High ground

Here's reason number 14,657 why I like Aakash Chopra. Aakash recently played a few matches in Agartala, a location not often visited by the cricketers. His CricInfo blog touches upon the place and his feelings.

Personally, I like coming to the smaller, lesser known places in this vast land. Only cricket could have given us the opportunity to travel all over and get acquainted with various local cultures. There’s something peculiar about the houses (on the outskirts) in this part of the country. Since land is not at a premium the houses are built on a big compound with enough space for a garden. Invariably there are a couple of coconut trees in every compound and the boundary walls are made of bamboo. Those bamboo boundary walls – some of the smaller shops have them too - make a statement: we trust each other. It reminds me of the tradition in a small island called Nevis in the Caribbean, where locking your car is taken as an insult by the others.

What is impressive about the post is not what is there, but what is not there. Chasing a mammoth score of 306 to win, Aakash and Virat Kohli hit centuries to guide Delhi to a great win.

It is so typical of the fellow that he did not refer to this in his blog. His book (which I have now read and shall review in detail when I have a couple of hours to spare) is also written in the same style.

He truly believes in letting his deeds do the talking. For a guy not considered good enough for the slower formats of the game, check out where he ended up in the leading run-scorers table after the Vijay Hazare tournament.