Democracy's XI: The Great Indian Cricket Story

by Rajdeep Sardesai

Nothing unites India like cricket. The Indian team is a glorious mix of people from different religions, classes, castes, regions and languages; where the son of a pump manager from Ranchi is tightly bound in fate and determination to the child prodigy of a Marathi professor from Mumbai and a Muslim from the back alleys of Hyderabad. And while dynasts can rule the roost in politics and Bollywood, cricket is a meritocratic space. But it wasn't always this way. Gandhi, for instance, intensely disapproved of cricket. During the Raj it was associated with racism. It had the nasty odour of communal division, with Hindus and Muslims playing in separate teams. Dalits, meanwhile, were personas non grata on the field. Bestselling author and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai narrates the story of post-Independence cricket through the lives of eleven extraordinary Indian cricketers who represent different dimensions of this change - from Dilip Sardesai and Tiger Pataudi in the 1950s to M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli today. This is not a book about an all-time best Indian cricket eleven but one that seeks to show us glimpses of a changing India through personal and anecdotal biographical portraits. From the days that Indian cricketers travelled by train and earned a few hundred rupees for Test matches to the bright lights of the multimillion-dollar IPL, this book puts the spotlight on the evolution of Indian cricket and society, and shows how a post-colonial nation found self-respect.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, India

380 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2017

About the author

Rajdeep Sardesai is an Indian news anchor and author.

Reviews

[Umesh Kesavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rajdeep's biggest strength is his access to every cricketer he profiles in this book. He gets valuable bytes on all issues and personalities- He questions Gavaskar on Bedi, Dhoni on Srinivasan and Ganguly on Chappell. Despite such precious access and a promising premise, Rajdeep falters because cliches rule every page. The well written parts of the book are wherein he quotes veterans like Gideon Haigh or Mukul Kesavan. A maudlin, cliche-loaded tribute to Indian cricket that could have been much more.

[Divakar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading books on sports and sportsmen is a newly acquired habit. For the first 55 years of my life, just read two. Tiger’s Tale by Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and later Sunny Days by Sunil Gavaskar. Interest got reignited after someone gifted me a copy of OPEN – the no holds barred autobiography of Andre Agassi. Fell in love with the book and also rediscovered the joy of reading about young achievers who overcome all odds and come on top of the their game and stay there for a while. In the last 3 years, read close to a dozen books….ironically mostly on cricket and cricketers…underlying our enduring obsession with the official unifying religion of India. Some remarkable ones were : ‘A corner of the foreign field…an Indian history of a British sport’ by Ramachandra Guha, ‘Wounded Tiger – the history of Pakistan cricket’ by Peter Oborne, ‘White on Green ( again on Pakistan cricket) by Peter Oborne and Richard Heller, ‘Nation at Play – A history of Indian sport‘ by Ronojoy Sen, ‘The Great Tamasha’ by James Astill.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading these books and some more. Sports is the ultimate metaphor for all that is good in life…of discipline, challenge, victory, years and years of hard work culminating in success, rising above your odds and punching above your station, recognition, meritocratic ( mostly) etc., etc.,
So when Rajdeep Sardesai’s book on Indian cricket came out….was tempted to buy it inspite of the not so glowing reviews…..hoping that a book on cricket and cricketers will be absorbing…more so when the author is a rookie cricketer and also the son of one of our old favourites…Dilip Sardesai and never misses out on featuring stories on cricket and cricketers on his news channel. He is what one would call...a confirmed lover of the sport and all that goes with it.

After finishing the book…I am still trying to figure out what Mr Sardesai Jr is trying to convey. The premise that cricket is one of the few endeavours where caste, creed, class, connections and economic status does not matter and one can rise to the top on sheer merit, talent and chutzpah…and if this his list of cricketers who made it that way – then I am afraid that I cannot agree to this list. Except for Dhoni who is featured, most of the cricketers were metro city boys, backed by moderate to well to do families who lucked out on the ovarian lottery and had access to good schools, clubs, coaches and mentors.

