Straight Drive with Ravichandran Sir

The moment you enter our institute grounds, of course you will be greeted by a lush green outfield and a good splattering of kids enjoying the game of cricket. More than anything else you will be greeted by smiling young coaches, one amongst them , yours truly. You will into most occasions bump into an elderly, young simple Gentleman, Ravichandran who also happens to be the founder of our institute and Ashwins father.

My encounter with him was dramatic no less. I was walking away from the institute when I found Ravichandran sir seated on one of the steps, when he enquired about me. I introduced myself. Sudarshan our COO was close by and added a few words. My stupid ignorance gave way at this point of time and I had the gall to know who he was. Sir said the following words. "I am Ravichandran, the founder of this institute" I only felt like kicking myself but also was taken aback by his simplicity. From that time I have always wanted to write a piece on Ravichandran sir and I am very happy that this column of "Straight Drive" will be used for the very purpose. At first when i broached him with the idea about the blog, he said that he would tell me about a fathers side of the story, and then it took a few weeks to get there but in between we have had a few sittings where i could really understand why Ashwin reached where he is currently, only because of a uncompromising parental system that worked wonders in the backend.

For us fans it is always about the Idiot box in front of us, cheering our hero as he takes a couple of hundred wickets but hardly are we aware about the making of our hero and his days of struggle, the pains that the family has gone through and the sacrifice that they have had to make. Ravichandran Sir took me through glimpses of his past and his role in all of it. Not many of us would know that Sir is himself is a foodie and food for him has to be sumptuous. He cannot compromise any shortcomings as far as taste is concerned. Indeed we can call him a perfectionist. He tells me "Karthik come over and I will make you the best possible Masala Dosa." He cannot tolerate to see a person go hungry. Whenever he sees a person in hunger he feeds them with food. Noble Quality of the highest order.

Sir is very concerned that just as parents need to take care of children, the role sort of reverses when the parents grow older. It is the turn of the children to take care of the parents. It pains him no less when it comes to his ears of children abandoning their parents.

We spoke at length about Ashwin and here is where Sir let out his emotions. He told me about how he would tutor Ashwin and help him with his lessons. At a stage when cricket became a important priority in Ashwins life, he would have to miss classes. Sir would go to the class take the note books from other children, have them xeroxed and bring them home for Ashwin to study. Sir would himself study the entire chapter, mark out important sections in the lesson so that Ashwin could focus on the same. Later on in the night when the entire world would be lured into slumber, Sir would ask questions from the lesson, the dutiful son would answer the question correctly. Sir stresses that Ashwin has always cooperated as far as academics is concerned and was always studious as a child.

When it came to Cricket Sir would drop and pick up Ashwin from the ground after the match. In fact he comes to our institute sometimes on the same bike that he would use to drop Ashwin. He continues to maintain the same bike till date. These were the days of struggle. There were occasions when Ashwin would be overlooked despite his talent, and the hard decision would have to be conveyed to him by sir. The youngster was quite mature beyond his years and would quite nonchalantly say "Appa, No problem, lets go home".There were times when people around the family would cast aspertions around how Cricket could make a career, today the same people shower the family with praises. An Emotional Ravichandran Sir told me how life has come a full circle for the entire family. I could myself feel a lump in my throat when he was sharing his experiences.

There is always a word of advice about the finer nuances of the game when a cricketer approaches him for his advice. For those of you who dont know, Sir was a fine medium pacer in his heydays. He has always advocated that academics is as important as Cricket and that both should compliment each other. Sir also stresses on the importance of Parents supporting the child by encouraging the talent in him or her. He also adds that when you send your children for cricket practice or for matches, do sit and watch them play. When the child is at the center, he does crave for attention, he looks up at the galleries to see if someone is watching him, at that moment a gentle wave of the hand works wonders.

Of course our philosophy is about "Creating Tomorrows Cricketing Superstars" but the unsaid silent philosophy that is always at the back of our mind is to create a better human being, which was the intention of our founder Ravichandran sir when he was parenting Ashwin, and that is the exact image that keeps coming to TallboyKarthiks mind each time he meets Ashwin, a genuinely great human being. Hats off to Mrs and Mr Ravichandran for giving to us Ravichandran Ashwin.....

Super Straight Drive with Ravichandran Ashwin-1.0

Childhood days can seldom be forgotten. Every Adult would want to be a child once again. Those were the days of undiluted fun. Carefree life without any worries. I for one keep reminding my children, Have fun for these days will never ever come back to you. However what you can actually do is to sit back one day and recall those wonderful memories, with all your childhood friends right behind you.

