t20 is destroying cricket - California Cricket Academy

www.calcricket.org
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CONTENTS
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A Message From The Vice-Mayor ……………..……...…………………………… 5
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Event Management Team………………………..………………………………….. 6
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Welcome Note From The CCA …………………..……………………………...… 7
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Cricketing Norms ...…………...….……………………………………….…………. 9
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T20 Is Killing Cricket? ….…..………….…………………………………...…….... 11
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T20 Is Destroying Cricket …...…………………………………………………….. 12
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Some Cricket Laughs! ……………………………………………………………... 14
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Why I Like Cricket …………………...………………………………………………15
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A Thank You Note from the CCA……………………………………..…………… 16
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Secret Of My Cricketing …………...……………………………………….……… 17
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Boosting My Cricketing Skills ………….………………………………………….. 17
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So You Think You Can “Cricket” ……….…………………………………………. 18
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The Spirit Of Cricket ………………….……………………………………………. 19
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The Champions! ………………….………………………………………………… 20
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Against All Odds! ………………...….…………....…………………………………21
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The Rules Of Cricket ………………….…………………………………………… 22
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Solution to the Crossword Puzzle…………………………………………...…… 22
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Caught in Action…………………………………………….……...………...……. 23
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Guess Who?.................................................................................................... 27
Magazine Concept & Design: Chanchal Sahai, Shiva Srivastava, Swapna Shintre
Publication Credit : California Cricket Academy
Cricket Festival Logo: Kinjal Buch
VEDANTH
Cover Page Artwork: Vedanth Venkatachari
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We wish participants of Cricket Festival a Great Success!!
21267 Stevens Creek Blvd. Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 255-0160
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Event Management
Logistics Team
Management Team: Biju Kattuparambil,
Bharani Seshan, Kinjal Buch, Hemant Buch
Ground & Team Management: Pavan
Mullapudi, Balaji Venkatachari
Marketing Team: Yogen Kapadia, Hemant
Buch, Kinjal Buch, Anupam Sahai, Rajib Arjun, Rajesh Sengamedu, Rajesh Srivastava,
Bharani Seshan, Biju Kattuparambil, Helen
Greys, Amritha Raghunathan, Rajeev Srinivasan, Ram Varadarajan, Bhumika Kapadia
Team Registration & Verification: Rajesh
Bhat, Poornima Bhat
Team Grouping & Scheduling: Bharani
Seshan, Biju Kattuparambil, Kinjal Buch
Tournament Rules/Review/Oversight
Committee: Biju Kattuparambil, Mihir Jariwala, Mahesh Urs, Yashodhan Deshpande,
Mahesh Vaghela, Balaji Venkatachari
Website & Social Media: Rajesh Bhat, Biju
Kattuparambil
Media Publication Team: Chanchal Sahai,
Shiva Srivastava, Swapna Shintre
Umpires & Scoring: Hemant Buch, Neeraj
Bhalla, Biju Nair
Opening & Closing Ceremony: Nitin Buty,
Kanika Vora
Disciplinary Committee: Hasu Patel, Biju
Kattuparambil, Sundar Ramakrishnan
Hospitality & Awards: Kinjal Buch
Star Volunteers
Game Day SWAT Team
Abraham Amirtharaj, Anshuman Shukla, Arsh
Buch, Atul Kamchetti, Bhavesh Patel, Devdeep
Kabiraj, Ganesh Amara, Gurvinder Singh, Hardik Bhalala, Kamal Karimanal, Kishore Srinivasan, Kshama Kanakoor, Madhavan Arunachalam, Pavan Vithaladevaram, Pranav Pradhan,
Pranay Suri, Prateek Sonawala, Prem Jain,
Rajan Sood, Rajkumar Mishra, Rakhi Jain,
Roshan Varadarajan, Sanjib Goswami, Shefali
Bhalala, Vinay Khosla, Mahendra Patel, Vibhav
Altekar, Rohan Khasgiwala, Neil Tagare
** CCA Would specially like to thank those
volunteers whose names we may have
missed inadvertently due to oversight or
because they joined the team after the publication of this magazine. You know we are
forever grateful for your help!