Rajdeep Sardesai should have just left it as ‘my favourite XI’ and one will not have any complaints. I am at liberty to write my own book and include Ajit Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad ( for example) in my list of India’s greatest XI. The compulsions of a high profile political news anchor creeps in often as he tries to link the rise and at the times the fall of players to issues within India…..from unemployment to corruption to slow growth to disenchantment with democracy. This khichdi does not go well.

Normally when you read about sportsmen and when most of them are still alive and current, you either expect solid research, getting to know things that you did not, or heart warming stories from their near and dear on their early struggles and then their rise and rise, or scholarly insight or even trivia that we are not aware of….this book fails on all counts. Most of the stories are the done to death stories…of Sachin’s discipline, of Virat going slightly wayward and then straightening himself out to subsequent glory or about the outspoken Bedi or the oh so proper Dravid…..overall boring…..Out of the eleven chosen, surprisingly only two of the heroes featured are well written…one is about Dilip Sardesai ( the author’s father) and then about Tiger Pataudi. Sone notable absentees in the list…the flamboyant Vivek Jaisimha ( btw…Satya Nadella’s favourite over the Little Master) or Salim Durrani.

If you want to know about cricketers and their inspiring stories, read the chapter on Baloo Palwankar in ‘ A corner of the foreign field’ by Guha or Cheteshwar Pujara’s story in ‘The Great Tamasha’.
Think Mr Sardesai Junior should stick to ranting on the evening show on India Today TV and stay away from writing…this book is a poor successor to his first book on elections which was just about so so. The book overall falls into the ‘avoidable’ category.

I am waiting for either Peter Oborne or Ramachandra Guha to write on our cricketers…and that is well worth the wait.

[Mohak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know that there has been some criticism of Sardesai's methodology and choice of the eleven cricketers in the book but I was never bothered by it. I was more keen on reading short stories about cricketers that I have watched - and more importantly, about those who I haven't. I really appreciated the minor details about different cricketers that Sardesai's research generated - such as the importance Dravid's parents gave to education (Can't think of a better example. Writing this review belatedly).

However, my biggest criticism of the book - and what was constantly annoying me while reading it - was the attempts Sardesai made to connect the state of Indian politics and that of the cricket team. At best, those links were mere coincidences but his insistence in trying to connect the two made it feel as if he is implying causation. Having a coalition government at the centre did not have anything to do with the makeup of the Indian cricket team. I wished he realised that and didn't try to link his life's two passions - cricket and politics - because, honestly, in this case, they couldn't have.

[E.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Profiles of cricketers can be fun to read. One of my favourite books as a teenager was Idols by Sunil Gavaskar that contained profiles of around 30 cricketers who were contemporaries of Gavaskar and thus introduced me to a previous generation.
This book is a delightful read about 11 cricketers who the author thinks changed Indian cricket. While the list is far from perfect, each of the profiles was fun to read with the right balance of commentary, anecdotes and narration. I have read biographies of 5-6 cricketers mentioned here, but still found a lot of things to know and enjoy. And the author has managed to keep his own views minimal.
Despite buying it immediately on hearing of it, I shelved it. Afterall, on second thoughts, this seemed like another hastily-written, shallow book written by a political journalist. But, I was wrong and this book was doubly delightful as I read it in the busiest time of the year for me.

[Saurav Choudhury · Rating 2 out of 5]

A golden opportunity, squandered. Rajdeep with his kind of access to these individuals was expected to bring out a masterpiece, a book filled with anecdotes and stories that would make any cricket lover stand-up and take note. Unfortunately nothing as such happens.

He definitely tries to bring up the true reach of the game and how this simple game connects all of India, small towns to larger cities and how it has played an important role in building a connect between the different segments of the society. But he falls short, falls short miserably as he is unable to fathom any new stories about Indian cricket that is unknown to the cricket lovers.
Kudos to him on the front that he lists out 11 of India's arguably greatest cricketers but this book could have been more than that. A page or two out of Guha's or Mukul Kesavan's books would have helped.