This is exactly what we did at Gen-next, decided to prod none other that our own Ravichandran Ashwin about his childhood memories. There were two things that were happening simultaneously, one of Ashwin going back on flash back mode and recalling his own childhood days. On the other side, seated right beside him was a dreamer-tallboyk who had all the way from way back in 2010 had dreamt of meeting up with Ash some day. So Pinch Pinch, day had finally arrived. This edition of Super Straight Drive is all about Ashwin recalling with a great amount of fondness, mirth and humor, his Childhood Days.

TallBoyKarthik: Ashwin, lets begin this conversation with you recalling your childhood days and how you developed a love for the game of Cricket:

Ashwin: Appa was a great Cricket Fanatic . Coming from a traditional South Indian family those days, it was but natural that my grandfather did not encourage my father to take up the sport seriously. As a child I would go to watch Appa play and he was a good medium pace bowler. For the first four or five years of my childhood, I did not quite like the game and found it to be quite monotonous. But slowly I started developing a love for the game. I would love to play on our house terrace and on the road outside my home. Appa would throw the ball and I would hit the ball with my bat. Come Match time both of us would remain glued to the Television. I would always remain stuck to my father and people would often call me his Kangaroo.

My mother was always encouraging of my urge to take up the game more seriously. While my grandfather was worried about the glasses breaking, the garden getting spoilt, or the terrace walls getting damaged, it was my mother who insisted that I joined a Cricket Coaching Institute. It was then that I joined the TSR Cricket Academy at YMCA. I remember very clearly that both my parents would come to drop me at the academy and pick me up again once the practice would get over. So that's how the journey started.

TallBoyKarthik: Ravichandran sir has told me once that none of the walls at home would be spared. All of them would bear an artistic impression of your hitting the balls against the wall.

Ashwin: Please note that I was a single child. I was a loner and have loved it that way, even now that I am married I like to spend time on my own. I was mad about Cricket and so I would throw the ball at the walls and hit it with my bat. I would also give a commentary of the actual happenings. I would imagine myself being a part of the Indian team, and then being involved in making India win. I liked being an underdog in that age. When I was a child India would often lose, hardly win matches. That is also the reason why I dont quite like it when people point fingers at the current Indian team. We actually win more matches than we lose. The only heartbeat for the entire nation at that point of time was Sachin Tendulkar. I would watch Sachin play with butterflies in my stomach, praying that he should not get out. On weekends when both my parents would be at home, I would once again be lapped into the world of imagination, hitting the ball against the wall and striking it with my bat. In my world of fantasy I would imagine India at 200 for 8 and then take them through to 500 for 8, scoring a masterful century along with a running commentary of the proceedings. My father would call me mad but that's how I developed a passion for the game.

We used to have rope balls at home(These are actual cricket balls hung from ceiling and then you strike them with your bat just to get the sense of timing right). The other day when a child got hurt above his eyebrow I got reminded of an incident from my own childhood days. I was a twelve year old boy at that point. There was a league match that I was to play on that day, and before the match I was practicing a few shots using the rope ball. I recall that those days there was no limit that barred children of that age from playing league cricket. I am of the opinion that nine and ten year olds should be allowed to play the local league. It is affecting the physical tenacity of the kids. Anyways, back to the rope ball game, that I was practicing. There used to be a blue color Godrej Fridge in one corner of the room, which was severely dented on account of my constant hammering. I played what I thought was a rousing pull shot, and bang the ball went and hit my father on the forehead. He was bleeding quite badly and I was inconsolable. We went to the Public Health Center, just across the road from my house, stitches done, both of us were off to the ground, my father to drop me and myself to play the match. I remember scoring a fifty in that match. My tenacity comes from my mother, my truthfulness, honesty and straightforwardness comes from my father.

TallboyKarthik: Well quite an exciting childhood, anyways reminds me of my own and so should it yours our dear readers. Learnings quite a few to be picked up from this blog.

Allow a child to be a dreamer, its those dreams that he builds upon.

Show the child the way, encourage him, provide for the best possible guidance, be his friend and support system and then watch him flower.

When a child takes up a sport like cricket, take him to those training sessions and be with him, watch him play and derive happiness from just seeing him play the game.

Personally a dream come true for tallboyk to be representing Gen-next Cricket institute as their Official Blogger. Moments to cherish, sitting next to a legend, hearing him recall his childhood memories. A Sweet gets only sweeter when it is consumed in parts, and so there will be more sweet memories to share in the next episode of Super Straight Drive with Ravichandran Ashwin. Till then its goodbye from all of us. Have an enjoyable,lovely pleasant weekend. God Speed.

