Greg Thomas was bowling to Viv Richards in a county game. The latter
missed a superb out-swinger and Thomas said, “It’s red, round, and weighs about
5 ounces.” Next ball, Viv Richards hits Greg Thomas out of the ground and
replies, “Greg, you know what it looks like. Go ahead and find it.”
My brother must have narrated this to me at least a zillion times.
And every time he has, it has been with the same zeal and enthusiasm of a
cricket enthusiast. Sometimes, I was quite sure, that through the narration he
would channel Viv Richards!!! The point being that, cricket in our country,
brings with it, a fervor unparralled… and my brother in more ways than one is an
embodiment of that commitment!!!!
When I think of cricket, I think of my brother, Viv Richards,
Krish Srikanth, and for some strange reason Alvin Kalicharan – and all of them
in the same breath. Very different individuals with free flowing spirits, personalities
who have lived life on their own terms, loved the game (a game I have tried to
understand) with a passion that many a times is tough to explain. Cricket is
not a game that I love. I tolerate it for varied reasons. Some of the reasons are the people I have
mentioned above and add to the list Sachin Tendulkar! The T20 has caught my
attention indeed and I must confess, has enhanced my understanding of the game. My years in corporate life have also taught
me to look for the underlying plan / strategy (as many corporate honchos would
term it) in the game. I recognize it at times, and many a times, I don’t.
‘Inside Indian T20’
written by a friend and an ex-colleague Ravi Ramu, came my way. Listening to my
brother discourse about cricket is great (I love my brother). Watching it on TV
makes it tolerable (I revere my companion, my TV); but, reading about it, and
what more as a BOOK, was a clear no no! Love
is NOT for all seasons!!! Nonetheless, I embarked on reading it with the
mindset of a skeptic, out to explore for some possible magic in a game of
cricket. I guess, at that very moment, when I picked up "Inside Indian T20", I
knew exactly what Greg Thomas must have felt. I had to go looking for something
that I was sure would take me ages to find!!!! I had decided to play through the
book, and so, pulled out a nice big wad of chewing gum and with the blithe
intent as flatters Viv Richards settled down to play my innings with as many ‘agricultural
shots*’ as possible! (*Agricultural shot: this is a swing across the line of the ball (resembling a scything motion)
played without much technique)
“Inside IndianT20” explains how Ravi bought, managed, and guided a
professional T20 cricket team…. And well, took it to championship glory! The narrative through the book details every
bit that goes to procuring a team, the format of the game, the challenges faced
thereof, and the emotional labyrinths of the players, spectators, and that of
everyone and anyone associated with the action involved. The account moves
swiftly through the pre-game and then onto the matches. There are moments when
as a reader, you would go for that highlighter to make note of some of the most
obvious (yes very obvious) and common sense filled stretches; events and
memories (like ‘Mexico City, 1968’,
Pg 76,) etched out, that appeal not just to the cricket buff, but to anyone who would agree that metaphors exist
for a purpose. I have christened it the ‘1968’ speech – that reflects the idiom
‘a pride in oneself is what it is all about’. The book in its main plot talks of the
journey of a T20 Cricket team to its victory. However, inextricably woven into
it are the author’s reflections on various aspects that are touched upon by
many of our management gurus, showered with heaps of common-sense. There are brief moments in the book that could
qualify for ‘Wooster-Jeeves moments’. One can almost, at the background, hear Jeeves murmur “I endeavor to give satisfaction sir” during the ‘Fred Astaire’ reference (page 123). I steered through ‘The Start-up’, gained speed with “The Team” and
picked up my own version of The Ashes with “The Game”!!
Ravi gives an interesting insight into why teams and their
franchisees succeed or fail. The book plays out as a critique not only on the
modern day version of cricket, but also on policies and procedures in the
corporate world. He displays the ability to see the funny side in the most
bizarre and perhaps even petrifying of all moments. The language is simple. There
is the easy to relate vocabulary. The analogies marked out appeal, not only to
the believers, but also the non-believers of this religion called Cricket! The book
has the ability to capture a wide audience. It’s a book that one would pick up, to quickly
read through a flight, perhaps while in transit, or over a relaxing weekend
only to realize that there is the need to revisit it. The author makes
references to people who he has interacted with in the course of guiding the
team; people, one could perhaps easily relate to. The ease and the immediacy
with which the characters are referred to lend it a fair amount of credibility.
There are moments when one would wonder on the reasons for a touch and go with
a few. But, well, this is not a work of fiction! The characters in a novel are
made out of sentences; but those in a book like ‘Inside Indian T20’ are fleshed out from
the author’s experiences. It takes a moment for the reader to grapple with that
though.
I liked the book! The ease with which I could navigate
through it had the essence of a Viv Richards or a Srikanth innings. Bat in hand,
sans helmet, chickle in mouth, both had the uncanny ability to make the game
look like a cake walk. Reading “Inside Indian T20” is to experience the fun of traditional
first class cricket with the speed of a T20,…. a poetic fervidness elucidated in
prose…. Viv Richards playing a T20! You will see me in the VIP stands, for
sure!
Well, not bad at all! I am not too sure if I would venture to
read another book on Cricket; but well, can now look at my brother in his eye
and say “Ok, lets watch “some” cricket!”