[Shreyas Dixit · Rating 2 out of 5]

It provides a history of BCCI and the player vs board dynamics. Linking it to India's democracy was mostly unnecessary. The choice of players again is not to my liking.

[M B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing new or rare unknown incidents,

[T. Sathish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading the book, Democracy XI, by Rajdeep Sardesai..The book is a collection of 11 short biographies of prominent stars in Indian cricket. Each biography had some nice anecdotes, some of them are already well known while others were new.

Rajdeep has tried to draw parallels to India as a country and the star(s) of that time period;how they were a reflection of India of those times..This aspect has been handled at a very superficial level. No deep analysis has been presented. So mostly, passing references. Those references are valid, though..

Overall, it is a fast paced, nicely written collection of biographies of XI great stars of Indian cricket..One time read for sure, if you are a cricket fan..don't look for deep insights..

[Diptakirti Chaudhuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the highest concentration of anecdotes I have read in a cricket book!
Rajdeep Sardesai's access to cricketers (of all levels and vintages) is something else and he has managed to get reactions and stories from a mindboggling number of them. The writing style is easy and smooth.
The book falters only when Sardesai tries to draw connections between cricketing events and political ones or parallels between cricketers and politicians. Other than that, it is a fine read and stands up as a good record of India's progression on the cricketing scene. (Thought his repeated reminders of the meteoric rise in cricketers' pays can get a bit jarring!)

[Sudharsan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Rajdeep gives you these delightful little stories about the cricketers interspersed between ramblings and repetitive paragraphs. The extra .5 is for those stories alone.

[Arunayan Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has everything, except for the true feeling of cricket and cricketers.

[Maruti Naik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was written In October 2017, spread over 3 parts -

Part 1: The first 3 chapters

I kinda like Rajdeep; he is straightforward, feisty and sporting (his unedited interview of Pranabda is testimony). I have been waiting for this book quite eagerly i must say; the first book i have ever pre-ordered on Amazon.

The book arrived in the middle of a family get together — yesterday was bhaubeez and Janaki had invited her dad’s side of the family over. The packaging quickly disposed off, i started off on the introduction where i encountered this “ Test cricketers son cant wear India cap without being 1 of the 11 most talented players in the country”. I knew right there and then that this is going to be a cracker of a read. Tweeted this to Rajdeep, no reply… yet…

I decided to read this book in a flash forward and back sequence; started off with the chapter on Dilip baab, then Kohli, back to Tiger, you get the drift.

Stopped to write after the chapter on Tiger, stuck by a common thread in all three chapters — the triumph of will over adversity.

Dilip baab’s (prefer this over Sardee man- kya kare Goan jo hai) story is so beautifully told by Rajdeep, a true tribute to his father, also of an acknowledgement of his own cricketing skills, of the need to beat your own path and i guess to chase excellence. The best part of this story is the images it brought up of a time gone by, when Mumbai cricket invented “khadoos”, the part about kicking the ball over the boundary ropes brought about much laughter, when random people stepped into your life and helped take it forward, when bush shirts still reigned, when off days in test matches would allow a tandoori chicken eating competition, when Ananth Ashram was still around and wearing Kolhapuris was possible. There is a reference to an article written by Shiv Visvanathan — found it here — https://www.pressreader.com/india/the...

Sahi likha hai Shiv ne, “Dilip baab represented a goodness that is ending”.