Straight Drive with Balaji

When we started to pick up the threads of this blog we never really thought that we would be left with many valuable lessons of life. But the blog has left us a lot wiser and when such kind of pleasant situations arise we at Gen-next feel it is our responsibility to share the experiences with all of our dear Readers. In this feature of Straight Drive we are proud to present a very candid and up-front conversation with former cricket writer V. Balaji who also happens to be R. Ashwin's Manager now.

On Balaji's Childhood Days and his fondness for Cricket

Balaji's association with the game of Cricket started when he was very young.

As most Indian kids, he picked bat and ball and started playing at the age of six. He has represented Vidya Mandir at the school level. Balaji moved to Ebenezer Marcus for completing his plus two education. It was at this stage that he started understanding his own game better. Balaji has played league cricket (2nd division). At a critical juncture in his playing career two knee injuries crushed his dreams of playing the game at a professional level, any further. But his love for the game continued unabated to such an extent that him not being able to play the game any more left him with strong withdrawal symptoms. It was tough for him not tot think about the game. In the pre-internet era, Balaji would wake up at five in the morning to read The Hindu. He would keep himself abreast with the latest in the world of cricket including statistics with neatly cut newspaper clippings. In a frenzied moment the teenager in him gave way to emotions and he tore up the carefully collected paper scores of his in the Hindu and Indian Express. Not that he considered himself to be a great cricketer but the very thought that he could not play cricket affected him emotionally. Cricket was and is very dear to him. Balaji was just Nineteen years old at that time, an age where emotion rules over maturity, Balaji was shattered to come around the fact that his tryst with a game that he so much loved had ended (as a player). That he could no longer compete was a bit of a dampener.

Now what is about to follow is in our opinion a huge lesson. When you love something very passionately it will come back to you in a different form. All it requires is patience and persistence to keep following your passion and not give up at any stage. 

A lettered and Passionate Professional Career

Balaji joined Amex in 1997. He in his own words says that he was at a crossroads in life where the road left took him to a three-year contract with Amex. He was on his bike at Gemini circle, almost taking the road towards Amex, out of the blue there was a call from a HR consultant who asked him if he would be interested to join Clickcricket.com as a Content Consultant. It was the beginning of the Internet boom plus the job took him back to the game that he loved so much. So it was goodbye to Uncle Sam and back to bat and ball (albeit in a different form). His life changed over the next four years. He was very happy that he took the straight road.  Some very pulsating data points here. As a part of his job he is credited to digitizing Cricket Australia's Coaching manual in India. Wow that is indeed some amount of content. He has written around 30000 questions for cricinfo. He has been involved as a web commentator for more than 100 international matches for sify, Rediff, Airtel and Wisden combined. Balaji has worked for other web publications as well. Dial 646 those days and you would hear Balaji regaling his audience with cricket commentary. By mid 2003 he got into print journalism and till 2013 travelled the world writing cricket for the Deccan Chronicle/Asian Age as their sports Editor. He quit full time journalism in 2014, last writing for Wisden India. 

A Cricket match Balaji fondly recalls and the Game he loved earned him friends for life

A match he remembers is the India Pakistan match at Chepauk where the Pakistan team was accorded a warm lap of honour by the Cricket loving Chennai audience. In His Capacity as the Sports editor for Deccan Chronicle Balaji has covered 30 Test matches. He has made some great friends in the field of journalism like Ram Mahesh, Anand Vasu, KC Vijay Kumar and R. Kaushik to name a few. He also built a great rapport with cricketers like Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble. , Incidentally Balaji also saw the latest format grow into a massive brand, reporting the first five IPL finals.

Balaji's views on Coaching

He says in his own humble way that he is not qualified enough to talk about coaching. As a part of the Gen-Next Global tour to Dubai he took up the role of a coach. Balaji was forced to travel as the regular coach had to miss out due to personal reasons. Ashwin felt that Balaji could be an excellent coach and requested him to take up the mantel. Balaji feels that he has a decent basic understanding of the game. In one of the conversations that Balaji had with Rahul Dravid, the legend had expressed his opinion that one of the reasons for us not producing quality spinners is because of the fact that they are getting over-coached. The responsibility of the coach should be to assist the ward under him, with the knowledge of the game, sharpen his skills and then take a backseat.

