. Ghosh. Certainly after looking at this prize money, it is correct to say this tournament as a mini IPL.
“The teams will play minimum 3 matches in a league stage and then there will be knock outs till final. We have tried to follow the Kanga league and Times shield format as A and B divisions will have all the top teams. There will be players who are playing Ranji Trophy in this division. There can be some players who have played for India and are now representing a corporate team. The average teams have been placed in division C and D. Remaining all teams will accommodate divisions E,F,G and H. Basically these last 4 groups will have nonprofessional players,” said Mr.Ghosh.
This tournament is affiliated by MCA and hence it will be played all across the city on various different grounds. Matches will be played at day time and knock outs can be played under lights depending in venue. With such a great response, the organizers are hoping for this tournament to reach new heights. So fasten your seat belts, the action is about to begin!
Final match of the tournament, stakes were on high, Royal Strikers were needing 45 to win but Alas! They fell one run short and scores were tied. To decide the winner there was a super over. IT Hitters scored 7 runs for 1 wicket and Royal Strikers made exactly the same runs to tie the super over! This was the scene at Wipro’s tournament which was held at Bangalore. The captain of IT hitters-which was a runners up team talks about the event in detail.
“It was simply breathtaking! After the main match and super over was tied we were thinking to declare both teams as combined winners. But both the teams were ready for challenge and eventually we decided to play yet another match. Batting first we scored 60 from 10 overs and Royal Strikers chased it down in 2 nd extremely competitive environment and everyone enjoyed it a lot,” said Ashok.
It was a tennis ball tournament. Its format was very interesting and unique. “First of all teams were a mixture of boys and girls. It was a kind of mix cricket tournament. 2 girls were mandatory in a side. Each team had 10 players where the break up was 8 boys and 2 girls. The matches were played on knockout basis. Every team had 1 person from senior designation. There were 8 such teams in competition. Basically our motto was Har Koi Khelega,”said Ashoke.
“ There were 8 overs to be bowled per side. From which last over had to be bowled by girls. Three balls for one girl and other girl will complete the remaining over. Also while the girls were bowling, the batting was also done by girls. This was quite interesting and unique thing about our tournament. The organization of such tournament started last year and now we are planning to organize it every year”
This is not the only place where such tournament is being organized. “We have branches at different cities in India. This kind of tournament was also played in Hyderabad. It will be played at other locations too. Mainly it is a recreational activity for employees. There are around 400 to 500 people working in different department. By such means people will interact with eachother because usually in IT we see that not many look beyond their own department. However it is necessary that everyone will get mixed up for better work environment and complaisance. Employees get some free time and this activity helps companies to take their employees away from work giving them some free time,” said Ashoke.
Apart from being a captain of runners up team, Ashoke was also a co-organizer of the event.“There were few good players seen this year. I think from our team Sandeepto Roy and Kartikeyan were extremely good. From other team I think their captain Sandeep and a guy named as Gopi were terrific. There was no professional player involved and we picked these 8 teams based on people who are really interested and passionate about playing cricket, “said Ashoke.last over.
This is how the tournament ended. It was Ashoke, who is a software engineer, was accompanied by his colleague Mr.Kapil Mohan who is a delivery manager in organizing the tournament successfully.“We are now looking to organize such tournament every year. Every year the teams will keep changing as people move from one department to other or get a promotion or so. It was fun organizing the tournament this year so we are already planning about the innovation we can do in next edition. Hopefully that will be a level higher than the concluded tournament,” said Ashoke.
“Like any kid from India, I started playing cricket on the streets. Absolutely no expectations, just for the love of the game” says Srinivas, a very self motivated young player who currently works as a Physical Design Engineer at Availink Inc USA. Hear him narrate about his passion for cricket and how how big of a role cricket plays in his life after 20 years.
Mr Srinivas started playing cricket frim his 4th grade and entered the crease as a professional batsman from his 11th grade. Though he loved playing this sport for fun, he never realized cricket latching on him that he made the biggest decision in his life, to pursue cricket as his career.
Born and brought up in a very conservative country, Indian parents considered only a doctor and engineer as a genuine career stand. And amidst those families, his parents accepted his choice happily. Srinivas truly became unstoppable after that as the persuasive player, he could never glance as at a failure thereafter. He recollects few nostalgic moments in his first divisional league match where he tasted the bitter success and failure together as he scored a whopping 87 runs in the South India’s dreamy stadium – lovingly called as the chepauk stadium in Chennai, and ended up being the only player who was not selected in the state cricket team. Srinivas had a zeal like none other as he bagged victories playing against established cricket players like R.Ashwin, Badrinath & Dinesh Karthik. He flaunts his skills and never was intimidated by the “big” names in the field.
“A real players acknowledges happy audience as an award rather than receiving recognition from members from a cricket committee. Everytime I perform well, I AM the man of the match” is a bold statement from Srinivas. Like the 100 million Indians who worship Sachin Tendular, Srinivas adores him for his cricket and remarks him as the most technically perfect player.
Srinivas, with a strong front, reveals that it has been 3 years since he has played cricket professionally, however relives hischildhood days, where he continues to play the game for fun in weekends. Though he does miss entering the field like a real player, his memorable days as a start is still etched in his heart and remains with him in a happy place whenever he picks up the bat
The Signature Hit by Srinivas
“Cricket has become an addictive sport today and young talent seem to be popping up from the nook of corners of the country, with great dreams and aspiration. I advise all the yound players to enter this field with an open mind though you are gifted with his game.
Today I am very proud to have played cricket at the highest level in my state and moving on to pursue my masters with a well paying secure job. For all those players hidden under a corporate gear, I hope you all would continue to be passion driven, and for all those who have made it big in cricket, nothing beats it.