The chapter on Kohli brings about a very different era; no tandoori eating competition- one cannot dominate the world if one is not fit wala era. To turn up for a match in the face of great personal loss is testimony to the passion this bloke has for the game. His intensity mirrored by his chiseled frame, his buoyancy on field symbolic of his desire to dominate, have all been written about before. What Rajdeep brings about is the romantic in Virat, his tribute to Sachin after the world cup win, his tremendous respect for his coach and his standing up for Anushka. Lot more stats in this chapter, again symbolic of a “data driven” age we live in. I quite liked the way Rajdeep ends this chapter; how the shagird still respects his ustaad, and how Virat turns up at the academy before any major tour. I had written a small piece on Kohli (shameless plug i know) http://roadtoshiroda.blogspot.in/2016.... Nowhere in comparison obviously.

The chapter on Tiger is brilliant; all throughout i was reminded of Pu La deshpande and his immortal series “Vyakti ani Valli”. The tragic accident and Tiger rebounding to cricket in such a short period “the will” factor. The class of the man, his indifference to his status, his love for the game, the great friendship with Jai (cannot imagine a test captain playing under someone at a local level), his passion for music, the quiet confidence with which he was blessed and of course a completely different side to him — pranking Farokh Engineer was total fun. Rajdeep brings out the Pat in the Nawaab, a prince of hearts, a fighter to the core — the Melbourne match played with one eye and one leg, ending with a great quote by Mukul Kesavan “He remained untouched by the squabbles and sleaze that attended cricket’s transformation into big business in India. As a consequence, death finds him happily embalmed in fond radio memories: still tigerish in the covers, still a prince amongst men”.

full article here:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/...

To be very honest I like the era of Pat and Dilip baab, a far more genteel time, less noisy and of course a time when the great Nehru walked this earth. Comes up as a soothing reference point in both chapters…

And now for Maahi ve..

Part 2: MS

Recently I saw Bishan Bedi on “Breakfast with Champions”, a web show by Gaurav Kapoor. In that show, Bishan Bedi came up with an absolute gem when he stated it takes “junoon and sakoon” to be successful in cricket and life in general.

If there is one person who symbolises this phrase, it has to be MS. His passion for the game, unbridled and flowing like the mane he once sported, somehow co-exists with his zen like composure. Living one innings at a time seems to come naturally to him; Rajdeep brings this out expertly and he also touches upon a raw spot when he delves into the IPL controversy. The IPL episode is not something one finds freely written about. This chapter also brings about the stories of many cricketers from small town India, their struggles, their determination and Rajdeep manages to bring about a parallel with a changing India.

Dhoni dons the mantle of an icon of these changing times with such ease, in the spirit of “to the manor born”. While i absolutely adore Dhoni and what he has done for Indian cricket (do read http://roadtoshiroda.blogspot.in/2011... a tad uncharitable to Kumble in the opening comments), I feel he was on the wrong end of the Srinivasan affair. He should have done the right thing and walked out of CSK, but then to each his own and Dhoni has always gone through life on his own terms. His decision to retire came as a huge surprise to many and in a way talks of his pragmatic mindset, recognising that it was indeed time to make way for youngsters and also keep himself going till the 2019 world cup.

It will be interesting to see how the great finisher closes down on his cricketing career; will he push and prod or give it his all, will the helicopter soar as before, does it have in him to give us one more memory, stronger than that 6 to win the world cup of 2011, will we as spectators be able to bid him a fond farewell…fingers crossed. I hope (Rajdeep does mention this in his chapter as well) he does not go the usual commentary route that ex cricketeers seem to prefer, instead he should get into active politics, something tells me he will be an able administrator.

Part 3 : Tendlya and other memories

Writing the review of Rajdeep’s book, brought about a flood of memories of my tryst with cricket, so here goes.

My first memory of playing cricket is in the small verandah of my house in Kalina — Mumbai, underarm cricket with one tappa (bounce) out, stumps etched on one of the walls and all sorts of weird rules. Pretty much block everything that comes your way and bat for as long as you can was the only strategy.