Balajis Association with Ashwin

When Balaji first saw Ashwin he was 16-17 years old playing 1st division league for Spic. The first time that Balaji met Ashwin he knew that there was something that is special about this 16 year old who was losing his last few embers of chubbiness. He stood out more as a person than a cricketer. It was a little later that that Ashwin made his Ranji debut, Balaji would notice that here is a young cricketer who would never really get satisfied with the what he had achieved. Ashwin always wanted to stretch that little extra, to go a notch higher. This is indeed a quality that is the thing line differentiating between being very good and being world class. Balaji always knew that Ashwin was a class apart. Discussions would go on sometimes till 2 AM in the morning outside Balaji's house. What Balaji saw in Ashwin was an undiluted passion for the game. When Ashwin says he loves the game, he means every word of it. Balaji is quite strong in his opinion when he says that if a situation arises that there is no money tomorrow in the game of cricket, Ashwin would still be vying to play tennis ball cricket. Such is his passion for the game.

Fond memories and Incidents involving Ashwin

This goes back to the touring days of Ashwin as a Cricketer and Balaji as a cricket reporter. On one of the tours to Sri Lanka, Balaji was totally dependent on Ashwin for good vegetarian food. In Dambula, Ashwin will call Balaji whenever there was some good old kichidi or Maggi. Balaji says that Ashwin would go out of his way to take care of him. Both of them would converse a lot. In one of those conversations Balaji complained a little about other players. Ashwin in a jocular fashion would nudge his Balaji anna not to complain about the players since he might end up leading the same players one day in the near future. This incident remains etched in Balajis memory and so for us it remains a very big lesson. A true leader needs to be unbiased on his opinion about his people or team. He cannot be seen as being influenced by others thoughts and opinions. Thank you Balaji sir for sharing this incident with us so candid in your thoughts. Even in His early days into the Indian Cricket team Ashwin was very concerned about the facilities being provided to the cricketers, about the development of the game, coaching and other aspects of the game. Balaji would often wonder why Ashwin at such a tender age would think so deeply but then that's how leaders are made. We have just picked up another pearl. A leader not withstanding his age or experience has foresight and vision much more than his age. Always pay heed to such leaders and follow them.

Balaji's advice for Parents

As you enjoyed marbles, tops and kites in your childhood allow your child to play with marbles, tops and kites and let him enjoy his cricket the same way. It really does not matter if does not make it to the under-16 state team. It does not matter if he does not get an IPL contract. Balaji says that the day (if) his son decides to pick up the bat or for that matter any sport, it is his responsibility to see that the child gets best of sporting equipment and the very best of academies to train in. A parent should never be seen as trying to influence the coach or the selectors. Allow the kid to enjoy, express himself. As a parent your must be happy that your kid gave their full effort.

About the Coaching Methodologies being adopted at Gen-next

Balaji feels that the methodologies being adopted by Gen-next are refreshing. He feels that coaches here bring in innovation that is sadly missing in most of today's coaching institutes. He also feels that the modern game of cricket has taken rapid strides in terms of development. There is more stress that is being laid on the physical fitness of a player. Gen-next addresses this need as well. Balaji feels that addressing core issues that are specific to present day demands are vital for a coaching institute like Gen-next. Therefore when the charter for the institute was being drawn out, the founding principle of Gen-next would be that we are not here to just produce good cricketers but also good human beings. 

Straight Drive with Braveheart Rakshita

The moment you meet up with this girl, one thing that hits you on your face is her infectious smile and bubbly enthusiasm. She has seen the ups and downs of life, yet is willing to battle it out. Meet up with our braveheart Rakshita- first woman cricketer of Gen-next Cricket Institute in this weeks column of Straight Drive.

Hi Rakshita, and welcome to Gen-next and our weekly blog Straight Drive. For our readers Rakshita is a native of Mangalore and an aspiring Wicket-keeper batswoman. Her dream currently is to don the Indian Blues. For that to happen she needs to cross the first hurdle which is the selection into the Women's Karnataka State Team.

On Her Love for the Game of Cricket:

Well there is a very interesting story here. She fell in love with Cricket because of MS Dhoni. She like a child professes her love for MSD. The first time she saw MSD on TV, during the epic innings at Vizag versus Pakistan, that sort of spurred her on and she was head over heels in love with MSD, to such an extent that she has a tatoo inscribed on her hand with the initials MSD. 

Life had to move on, MSD got married and our braveheart could not take it at all, She was down with Fever for 15 days. Her love for the game continues unabated and of course she continues to be a die hard MSD fan. She has been an RJ with 92.7 Big FM in Mangalore and it was during this stint that she got to interview MSD. She quizzed him about his epic movie and next day she resigned from the job, perhaps having realized her dream. Rakshita has one more act up her sleeve, she plans to have one more tatoo on her arm this time around it will be the face of her hero MSD. MSD has left a message for her saying that he would like to see the Tatoo first before it goes viral on social media.