Biju Kattuparambil
(408) 888 7693
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Bharani Seshan
(408) 656-6855
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Hemant Buch
(408) 203-3594
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Balaji Venkatachari
(408) 644-0299

Biju Nair
(408) 768-1976
Twitter Updates: Biju Kattuparambil
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Yogen Kapadia
Pavan Mullapudi
Biju Nair
Shiva Srivastava
Chanchal Sahai
Rajib Arjun
Biju Kattuparambil
Nitin Buty
Swapna Shintre
Rajesh Bhat
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Yashodhan Deshpande
Poornima Bhat
Balaji Venkatachari
Bharani Seshan
Anupam Sahai
Neeraj Bhalla
Kanika Vora
Mihir Jariwala
Arsh Buch
Welcome to the National Cricket Festival 2016!
2003 was a significant in the history of youth cricket in USA. That year, we founded
California Cricket Academy with the primary goal of providing highest level of
coaching to youth in the Bay area and providing a platform for them to be able to
play competitive cricket at the highest level in USA. And now, as we complete 13
years of existence, we can proudly say that we have achieved both and are still
striving to achieve more.
This journey has been an extremely rewarding experience for us mainly because of
unwavering support of many people in Cupertino and larger Bay area – Cupertino
City Council, Cupertino Parks & Recreation Department, other Cricket leagues in
the region and above all, hundreds of parents who have devoted thousands of
hours of their valuable time in helping us promote this wonderful team sport just
because of their passion for the game.
Can you match the pictures on page 27
to the names given above?
CCA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and its survival and progress depend on
donations. In our journey, we are fortunate to have financial support from several
donors, some of them multiple times, who have contributed by way of sponsorships
during last 13 years. We sincerely thank all of our Sponsors for making our dream
come true. Our special thanks to Tech Mahindra and ThinkPalm Technologies, the
Platinum Sponsors of this Cricket Festival.
Cricket is the fastest growing sport in USA. There is tremendous talent here which
can be groomed to play on international stage if we, as organizers, can provide
proper training and infrastructure for their development. In coming years, CCA ’s
dream is to create complete, dedicated, world class cricket facility in the Bay area
and we look forward to working with the government agencies, private entities and
the community and in making this dream a reality.
THANKS
We wish all participants of this festival a great success.
Let the games begin!!
Thanks,
Kinjal & Hemant Buch
Founders, CCA
10307 BRET AVENUE, CUPERTINO, CA 95014
PHONE: 408-777-9983
www.calcricket.org
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THANKS
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FIELDING POSITIONS
THANKS
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CAUGHT IN ACTION
A VISIT TO THE MECCA OF CRICKET, LORDS, UK, 2014 CCA U/12 TEAM
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THE RULES OF CRICKET
T20 is killing cricket. T20 is killing cricket?
You have two sides, one out in the
field and one in. Each man that's in the
side that's in goes out, and when he's
out he comes in and the next man goes
in until he's out. When they are all out,
the side that's out comes in and the side
that’s been in goes out and tries to get
those coming in, out. Sometimes you
get men still in and not out.
By Nitin Deo
“Facebook is going to kill face-to- face meetings!” “Twitter is going to kill headline
news!” “Internet is going to kill newspaper business! ” And “T20 is going to kill cricket!”
I am sure you have heard these. Now, allow me to turn these upside down.
“Facebook is enabling people to get in touch with long lost friends! ” “Twitter is
bringing fresh news by the minute!” “Internet is connecting all dots across the globe! ”
And “T20 is revitalizing interest in cricket! ”
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have to learn to move with the world. If we want our traditions to be carried forward to the young generation, we must do whatever it takes for
them to understand those traditions – explain to them in the language they understand.
If using rotary phone and writing letters is the only way you want to keep in touch with
the world, if only reading the news in printed newspaper the only way you want to stay
informed, then my friend, you are sadly mistaken. By the time your communication
reaches your friends and by the time you get the news, it would be already too old and
uninteresting. Similarly, if the only way you want to pass on your religion – the game of
Cricket – to the next generation is with long 5-day test cricket, then my friend even your
own son or your daughter will prefer to stay home study (or pretend to study) instead of
going to the ground for 5 days.
When a man goes out to go in, the
men who are out try to get him out, and
when he is out he goes in and the next
man in goes out and goes in. There are
two men called umpires who stay all out
all the time and they decide when the
men who are in are out.
When both sides have been in and
all the men have been out, and both
sides have been out twice after all the
men have been in, including those who
are not out, that is the end of the game!
Wishing CCA Great Success
in Hosting
California Cricket Festival.
