The Inspiration Behind The Book

As a child I heard about a story of a cricketer whose grandfather wanted to see him play for the national side but by the time the cricketer wore the blue blazer, the grandfather had passed away. The cricketer was Mohammad Azharuddin. This story stayed with me for years. A few years ago, Rahul Dravid was asked the question – who will you ask to bat for your life? The legendary batsman named Sachin Tendulkar as a testament for his trust in the defence of arguably the greatest batsman to walk on the planet. The moment which blended these two independent ideas was the story of Bob Blair.

The Knock is a love letter to the game my father loved. The Knock is a love letter to my father who passed away a few years back.

Character Influences

Chistis are us. In the anecdotes which build the core of the story, I have borrowed from the experiences of my father and father of my friend Ali. They lived most of their prime in pre-globalization India. They were aspirational but always had welfare of family in mind. There are elements of modern aspirational India but their nature is reflective of a more humble era.

That Moment

There is a father-son moment in the early chapters which kept me awake the night I wrote it. It broke my heart as a writer. For a moment in there, I felt like I was speaking to my own father. It was a little overwhelming for me as a writer as well. In the climax there is scene which I cannot disclose here because of the spoiler nature. That scene kept me awake for the whole night. It was difficult to not over-elaborate the scene. The scene is retained just as it was written in the first draft.

Takeaways

What are stories if not little time capsules. With The Knock, I tried to capture some moments from the history of Indian cricket with the socio-economic situation of the time the characters lived in. I hope that in the end, my readers feel a little emotional and spare a moment to reflect upon their lives and people around them.

Stay Blessed

The Knock