How did she reach Gen-next:

One night she had a dream that she was training with Ashwin. At this point of time, she never knew anything about Gen-next.While browsing through Ashwin's profile on Instagram, Rakshita came across Gen-next, rest is history and her dream being realized. Today she even got to meet her favorite bowler in flesh and blood. 

Rakshita a Braveheart:

Definitely she is a braveheart. She could well be a role model for all women wanting to take up a sport. In a game that is dominated by her male counterparts, she has no qualms of playing it straight. She has had a tough going, not being encouraged by near and dear ones, a knee injury to cope up with, the rehab program to get her back to shape, and then a Karnataka state selection coming up in the month of September, nothing bothers her, sight is on her goal and she is ready to lock horns with a steely resolve.

Her Coaching stint at Gen-next:

She is full of praise for the Coaching being imparted here. She feels that here at Gen-next care is taken to ensure that each cricketer gets individual attention and that makes a huge difference. She has coached under Coach Srinivasan, Coach Arvind and Coach Santosh. Thanks Rakshita for your kind words, much valued.

By the way we have a multi talented personality out here, Rakshita is a RJ and a movie star as well. She has acted in two Kannada movies. Wow!!! Way to Go!!! Rakshita. She considers Kannada Super Star Sudeep as her mentor who has encouraged her to play the game of cricket, come what may.

Her Dream and Her Advice to Fellow Women Cricketers

She wants to don the Indian colours, Mithali Raj happens to be her favorite Indian Cricketer. She signs off by saying that Women in India make a lot of personal sacrifices at the cost of a professional career. She says that Women should definitely dare to dream and realize those dreams by overcoming all the challenges that come their way. They should at any cost not give up.

On behalf of Gen-next  we wish you well, and hope that your dreams come true,and we shall strive to keep maintaining the high standards of coaching that we are known for.

Straight Drive with Coach Kedar

On a hot sultry afternoon there can be nothing more motivating than a energizing Straight Drive conversation and This time it was up close with the Cool as a Cucumber-Coach Kedar.

Kedar has represented Tamil Nadu state in Cricket and at all levels with distinction. He comes across as a very simple, humble and straight forward cricketer who loves his plate of curd rice ever so more. Currently he is based in New Zealand as a coach for one of the clubs there. In His experience he has played club cricket both in New Zealand and Australia.

Tallboyk can never really be silent as he is the correspondent, photographer,parent, multiple roles into one, so when he is at the ground you can find him trying to get sound bytes from anyone around. Well for those of you who dont know, tallboyk is the short form of TallboyKarthik who also is a large hearted Ashwin fan who loves photography and blogging. Any ways its back to Kedar and Tallboyk who we requested to cover this feature of Straight Drive:

TallBoyk: How did you develop a love for cricket?

Kedar:I started playing at the age of seven,My elder brother Guru was playing cricket. I would come back home from school and since there was nothing much to do at home , I would tag along with him for practice, rest all is history.

Tallboyk: Tell us something about your Early Days as a Coach

Kedar: I started my coaching days in Australia,Melbourne in the summer of 2012. I went as an overseas player. The concerned club coach asked me if I would be interested in taking up a coaching stint, it was by chance that I got into coaching

TallBoyk: Any Differences that you noticed in the Coaching Methodologies between the sub continent system and the ones being practiced in Australia.

Kedar: It is more player focused. it is more transparent and player centric.  There it is always about how a player can contribute to a teams success.  There is more emphasis that is laid on how a player fits into the system and how one can develop as a player.

Glad that we are talking the same language as the Aussies at Gen-next Cricket Institute

Tallboyk decided to venture into the hitherto un-traversed territories, Kedars childhood memories with Ashwin

Kedar: Ash was with PSBB and I was  studying at St. Bedes. I recall Santosh taking Ashwins wicket at MAC-B , clean bowled!!!! We used to play together when we were 14 years old. During one of the tournament tours, while we were travelling together to Goa, the train halted at one of the stations. All of us including Ashwin got off the train on to the platform when one man similar looking to Shirdi Sai Baba approached us, uttered just two words, "Tirupati Sai" and walked away, for the rest of the tour, "Tirupati Sai became the catch phrase for all of us. Till date we do not know who he was.