Cricket teaches physical discipline, team work, commitment, builds mental strength,
teaches importance of focus on the job – while having loads of fun. If you don’t shine
while batting, you can do well in bowling. If you don ’t bowl well enough, you can be a
stellar fielder. And none of these traits change whether it is a 5 -day game or 20-over 4hour game.
If you don’t agree, that’s fine. It just means that you don’t want to adapt new things.
It just means that you want to stay back in the 1900’s. But, don’t worry. I will still play
cricket with you – because I love the sport. I will see you on the ground for 5 days in a
row, while you use your notebook and pen instead of laptop or smart phone; change into dhoti-kurta instead of jeans and t-shirt; walk home in your leather chappals instead
of using a car; and enjoy your daal-chaaval on a thali sitting on the floor instead of having salad or chicken tikka, on a table! Together let ’s kill progress, let’s kill comfort, let’s
kill enthusiasm – in the name of tradition! And let cricket die because the young generation will not be interested in it.
Or we can embrace the new trend(s) while instilling the positives of this wonderful
sport such as physical fitness, mental strength, team spirit, competitive yet fair behavior and most of all having fun playing cricket with our sons, daughters as well as fathers, uncles and aunts – and keeping up with CCA trend have good food while watching or playing!
Celebrating
Youth Cricket in America
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Against all odds!
T20 IS DESTROYING CRICKET
By Naresh Sadasivan
Last summer, I had an amazing experience with my team from
T20 Cricket has turned cricket as we knew, on its head. If Kerry Packer brought us ODI with
lights, colored clothing, white balls, and assured results, 20-20 cricket thirty years later has
brought switch hits, sixes by the dozens, acrobatic fielding, cheerleaders, and after-game parties.
Not all innovation has been to further the cause of cricket. T20 especially can be accused of pandering to the corporate elite, who see this abbreviated version of the game as a way to new riches.
Cricket as we so loved is being slowly but surely consigned to the trash-heap of history. And this
new T20 format glorifies big hitting at the expense of the classic fight between bat and ball. Here
are 3 reasons why T20 is destroying traditional cricket.
California Cricket Academy (CCA). We were invited to play a tournament at
King’s College in Taunton, UK. CCA picked a motely crew of 12 players from our
league between the ages of 10 & 11 to represent the academy. I was given the
opportunity and the honor to lead this team under the capable guidance of
Coach Amit. Our team surpassed all expectations and went on to remain undefeated in the tournament. There were some great performances from every member of our team. I did not do as
well as I would have liked to in batting, but I learnt a lot about teamwork and how important it is to
ILL #1: BOWLERS ARE DISPENSIBLE
While there are games where bowlers have played the upper hand, they are too few and far inbetween. Rules are clearly stacked in favor of batsmen. Shorter boundaries, flatter decks, field
restrictions, zero-margin- of-error wide & no-ball rules, free-hits are all put in place to only
have testosterone-heavy batsmen entertain crowds with sixes every other ball. And bowlers have
only 24 balls to prove their worth.
not be disappointed due to lack of personal achievements. I learnt the importance of patience
and concentration when playing long innings, while maintaining my focus and helping the team
win. I did this by keeping and fielding to the best of my ability and scoring some good stumpings
and runouts.
Winning the tournament against all odds was truly memorable. All the hard work that Coach
With more and more rich club-level and international T20 games being played each year, fast
bowlers of the class of Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar, or Zak will slowly disappear. They trade their
wares by beguiling batsmen with speed and swing, coaxing batsmen into making errors. A 24ball format does not give them such luxury anymore. Instead, T20 is producing bowlers who bowl
slow, slower, and slowest. Fast bowling will die a sure death as T20 gains prominence. Spin
bowlers similarly ply their trade with sheer variation of flight and turn. Dead pitches and absent
fielders in the deep means their game is up. They don’t have a role to play anymore. Mediocrity
in bowling is the new norm.
Amit and Bharani uncle, our team Manager, put in for us finally bore the ultimate fruit, the joys of
seeing us win. I sincerely hope we made them proud of us. Thank you CCA, for giving us the
platform and the opportunity to represent the academy. Also, a huge shout out to the parents
who accompanied us and cheered us all the way. Without your support and blessings we would
not have been able to achieve this feat and for that we are truly grateful. It was truly an honor and
a pleasure to lead this team. I would go to war for each and every one of the team members.