Graduated to playing outside the verandah with the big boys (Derrick Dias was an awesome underarm bowler, could spin the rubber ball a great distance). The only sore point in this pursuit was fishing the ball from the many gutters that dotted our ground. There must have been someone watching over us as we never got infected. Most of us were pretty good in playing along the ground and hitting the ball one bounce over the bowlers head; with so many fielders around the bat that was the only way you could score runs. This was also the stage where runs were “declared”, hit the ball in a particular area fetched you two runs, above a particular height meant you were out. Many a test match was played with all the attending rules of cricket. We would play after lunch and way into the evening stopping only when the streetlights came on (night cricket was not a thing then). And who can forget collecting enough Thums up crowns to get your hands on a flick book — Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil were on top of the heap then.

No Tv back then, so we would rely on radio commentary for updates on matches being played. Fiddling with the dials to catch the signal, sometimes the sputter of static overwhelmed the voices of commentators like Sunil Doshi (hindi commentary ke betaaj badshah)- his description of a square cut is still etched in memory — “Short pitch gend, off stump ke bahar backfoot par gaye, stroke ke liye jagah banayi, aur bahut khubsoorti ke saath square cut kar diya chaar runo ke liye”- and Narottam Puri with his English commentary. I believe Narottam would also commentate on pretty much all sports especially in the TV era as we grew up.

Another program that comes to mind is “Cricket with Vijay Merchant” — my father would make us listen to this every Sunday, convinced and rightly so that this would improve our English. I remember somehow contorting myself to fit onto our window sill and listening to the radio placed on our refrigerator — 30 minutes ka yoga bhi ho jaata tha. I cannot remember the line he would use to round off the show –something to do with returning to the great pavilion. Just tweeted Rajdeep about it, lets see if he remembers. Of course there was Sportstar, a great magazine for sports lovers.

Growing up at my aunt’s place in Andheri was a step up. We moved onto to overarm cricket, again with a rubber ball, bounced like crazy and if you got hit, the sting would seem to last forever. lofted off drives inevitably meant the ball would land up in someone’s house on the first floor, in some cases we would get back our ball neatly sliced into two (did not help that on more than one occasion they had suffered broken windows and in one case a busted TV set).

Mumbaikars reading this will identify with “box cricket”, again a uniquely Mumbai invention. Bowlers would bowl with short run ups, shots all along the ground. Matches played with neighbouring building kids were called “shield”, winners would keep the ball and usually 11 Rs (each contributing Rs 1, a princely sum those days) was the prize money. Winning team would be found gulping sugarcane juice and wolfing down vadapavs, the losers would go home. Another unique thing in these matches was that the team which won the toss always, always batted first. Matches had this tendency of being called off in case of disputes; idea was to take full mazaa of batting just in case…

A big influence in our neighborhood was my elder brother — Dadh to us at home and Tal to the rest of the world. With a bowling action modeled on Marshall, Dadh was genuinely quick and was a decent late order batsman. Played for Chinai college, i still remember the hat trick he took at Matunga Gymkhana and the omelete paav party post the match. Around the time that Shastri bagged the Audi, he received a bicycle as man of the tournament in a local match up. 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 800 bhi huva karta tha. if i remember correctly, Umesh Manjrekar was the then star of tennis cricket. 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. I remember after the third drop, the ground captain Aru Pai told me “tula hava tithe fielding kar”. 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. Some controversy in that match — I was a Mumbai import but then I was born in Goa — to woh angle lagake khela. 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.

Barring such stray successes, padhai likahi ke chakkar me sab cricket khatam ho gaya and I took to following the exploits of Tendlya, Dada, Dravid and VVS; only this time on full color, joining millions in staying up late or getting up early, standing outside TV showrooms, sneaking into restaurants asking the one question on everyone’s lips when a match was on, “score kya hai”?

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. Well those who can do, those who cannot teach — I reasoned, and plunged into this role. Practice nets at Shivaji Park — spotted the good lord hinself- walk the talk with Shekar gupta was being filmed. We had a great run at IPru — from the washout of a first season to a heartbreak of a match where we lost by one run on the last ball, to some of my boys getting called for iBank duty (they had a good team) it was one hell of a ride.