The Naughty side of Ashwin

Since we would travel and stay together, the night halts at the hotel would be full of pranks. For those of us who who were strong at heart, we would turn spooky and scare the wits out of the others. Pranks would include covering ourselves up with blankets and creating an eerie Ghosty experience. We also turned a bit tech-savy when it came to scaring others. From outside the room we would point the remote control at the mirror and the TV would switch off, mysteriously enough spooky enough not for us but for those in the room. We really did have some great fun together. There were many such incidents. Maybe you could talk to Ashwin and he would be able to tell you more such incidents. Invariably the master of ceremonies of such kind of incidents would be Naughty Boy Ashwin.

Good enough for Tallboyk, Point noted my lord, I have him on my radar for the next session of Straight Drive.

TallBoyk: What is your advice to Parents like me?

Kedar: Enjoy the game and allow the child to enjoy the game. Dont force the child on to the game. Team sport is important as it builds the child's character. Passion is very important.

Tallboyk: Is there any link between sports and academics. 

Kedar: Playing sports will help academics as it helps in focus and concentration and makes the child and Happy.

Tallboyk: What is your advice to players going through lean patches?
Kedar:  It is hard and every player experiences it. How it is handled differentiates between players. Maturity, support staff and family comes in handy in such times.

Tallboyk: You have played in Australia, the land where sledging has its roots, Your thoughts on Sledging?

Kedar: It can either affect or enhance a player. I enjoyed it. Australians dont abuse or shout, they are smart.  Chatter on the field revolves around things like,:Why is the club paying you. you are not good enough. You cant play short pitch bowling or you are from the sub continent, you can only play spin bowling, very much in the face type of sledging but I would enjoy it. Sledging is very subjective, either let it pass, motivate you or be affected by it. Australians play hard on the field and nothing off it.

Tallboyk: How do players learn to react to Umpiring decisions? What role does coaching have here?
Kedar: Learning discipline is very important. Its not just about umpiring alone. Its about inculcating core values.

Tallboyk: Why are we lagging behind in other Sports(Other than Cricket)? Does coaching have a role or a lack of Talent:

Kedar:At the moment in India there is a huge gap between Cricket and other sports, in the last five years the scenario is changing with the corporates playing a very important role. It is going to take time, will not happen overnight. If there is a structure in place India should develop into a sporting nation in the next ten years time.

Tallboyk: If you were not a cricketer what would you have been?

Kedar: Something in the Field Of Technology.

Tallboyk: One Word for Cricket?
Kedar: Passion

Meanwhile it was great having a lovely conversation with Coach Kedar and there is a lot to ponder around his hard hitting answers, while for tallboyk it it is long cherished dream to blog about his Cricketing Hero Ashwin.

Till Tallboyk decides to engage the next superstar at Gen-next Cricket Institute its goodbye from all of us. Keep reading more!!!

The Coconut connection Between Gennext and Uber

At Gennext we believe that we are just not about Cricket but the entire development of the child. Our aim is to see that when a child leaves the portal of our institute, he should have a morphed into a better and healthier human being.

On the health we are concerned very much about the dietary requirements of the child. Coach Srinivasan has promised that there will be a separate session for parents on the diet plans for their children. The Diet Plan has to be different for each and every child, so needs to be planned accordingly. We will for sure keep all parents informed about this personalized meeting between the parents, their children and Coach Srinivasan.

Chennai is indeed getting hotter, and in the searing heat kids can get tired very easily, they need to have a lot of fluids, water and Coconut Water seems to be the best possible solution. It was a no brainer therefore when Uber offered to send 60 Elaneer(Coconut in tamil) to our institute for our children sweating it out today evening. Thanks Uber for the thoughtful initiative.

Coconut water is an ideal drink for weight loss. It is low in calories and easy on the stomach. In fact, this light and refreshing drink contains various bioactive enzymes that aid digestion and boost fat metabolism. Plus, coconut water is rich in potassium, which helps balance out sodium.

The day turned out to be really exciting. Uber pitched in with some lovely gift hampers that were used to run an interesting Cricketing Contest for a group of thirteen year old. There was a buzz and excitement, followed by the lovely coconut drink as a part of the #Uberelaneer initiative.

 For sure there are some amazing talent that we have identified as a part of our #SummerSlam. Winners all, the gift hampers were distributed to the winners by Vijay and his team from Uber.

The entire team had fun in the evening including the coaches.

Cricket and Coconut do tango together. Thanks Uber once again for the well thought out #UberElaneer initiative. Look forward to much such sporting and health friendly initiatives in the near future. Last but not the least due Thanks to Skreem for bringing us and Uber together....