-- Rahul Jariwala
ILL#2: CENTRALIZED POWER BY THE BIG THREE
India, Australia, and England today form an unholy alliance with sheer money power, with ICC
obeying their diktats. IPL, Big Bash, and Natwest T20 make more money for these boards in one
year than what the rest of world cricket makes across all formats. Granted, players are making
more money, but it is being made at the cost of spreading the game to more nations. Consequently, Zimbabwe & Bangladesh do not get to play enough international games, and marginal aspirants like Ireland, The Netherlands, Afghanistan, or Bermudas are effectively shut out.
ICC does not spend enough money in sport development outside of the Big Three. Cricket will
thus never become a true global sport like soccer or basketball.
ORDER:
(Left to Right Standing)
RAHUL JARIWALA, ARNAV
KOTTAPALLY, KESHAV
BALAJI, ANISH DESHPANDE,
COACH AMIT BUCH, AMAN
RAO, VED PATEL, ROHITH
BHARANIDARAN
ILL#3: PLAYER FATIGUE, POOR TEMPERAMENT
ORDER:
T20 encourages big hits. If test cricket tests batsmen for their temperament, technique, grit, and
determination, T20 kills each of these qualities, sacrificing them at the altar of big hitting. This is
reflected in the way test cricket is played these days. Most 5-day tests get over by the third day,
and most batsmen, especially the heroes of the T20 format, are unable to reorient themselves for
the longer format. And most end up being pathetic failures. Only the best are able to adapt.
(Left to Right Kneeling )
FIRST PLACE: Taunton U11 Inter County Championship
Hosted by King’s College, Somerset.
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HARIKRISHNAN NAIR, DANIEL AMIRTHARAJ, ANUVRAT
SHUKLA, KANISH BHALLA,
AKSHAY SAHAI
2015 U/13 NWR Nationals
T20 IS DESTROYING CRICKET
If his were not enough, T20 league cricket takes a lot out of a cricketer. IPL for instance is a grueling 50-day tournament, with 17 games packed into it, in dozens of locations. Players break down
very often, some requiring several months to recoup, and many more retiring from the game earlier
than normal. Vettori, McCallum, and even Dhoni to a large extent have their careers shortened due
to the wear and tear caused by T20 leagues.
These are just a few big ticket issues that T20 has caused cricket in general. nT20 is killing good
old traditional cricket in many, many more ways If we continue to fund T20 (and maybe even shorter formats in the future), kids will possibly never be able to witness the joy of another Brett Lee or
Shoaib Akhtar steaming in with their 40-yard runup, and letting go a ball that whizzes past the ears
of a batsman at 155kmph. Or watch a classic Dravid stonewall a Shane Warne on a treacherous
Chennai turning track on Day 5 of a match.
ENJOY CRICKET. SAY NO TO T20.
MVP & MAN OF THE MATCH ABHISHEK
KATTUPARAMBIL WITH BIJU NAIR,
THINKPALM TECHNOLOGIES
TEAM MEMBERS
THE CHAMPIONS
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ABHISHEK KATTUPARAMBIL
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AKHIL ARUNACHALAM
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AMAN RAO
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HARIKRISHNAN NAIR
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KANISH BHALLA
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KESHAV BALAJI
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PRATHAM KATARIA
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RAHUL JARIWALA
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RISHI ARJUN
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ROHITH BHARANIDARAN
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SUPRAVO GOSWAMI
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VED PATEL
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VATSAL VAGHELA
!!! HOWZAT !!!
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The Spirit of Cricket
Cricket is a sport of honesty and integrity. When I stepped into
CCA, I was none of these things. But coaches like Dashrath and
Shrini shaped me right up. I loved to run and do other intensive activities, so Cricket was just the sport for me. This particular sport
requires a fit body and calm mind. Coaches are the main building
blocks of brilliant players. At CCA, I also get the opportunity to discuss my feelings about cricket in thorough detail. I felt that after my
first game, I would become a star. It turns out, my dream did not
come true, and has yet to come true. Thankfully, I came up with a
new goal - to get better with every single game. That dream comes true now every time I
play a game of cricket. Every time I bowl a wide, or misfield a perfect ball, I slowly climb
the mountain of disbelief and frustration. But when I remember my dream, I fall off that
horrible mountain, and take the harder path…. the path of hope, and honesty, that is the
path I try to follow during practice or in a game. That is the path that CCA has taught me
to follow, and that is the path legends before us, such as our beloved Sachin Tendulkar
took. He must have climbed the mountain of frustration every once in a while, but then
would quickly have to switch gears. The spirit of cricket can guide a person to do good
and the only way to unlock your cricketing potential is to work hard with honesty and integrity.