Played at any level, cricket like any sport i guess, fosters a great sense of camaraderie, a sense of belonging, most of Dadh’s unit from college are still in touch and it is fun when they catch up. 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. It gives us a reason to exist, a reason to celebrate; nowhere is the “spirit” of Mumbai better on display than on its maidans. Whenever you have the time, do go across to the Elf wicket and watch the junior cricketers play, even at that age they will be ready for a fight, no quarter given — no quarter asked.

We will talk about Tendulkar as our every own, each person will have their own favorite story — like i know a bloke who got him out in school cricket, someone who shook his hand and did not wash many a day afterward (just like MS) and someone who shares a birthday. 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.

So the lord departs at around 70 if memory serves right, and in a flash we find ourselves at Mondegar — Colaba. They have a big screen up, we are swigging pitcher after pitcher, exhorting the batsmen to get out. A foreigner sitting next to us is completely flummoxed and ventures to ask “But, are you not supporting India?”. We reply “Sure, we just want the Indian team to bat again so that we can watch him bat one last time”. Alas it was not to be…

Something i wrote long time ago on Sachin — http://roadtoshiroda.blogspot.in/2009...

[Raj Sinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 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?

To balance the side from all angles he should have chosen at least one specialist bowler from the southern heartland (the bowler with the polio stricken bowling hand - B S Chandrashekhar- or one of the unique engineer/bowlers - Prasanna, Venkataraghavan, Kumble or Javagal Srinath).

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!) reflected the values of thrift and abstinence of the salaried middle class of the 1970s!! And Kapil Dev's emergence from a small town had a social parallel in the Green Revolution of the 60s & 70s which also (naturally) sprouted out of rural India!

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."
Another example - while citing the Kumble-Virat fallout (when purportedly and if true, disappointingly, Virat got Kumble ousted to bring back his friend Ravi Shastri as head coach) he draws a parallel between the changing political scenario and the cricket field. 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. (But he makes surprising exceptions in the case of Saurav Ganguly on the unsavoury Greg Chappell fall out and Dhoni's political support of N Srinivasan in the wake of the CSK - India Cement - Meiyappan - IPL betting scandal. 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!

P. S. Instead of Eknath Solkar, the 12th man should have been the wily Ravi Shastri, the metaphorical 'drinks carrier' whose mantra for survival and high places is easy to see - a high dose of B&B (bluff & bluster) while currying favour with whoever is calling the shots, whether it be a player, a selector, an organiser, the BCCI or a TV channel.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

রাজদীপ সরদেশাই রচিত Democracy’s XI কেবলমাত্র ক্রিকেট সম্পর্কিত কোনো গ্রন্থ নয়; এটি ভারতীয় গণতন্ত্র, সামাজিক বিবর্তন এবং জাতীয় চেতনার একটি বস্তুনিষ্ঠ প্রতিফলন। লেখক এখানে ক্রিকেটকে এক বিশেষ দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকে দেখেছেন, যেখানে এটি কেবল একটি খেলা নয়, বরং গণতন্ত্রের প্রতিচ্ছবি হয়ে উঠেছে।

গ্রন্থের মূল উপজীব্য হলো ভারতীয় ক্রিকেটের মাধ্যমে দেশটির গণতান্ত্রিক পরিকাঠামো বিশ্লেষণ। স্বাধীনতার পরবর্তী ভারত কেমনভাবে সামাজিক ও রাজনৈতিক বাঁধা অতিক্রম করে নিজের জায়গা গড়ে তুলেছে, তা লেখক ক্রিকেটারদের ব্যক্তিগত সংগ্রামের আলোকে তুলে ধরেছেন। শচীন তেন্ডুলকর থেকে শুরু করে মহেন্দ্র সিং ধোনি— প্রতিটি ক্রিকেটার যেন ভারতীয় সমাজেরই একটি ক্ষুদ্র প্রতিচিত্র।

