Obviously the bicycle was christened Audi from day one. Most of our friends learnt to cycle on the Audi. Tennis ball cricket was big then, prize money me Maruti bhi huva karta tha. Would love to meet him again. Dadh would play tennis ball cricket for a club called Vile Parle Cricket club. He had very high hopes on my cricketing skills and would let me tag around. I remember Makarand Deshpande yeah the actor being absolutely brilliant behind wickets.
He would stand up to my brother bowling at his peak and never flinch, how he managed to collect those zingers only he knows. Well my career at VPRC came to an end when i managed to drop some seven catches in a session. The ball kept following me to all corners of the ground, even almost behind the wicket keeper in one instance. I did manage to redeem myself in my own eyes by playing a match winning innings of 22 in a final in Goa, representing our Askan wada club in a local tournament. Batted with a club cannot call it a bat fashioned out of a banyan tree bark, bowled hone ka koi chance nahi tha.
It was great fun. This was a different Mumbai, people would offer a seat in the local train, when they saw you with books and figured it was exam season. Last minute revision would be done peacefully in the train journey from Andheri to Churchgate. People would exchange newspapers or fold them so well that two blokes could read at the same time, standing in front of each other.
And all of us without exception could have played that one ball better which got anyone out, could have held on to a catch which someone dropped and could have bowled six yorkers in a row and all this while having our cup of tea.
Did not play after entering college and this rather long hiatus from active playing was broken with a stint as coach of the Icici pru team for a couple of years. All of them remember specific details of matches played long ago, of catches they missed of batsman they fooled into getting out; its almost like the matches happened yesterday. Mumbai has always been a city of dreams and cricket one of the chief instruments of making them happen.
For me the best memory was of his last match. We land up all laced with the Indian flag and a great hope to see him score a hundred. Got interviewed by a Marathi channel outside the stadium and we have a screen grab of the gang waving the flag during the match.
They have a big screen up, we are swigging pitcher after pitcher, exhorting the batsmen to get out. Jul 22, Raj Sinha rated it liked it. The first thing that strikes you even as you look at the cover of the book is that there is one odd player in the XI. Dhoni is difficult to recognise. If you look at the composition, it's Dilip Sardesai who stands oddly from the rest - what is he doing in this exalted XI? Rajdeep anticipates this and takes pains in the too-long introduction to justify the choice of his father - but the justification does not cut ice.
Rajdeep's apology sounds hollow. The point that the author clarifies about th The first thing that strikes you even as you look at the cover of the book is that there is one odd player in the XI. The point that the author clarifies about the composition is that this XI of post independence test players is by no means the greatest XI ever - point well taken - but then it's a team XI you are choosing - so to accommodate the flexible point the author is making, a little more research was in order to balance the team with batsmen 6 or 5 , bowlers 4 or 5 and a wicket keeper.
His team has only 1 specialist spinner Bedi and one specialist pace bowler Kapil, who of course was also a batsman of high quality. That makes the team quite ridiculous, because they are 11 players he is choosing. Why XI? Because that's what makes a playing team. From this perspective, the inclusion of Dilip Sardesai can find no justification.
Why the pretence of an XI if he feels the need to include his father? It's a highly readable book of course - has to be - after all it's about Cricket and it's about 11 outstanding players who caught our collective imaginations when they played. The book unveils aspects about each player that not many may have known and this makes it very interesting if not riveting.
But Rajdeep shows an irritating tendency to make points that appear quite contrived - for instance he says that Gavaskar's constant self-denial while batting I hasten to add! He also can't help but reveal his unfortunate political alignment as a journalist in his book on cricket - he deftly almost cunningly defines Indira Gandhi's dictatorial style as reflective of the new-found assertiveness and self belief that came into Indian Test Cricket during the Gavaskar-Vishwanath era.
I quote "The toughness of her character would make her an inspirational figure for millions; India's political leadership was acquiring a more ruthless edge and so slowly would its cricket.
He goes to the extent of comparing Virat with Narendra Modi as representatives of the new wave of autocracy in the country! Rajdeep shies away from offering personal opinions or positions on controversial issues and this is most starkly evident when he literally glosses over the two undeniable stains in any Tendulkar story - the customs waiver matter on his Ferrari and the drawing of an MP's salary and perks for 5 years in spite of almost zero attendance or contribution.
These two deviations on part of the will-not-stick-my-neck-out author, betray's nothing but Sardesai's parochialism. By the way, he also fails to mention that Sharmila had to change her religion and name Ayesha Begum to get married to Pataudi. But if you are a cricket lover then you will enjoy reading the book. It is competently written and is well paced - 'military medium' as our loveable commentators from yesteryears would have said with satisfaction!
Sep 12, Prabhat sharma rated it really liked it Shelves: completed. The story begins with the life of his father Dilip Sardesai of the writer Rajdeep Sardesai in onwards to Virat Kohli about how cricket has has developed in India and brought happiness to all. The Book has compared the political history - from freedom of India to development of economy and from Commentary of a cricket match from a Transistor to colour TV and more with the development of cricket.
Second charming fact which is brought forward in this Book is that a cricketer begins his life from an ordinary middle class person and rises to be a star and sponsors and product advertiser make him a multi-millionaire. It has been informed that Nawab of Pataudi did not take the fees but asked BBCI to provide the amount to the cobbler who mended the shoes of the selected team.
Each of the players has a story of help from the family, identified by someone that the child had talent for cricket then continuous hard work at the nets and practice from a young age.