— Mohnish Rana
C
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S
CLUES
W
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!! IIlustrated by Harikrishnan Nair,
Anish Deshpande, Anuvrat Shukla !!
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So You Think You Can “Cricket” ?
WHY I LIKE CRICKET
Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. With introduction of T20 format it is much more incredible to predict the game’s outcome between two equally talented teams. In he year 2007, I
was 5 years old started playing and understanding the game. T20 India Vs Pakistan final attracted me more towards the game. It is almost 10 years now I am learning and understanding the
game, every day I learn a new trick, new rule or come across a new scenario that makes me
more excited for the game.
It is a team sport, where I meet new friends and come across talented players. It also gives me
an opportunity to travel. To the contradiction though it is a team sport, there are individual icons
and legends who take the game to the next level. Adam Gilchrist of Australia is my role model.
The live experience at cricket is always fun. Huge crowd, colorful spectators, flood light stadiums makes the game more attractive.
Cricket is a great leveler and like life it is circle. As a batsman one might have scored a double
ton or a bowler taken 10 wickets. When you play the next game one has to start from zero and
one can get out on zero. You come back to the same place where it all started. And then you
start respecting things even more when you return to that same place which perhaps you didn’t
do earlier.
Physical fitness and Leadership: The game of cricket involved physical activities for a long period of time. It keeps the players healthy, strong and physically fit. The captain plays an important leadership role that is involved in selection, making decisions on the order of play (so
winning the toss and whether to bat first, the batting order), determining the strategy of the team
(the tactics that are employed) and making calls regarding when to change field placings. He also makes bowling changes and generally seeks to influence and control the game. In order to
achieve all of these role requirements, the captain needs to be an effective leader, able to manmanage all the different characters and personalities that make up their team. The captain also
needs to be able to inspire the team to follow them and in many cases look to lead from the
front. There is an old maxim that says “If you preach excellence but walk mediocrity, you are
nothing but a liar”.
— Sathyanarayana Venkatesan
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Track and Field is the Secret of my Cricketing
The California Cricket Academy extends its warmest
thanks and sincere appreciation, to the cities of Cupertino,
Milpitas, Fremont & San Jose, the entire team of volunteers
who stepped up in various capacities to make this happen,
all participating teams, their coaches and management, accompanying parents and family members, the CCA alumni
for their continued support, and the sponsors without whom
this event was not a possibility.
For the past three years, I have been running track competitively, along with playing cricket.
This combination has led me to become a better cricketer. Track has helped me by improving the
way I move on the field, how quickly I reach the ball, fielding near the boundaries, and running
between the wickets. My training in track has improved my endurance, helping me play for many
continuous overs on the cricket field. This has also prepared me mentally to play long matches
with full intensity. Cricket selections require a series of fitness tests, and I am able to excel in this
due to my extensive track training. The competitiveness of the track world has pushed me to my limits
and enabled me to reach my full potential athletically. In track, majority of the hard work is done behind
the scenes, and this work has led me to great
heights in cricket as well.
— Harikrishnan Nair
How Tennis Boosted My Cricketing Skills
Cricket is a game of skill, strength and stamina. It challenges you in every way as a sportsman. So why do I say that Tennis boosted my cricketing skills? Well, in tennis you run a lot to
get every ball to avoid losing the point. Similarly, running between the wickets in a cricket match is critical for scoring runs.
The process of making my shots more powerful in tennis helps
my shots in cricket when I am batting. I train my shoulder and
arm strength. Tennis also helps my fitness in cricket since we
have to do lots of core exercises like planks, pushups, and situps. In both games we run a lot which helps build up stamina,
especially in cricket where you have to bowl, bat and field for a
very long time. One extremely important thing tennis has
helped me with is my focus and mental strength. This is because in a tennis match, when you are down you can’t give up,
and this has helped me in cricket to try and step up at the right
time and be more consistent in batting and to do better under
pressure. So I can say tennis has helped me improve my cricket game in many areas. Cricket on the other hand teaches me
the essential life skill of working as a team under challenging
conditions.
— Akshay Sahai
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