সরদেশাই বইটিতে এমন ক্রিকেটারদের কাহিনি তুলে ধরেছেন, যাঁরা শুধুমাত্র প্রতিভার বলে নয়, কঠোর পরিশ্রম, সমাজের বাধাবিপত্তি অতিক্রম এবং ব্যক্তিগত সংকট সামলিয়ে ভারতের ক্রিকেটীয় ঐতিহ্যকে গড়ে তুলেছেন। তিনি দেখিয়েছেন, কেমন করে একজন খেলোয়াড়ের উত্থান আসলে ভারতীয় গণতন্ত্রের উদারতাকেই প্রতিফলিত করে।

ক্রিকেটের বাইরেও লেখক আলো ফেলেছেন সামাজিক ও রাজনৈতিক ক্ষেত্রের নানা বিষয়ে। কেমন করে ক্রিকেট ভারতীয় সমাজের বিভেদ ভেঙে মানুষের মধ্যে ঐক্য প্রতিষ্ঠা করতে সাহায্য করেছে, কেমন করে ক্রিকেট গণতন্ত্রের আদর্শের সঙ্গে একাত্ম হয়ে উঠেছে, তা তিনি নিখুঁতভাবে ব্যাখ্যা করেছেন।

বইটিতে ক্রিকেট কেবল একটি খেলা নয়, বরং ভারতীয় সমাজের বৈচিত্র্য, শ্রেণি-বৈষম্য, ধর্মীয় সংযোগ ও জাতীয়তাবাদের বহিঃপ্রকাশ। এটি ক্রিকেটারদের জীবনের মাধ্যমে এক বিস্তৃত সমাজ-রাজনৈতিক ইতিহাসের দৃষ্টিভঙ্গি তুলে ধরে, যা পাঠকদের জন্য গভীরভাবে অনুপ্রেরণাদায়ক।

সারসংক্ষেপে বলা যায়, Democracy’s XI শুধুমাত্র একগুচ্ছ জীবনী নয়, এটি একবিংশ শতাব্দীর ভারতীয় গণতন্ত্রের এক চিত্রণ। ক্রিকেটকে কেন্দ্র করে লেখা হলেও, এটি ক্রীড়া ও রাজনীতির এক অনন্য মিশ্রণ।

বইটি যে কোনো পাঠকের জন্য, বিশেষ করে যাঁরা ক্রিকেট ভালোবাসেন এবং ভারতীয় সমাজের বিবর্তন বুঝতে চান, তাঁদের জন্য অবশ্যপাঠ্য।

[RITU MAHESHWARI · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 give a complete picture, Sardesai jr. has also included the political scenario of the country. 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.

[Rakhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 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.

[Siddharrth Jain · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 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! 😄📚

[Luke Gracias · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 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,

[Avishek · Rating 4 out of 5]

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. Not limiting itself to the Captains, and there exceptional feat of winning the World Cup twice, the book extends to speak about those strong personalities who have contributed immensely in setting up these goals. Albiet being not judgmental about any of these sportsmen, it tends to be more emphatic (via a much detailed narrative) about Sachin , Bishen Singh Nedi and MS Dhoni, apparently owing to there flamboyant enigmatic personalities. A journey not only about cricket, but also about India as a nation, which has grown from strength to strength, Democracy's 11 truely justifies the title. Sincerely appreciate the author for an insightful juxtaposition of Indian cricket and democracy.

[Mayank Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rajdeep Sardesai has impeccable credentials for a book on cricket – lineage, a student of the game, ringside view and access to cricketing greats. Democracy’s XI’s first chapter pays tribute to his father Dilip Sardesai and follows it up with profiles of Tiger Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli. Most chapters are interesting reads with the ones on Sardesai, Pataudi and Azharuddin being stand outs. The book falters in its effort to draw parallels between the evolution of cricket in post independent India with the prevailing political/socio-economic climate. The force fit tends to slow the narrative, meandering into unrelated territory. Overall competent, could have been compelling.