Fan of The Week-Kaustubh

As a Cricket Fan, there is no greater thrill than to see a bowler marking his run up before the first ball is bowled. Some bowlers do inspire and grab attention by just the way they run in and bowl that gravity defying toe crusher. There is both rhythm and music to a bowlers run up. Take for instance Brett Lee, his smooth run up,tearing in towards the crease, much like a cheetah hunting for its prey, that burst of speed and then finally that jump before sending in that lethal missile towards the unsuspecting toes. The ball creeps in between the bat and pad, a final thud into the stumps, giving sheer delight to the bowlers and an animated cheer from the crowd. For a Bowler there is nothing more delightful than hearing the ball crashing into the timber and being uprooted out of the ground. For a batsman it has to be the ball hitting the center of the bat, racing past the bowler and crashing into the boundary billboards. Each its own defining moment, each its own height of thrill.

You might wonder, why such an elaborate description for a bowlers run up or a batsman's shot making skills. The reason is because it leaves the fan with admiration and a kind of respect in the mind of the fan for the player, and it keeps growing in the minds of the fan, just like a creeper, constantly watered by the players on-field performance. We could feel the same in a fan at the Gen-next Cricket Ground. As is our normal routine we entered the ground, and started to get ready with the days session. We noticed that in the distance closer to the Centre Pitch there was a young boy on a wheelchair. Our curiosity got to us, as we wanted to know who this young boy was so focussed in his ways, much like a zen master, having a close look at the pitch. Ladies and Gentlemen, its our pleasure to introduce to you Kausthub our fan of the week. Ask him about his favorite cricketer, has to be Ashwin of course with a sparkle in his eyes.

For the world Kaustubh may be a special child, for us he is a very special fan who one day hopes that he will be able to catch up with his cricketing hero Ashwin. We decided to make Kaustubh as the-Gen-Next Celebrity of the week. We conducted a quick fire interview with him and he was sporting enough to oblige:

Favorite Batsman: Virat Kohli

Favorite Bowler: R Ashwin

Favorite All Rounder: R Ashwin

Best Match he has witnessed: 2011 World Cup final, stands out in his mind not only because India won and took the cup home, but also because he was in Tirunelveli undergoing treatment and had to endure a lot of physical pain, despite that He did watch the match on TV. Wow!!! Fan defining Moment. Kaustubh we are proud of you.

Favorite Hero: Vijay Sethupati

Favorite Heroine: Keerthi Suresh

Favorite Food: He is a foodie by nature and loves anything that is tasty

Favorite Sweet : Kaju Katli

Your Dream: Here is where he left us stumped, the admiration just grew after he spoke to us about his dream. Just a few words before we allow Kaustubh to take us through his dream. He says that when he goes to a stadium to witness a match, key moments of the match are something that people like him miss out on, in the midst of the din and more importantly the fans jumping out of their seats. So here is what Kaustubh has to relate to us: 

Accessibility for everyone, a major no in most cricket stadiums in India and the World

The opinion that most cricket fans and experts alike agree on is that watching their favourite sport from the stadium is an experience that is a must and in a different level altogether. That is what the differently abled are missing out on. They are as passionate and as crazy, if not more about cricket as everyone else. Most of them have resorted to just being fans and followers of the game after their condition disabled them from playing professional cricket. There are wheelchair cricket teams and tournaments but not every specially abled person has the strength or fitness required to play, the case in point being me. Every disabled person I have known about has the ability to shrug off the negatives and find a positive way to move forward. In this case, even though they can't play the game they want to know everything there is about it and want to become writers, analysts, statisticians- anything and everything  related to cricket, off the playing arena

Every cricket expert will agree that to become what they dream about, they would need to watch the game from the stands .This is what I am trying to advocate for the differently abled. Everyone of us has ambitions and dreams about cricket. Watching the game from the stadium is the best first step to achieve those ambitions. The struggles of our day-to-day life disappear when we watch the sport we adore. There can exist a few people saying watching the TV in the comfort of home is the best thing for the disabled, I would seek to answer that question in the following paragraph.

Home is the comfort zone for many of the differently abled cricket lovers. But, watching from home has its drawbacks for us. Watching the electronic TV screen for long stretches comes with its own hazards .The other reason to watch from the stadium is, at home we will keep getting reminded of our struggle during every break in play. But, at the ground we will be engaged with the rest of the crowd during breaks in play.

I can say that for sure as I had visited the Chepauk for one IPL game 7 years ago. Me and my dad struggled too much, I had to be carried all the way from the parking area to our seat. Once we got there, it was a different story. I forgot the struggle altogether once the crowd got into their mojo and only after I reached home did it take its toll. I enjoyed the whole game with a newfound increase in my passion and respect for cricket. It is safe to say I hadn't loved the game as much as I do now before that experience. That experience is what I want for every differently-abled cricket enthusiast.  