The Book has depicted the economic progress of India alongwith story of BCCI which has provided rights of telecast of cricket matches of International buyers. Third, the opening of economy for international players, the products need to be presented by role models of next door boy who has risen from obscurity to international fame.
Two more facts- Rahul Dravid was invited to deliver a talk on cricket by Don Bradman Oration in Canberra Australia on and second that Rajdeep Sardesai organises Dilip Sardesai Memorial lectures about various aspects of cricket. Book talks about the better halves of these cricketers especially about Sharmila Tagore and about his mother Mrs Dilip Sardesai. The Book also enlightens the reader about development of one day cricket and twenty 20 matches which has charmed the audience and brought new young cricketers to the front.
Introduction of the book raises hope to continue to read the book. It is quite an informative and must read book for all. May 17, Ritu Mantri rated it it was amazing. Among the 11 cricketers chosen by Rajdeep Sardesai for his book Democracy XI, 9 were batsmen and only 2 were ballers. What does this means? That India produced more world class batsman than ballers.
That in India, there is more keenness to become a batsman than baller. Whatever be the analysis, Rajdeep Sardesai has done a fantastic job in bringing out the complete story of the journey of cricket in India right from its advent to evolve to touching the peak of glory at various points of time.
To gi Among the 11 cricketers chosen by Rajdeep Sardesai for his book Democracy XI, 9 were batsmen and only 2 were ballers. To give a complete picture, Sardesai jr. He has drawn parallels between cricket and politics and also between cricketers and politicians.
He has also shown how cricket has united the country on multiple occasions and it is one field where nothing matters more than merit. Rajdeep has written this book as a cricket lover and not as a bitter political TV journalist who lauds one political party at the cost of another. Since cricket and politics run in his flesh and blood, it might have been difficult to keep politics out of the book. But the way he has incorporated the two was marvelous.
It gives a complete scenario and I think one could easily picture everything and relate to it. It is an exciting and fun book to read about cricket and its shining stars and if you are seriously a cricket fan than reading this book is a must. Apr 09, Rakhi Jayashankar rated it it was amazing Shelves: reviewed , non-fiction , sports. Cricket is a religion for Indians. It is an Indian game accidentally discovered by the English, as the author says. Hence a book on cricket will definitely raise the expectations.
Who else to write on the topic than Rajdeep sardesai. Being a cricketer's son, author has the hands own experience on the cricketer's' lives. Author refers that an actor's son can be an actor. If not an A grade actor, they can be actors sill.
A politician's son can be a politician but for a cricketer's son, even enter Cricket is a religion for Indians. A politician's son can be a politician but for a cricketer's son, even entering the Renji team requires talent, hard work and luck which supports a better performance. Author has selected 11 cricketers in the history of India, who has influenced the moulding of cricket at different time periods.
He has backed up his observations with the background of the cricketer along with the detailed study of the tenure. Readers get to see how cricket has grown in India post Independence. With the style of writing, author has knitted a book that will excite the audience as much as the fiction thrillers do.
Hence it is a mix of entertaining and informative account of Indian cricket. The book is more relatable to 80's and 90's kids as most of the cricketers included will come under this category and also Indian cricket had the greatest growth during this period.
Aug 16, Siddharrth Jain rated it liked it. Cricket happens to be my first love and as they say, the first remains the special and forever. So growing up in the early 80s, and fortunately enough, Sachin Tendulkar's excellence had started to enthral the world. I am one of those gazillion 'devotees' of this Godly figure, who can never commit anything unworthy. Such was his aura and continues to be.
For a cricket aficionado in me, this book once again helped me re-live those memories, of India's finest cricketing produce. While the brilliance Cricket happens to be my first love and as they say, the first remains the special and forever. While the brilliance of the likes of Pataudi, Bedi, Sardesai and Gavaskar were heard of, the class of the next-gen were eye-witnessed.
Rajdeep Sardesai is a very fine writer and articulates well, as he has himself, played the game with the generation's legends. Coming it from the person who understands the game and it's personalities, is refreshing and keeps you wanting to read more. He writes on the sport while drawing a subtle parallel, on India's growth and the events that unfolded during each player's era.
However what worries me is the lack of bowlers in his selected 'playing' XI. While the good old Punjabi duo in Kapil Dev and Bishan Bedi can fetch you wickets, it will be the part timers in Sachin and Sourav, who can possibly be held responsible for Migraine issues!
May 22, Luke Gracias rated it it was amazing. A book every Indian cricket tragic should read. Perhaps we grew up in the times of the transistor radio with the almost constant "Score kya hai? Rajdeep has managed to find a wonderful story to tell about each cricketer who has shaped India from the times of his father Dilip.
The fascinating stories of Kapil, Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly were my favourites and I even wondered if based on his strong religious beliefs, which i never knew before reading this book, if Azhar was framed. Its a trip A book every Indian cricket tragic should read. Its a trip down memory lane, a time when we could play crickets in the suburban streets of Mumbai and everyone could probably name the entire 16 playing for Australia but have no idea who the Prime Minister of the country was.
Actually, that has not changed. A great read and I loved it. If there was one criticism, it would be the use of some Hindi phrases, which limits the reading base to the subcontinent. But it is a book about Indian cricket and it is unlikely I would have the same interest in the back story of Viv Richards or Sir Donald Bradman, Oct 04, Avishek rated it really liked it.
The parallels drawn between transformation of Indian cricket and its democracy, that goes hand in hand and severs as a vital bond between us as Indians, entices me more than any other biographies of Indian cricketers that I have had read earlier. The way each chapter is etched, engrosses you as it unfolds the journey of some of the most venerated Indian cricketing heroes.
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