[Nishant Bhagat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of 11 cricketers who the author thinks defined and changed the way the game is played in the country.

I quite liked the book, being a son of a known cricketer Rajdeep surely has a better connect with the cricketing world. Add to that his experience in the media and you have a book which not only traces the timeline of the players lives but also gives us a glimpse of how our country evolved in those times.

I wish Rajdeep had given us some more anecdotes of these cricketers which are not known in the common media circles. Not to say there aren't any but still one always wishes to know more about these legends.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about Indian cricket

[Sandeep Bhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Democracy's XI is biographies of 11 cricketers by Rajdeeps perception to have played for India. Starting with Dilip Sardeai, authors father, the book has representation from every decade cricket culture. Rajdeep has also taken care to provide context to the time and political situation during each cricketers times. With great research and first hand conversations, the book also covers gossips and personal life of these men. With movies made on lives of cricketers, author has taken care to include gems and details which wouldn't be shown in movies. The book also shows immense interest of the author on cricket and this book can be considered as his compilation of memories inherited from his father over time.

[Sushma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a cricket fan but I do know about cricket given it’s a religion in India. I found some parts of the book very interesting and some very boring. It was good learning about the cricketers from the earlier generations (Pataudi, Bedi etc) and the hardships they have gone through. The book shows the passion the author has towards cricket.

The writing could have been better. It felt more like reading a magazine than a book. And the parallel drawn with politics seemed more convenient than relevant.

[Puja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping, personal and inspiring tales of 11 of India's best (for various reasons) cricketers, all brought together in own book. Rajdeep Sardesai, the famous journo does his research well. He himself coming from a cricketing background perhaps helped (Rajdeep is the son of 70's cricketer Dileep Sardesai).
All the chapters are filled with interesting anecdotes, real life incidents of these men and more importantly the battles they fought off-fields makes one get up and salute them. The perfect treat for cricket lovers and alike.

[Sadiq Kazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice perspective that chronicles the careers and lives of 11 cricketers from post-Independence India to the present drawing parallels with the evolution of democratic India. The list may have some surprise inclusions and omissions, but that's the liberty that the author takes without being authoritative. Many of the incidents narrated are in public domain, but some insights are something that the author was privy to. And that is what makes for interesting reading.

[Bishal Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book for cricket lovers. Each chapter comes with added scoops and different flavours. It's almost like reading a history book from the struggling start of the Indian cricket stalwarts to the modern era connect. The best part about Rajdeep is he manages to add these stories in the best possible with the firsthand experiences of people. Just loved it. Honestly I had my eyes on Dada chapter but i in turn loved the entire book .

[Suman Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book about cricket. It’s a biography of 11 men who played cricket for India. Taken together it is a picture of how India has changed over the decades. Written in a, what else, journalistic style, it has lots of anecdotes and quotes from the players, their families and friends. Delightful read.

[Bharat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rajdeep tries to pen his perspectives on various big names in the Indian cricket starting from the passion that was inculcated in him by his father Dileep Sardesai who played Cricket for India.

For someone who follows and tracks Cricket over a period of time, there is nothing much new to learn except few interesting trivias and anecdotes. Finished in a cursory read.

[Sai Kanav · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cricketer for the earlier part of his life, Rajdeep captures the essence of each story with vivid details along with drawing intelligent parallels across cricketing eras that have changed so drastically. Each story is complete with the player's background, life changing events and the ups and downs of their cricket journey. My personal favorites were those of MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid.

[Shivaditya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing spectacular but one always gets an insider’s look with an author with access, much like Sardesai’s earlier book on the 2014 elections. Good selection of the 11 and fabulous peek into some endearing tidbits with small parallels drawn with the politico-social situation in the country’s democracy.