This dream of mine is out of  the resulting hunger to make a change for every differently abled . Please do not see this article as a rant, see the genuine cause in it. I would also request every reader to share this with the hashtag #AccessibleCricketGroundsForAll and share this with everyone known to them. Let's go make a change!

Selfless thought Kaustubh, We are with you and hope that you realize your dreams very soon. May the likes of you grow and keep visiting us. There is a very high likelihood that you may meet up with your favorite all rounder Ashwin in the next few days. 

Straight Drive with our Young and Fascinating Interns

The success of any organization, especially a coaching institute is attributed to its robust and efficient back-end operational processes, a seamless training procedure, a very flexible and hands on management and most importantly a aggressive front end team. Exactly what we possess at Gen-Next and it is this young and aggressive street smart team of Front ending Team of Prasanth, Sekar and Sriram who we are featuring in our Straight Drive column today. They are our mouthpieces, who represent us in front of the outside world. This is the very team who bring in the children, letting the parents know about Gen-next, how we are different and how the children stand to benefit if they were to join Gen-next. Each of the above gentlemen are unique in their own ways and one thing that all of them have in common is their love for Ashwin and for the game of Cricket. This is what has brought them to Gen-Next. 

Meet Sriram, our intern and a man of few words, but when he talks, he makes full and complete sense.

Sriram is based out of Germany and he is here for a research study at IIT campus. Sriram has done his MS in Communications and multimedia

On His Innings at Gen-Next
Like all of us Sriram is an avid Cricket follower. Sriram came to Gen-next with a view to have a learning experience of how a Cricket Academy functions, how a star is made. He adds by saying that he wanted to know at the rudimentary level how to coach ten year olds. Sriram feels that while at other institutes there is an over emphasis on batting skills here at Gen-next it is all about the all round development of a cricketer. There have many other aspects of a professional set up that Sriram has picked up, finer nuances like Client Relationship Management. 

On His Thoughts about Ashwin:
Now this is the effect Ashwin leaves on you the moment you meet him, For Sriram, Ashwin comes across as a Next door guy, very simple down to earth and extremely approachable. Sriram rates the Bangalore match against the Aussies, the very best he has watched so far.

Up next we have Shekar: 

On His involvment with Gen-next

Shekar is an Engineering MBA graduate, and very much interested in sports management, He is involved in getting enrolments, and assisting the students to enrol for a chosen program.Currently Shekar is helping to get cricket academies in Chennai to participate in a Invitational under 14 tournament to be held from April 30th to May 28th. Shekar has played cricket for a brief period for Infosys in corporate tournaments. Shekar is a right arm off spin bowler. Times and Personal habits have changed post his involvement with Gen-next. For instance Shekar loves his sleep but post joining as an intern with Gen-next, he loves getting up early and rushing to the ground. That is exactly what a game of cricket does to you.

Tango with Ashwin:

It was in 2008 he heard about Ashwin first, and then met him first time in 2010 CSK jersey unveiling. He says that Ashwin comes across as being very candid and straight. Shekar added that Ashwin is very clear about his future plans, that of transforming Gen-next into a World Class Institute.  

Not many know that Shekar is a very good Stand-Up comedian.

Move on to the Young and Dashing Prasanth:

The first thing that hits you when you meet Prasanth is his lovely charming smile. Prasanth is a MBA graduate from ICFAI Bangalore. Prasanth has played League Cricket at the corporate level and is a left arm tearaway fast bowler.

Nostalgic Moments with Ashwin: 

Prasanth first met Ashwin at his house , through his cousin Rama who is a coach at Gen-next. Prasanth recalls that both Ashwin and Rama would play gully cricket together in the by-lanes of West Mambalam. Being a die hard fan Prasanth wanted to have a selfie moment with Ashwin. Wish fulfilled, Prasanth met Ashwin again after five long years, only to be fondly remembered by Ashwin. This is indeed very typical Ashwin style.

On His Role at Gen-next and his future plans:

At Gen-next Prasanth helps in enrolling the students and inducting them into the institute. He wants to contribute back to the game of cricket, a game he loves so much through his association with Gen-next. Marketing is his speciality and sports management his passion.

If you are interested in meeting up with any of these friendly blokes, just walk into the RKM Grounds in T.Nagar and ask for them. 

By the way summer slam is just a week away. Starts on April 10th. Rush before registration closes. A Lot of planning has been put into conducting this camp and interesting activities will make children love the game even more. 

Adieu from Gen-next till the next blog. Have a great week ahead