Gennext Cricket-Fresh Perspectives for a New Season

Rome was never built in a day. It took years of spirited effort, process, team work, patience, dedication and above sacrifice to build the great city. We at Gennext Cricket Institute truly believe that we have a system in place to churn out outstanding human beings, role model citizens. When tiny tots walk into our park at the beginning of each season, it is our charter to the parent that we will transform the child into a champion. Now here by Champion we implore the reader not to mistake it to be a Champion in the game of cricket. We assess skills, train, mentor, identify areas of improvement and then provide for necessary feedback to the parents. This is exactly what makes us stand out as an institute that specializes in excellence not just Cricket.

It was a bright sunny morning at the institute when TBK ventured forth with his two sons, enrolled them for a new season. You must be getting to whats cooking. With TBK around a blog must be round the corner. So he goes around for a customary walk round the park, camera in hand, he has been granted that extra special privilege of walking around, talking to coaches, bowling a few balls, attempting a few knocks and loading a few customary bytes of information. There have been quite a few times when the author has had inspirational sessions with the Mentor-In-Chief Ashwin and the Chief's Chief Ravichandran Uncle as he is popularly referred to in local circles . Each of these sessions have been nothing short of inspirational. But more of that in another blog. Today TBK catches up with Sudarshan in a candid conversation about this season, lets now hear on:( By the way Sudarshan and TBK have forged a great partnership something on the lines of Vikram-Vedha. TBK asks the question, Sudarshan gets it right each time. Spoof TBK vanishes with the blog in hand) Well taking off from the last scene in the movie, guns pointing at each other they decide to spar with each other over a blog. Yenna Sudarshan Sir, Oru Kadai Sollava?(What Sudarshan Sir, Shall I tell you a story?

TBK(Aka Vedha): Hello Sudarshan(Aka Vikram), Can you elaborate more on the kind of packages being run this season. It would be highly beneficial for parents who wish to enrol their children for cricket coaching at Gennext Cricket Institute.

Sudarshan(Aka Vikram): Apart from the weekend coaching programs called Straight Drive that is being run for all age groups, we have specialized programs for Sub Juniors, Juniors and Seniors.

For the kids at the Sub Junior level- ages between 6-9 we have a program called Evolve, which runs on four week days in the morning. As the name suggests here we look at evolving the childs basics skills and the development of the game. Here we do not jump start the child into a red cherry or the cricket ball immediately but with passage of time as and when we feel that the child is ready to graduate to the next level.

Vision 20-20 is the next program in our basket. Here the age group that we are looking at is any child aged between 9-12. More than the age of the child here we also assess the child, depending on their current skill sets and their abilities we induct the child into this particular program.

High Performance: This is the last of our products but highly specialized in terms of training. The program runs on all five days of the week from Monday through Friday. Lot of inputs are being focussed into this program, Individual fitness levels are linked into, and reports are generated for each and every ward at the end of each month.

TBK (Aka Vedha): You have answered well Sudarshan(Aka Vikram), but there are more challenges ahead for you Viki boy. Can you please talk about any innovative ideas being implemented at Gen-next.

Sudarshan(Aka Vikram): We have started a new concept called open wicket sessions where the players are encouraged to play in the open without the nets. In the nets the shot may look beautiful in execution but you can never really gauge the power of the shot and the reach, but in a open wicket session the player gets to know his actual power hitting capabilities. Also the batsman gets to know the gaps in the field, whether he pierces the gaps in the field or clears them convincingly. Second  keeping in tune with Modern Day Cricket we have power hitting training sessions to cater to the increasingly popular T20 format. Lots more on the plate, we will keep rolling them out in the near future.

TBK: Impressive Suds boy.  Seeing the rise in popularity of the game in India specific to women, What are the plans to encourage more girls to take up the game of Cricket?

Sudarshan: At Gennext we have always believed that the game should be open to all irrespective of being a boy or a girl. In fact in the past we have had quite a few girls who have trained at our academy. One of our coaches is in fact a lady-Yuvashree who has represented Tamil Nadu in Cricket. Yes there are plans to get into specialized training for the girls as well much like our other programs. You will shortly hear from us in this regard.

TBK: The mentor of Gennext Ravichandran Ashwin has a packed schedule over the next few years. Does he have any thoughts on the path ahead for Gennext Cricket Institute:

Sudarshan: Never mind the next two years, its been always hectic for Ash ever since the inception days of Gennext. He is very much involved in the day to day running of the institute, constantly giving us his valuable inputs. Whenever he is in the city, he keeps visiting the institute and mentoring the kids. Not only that he interacts with all the coaches around, ensuring that they are abreast with the latest coaching methodologies and the equipments to be used. Ashwin has always been there with us when we need him and will be there with us in the future as well.We have expansion plans to be implemented including a few franchisee ideas that we are toying around with.

TBK: Brett Lee has stated in the media that India needs a pacer who can clock a 150mph delivery.  Any exciting pace bowling prospects in Gennext Cricket Institute

Sudarshan: Gennext High Performance Centre has quite a few promising quicks in the offing. We have Kaushik who builds up quite a pace. We are currently working on his bowling action so that he generates more pace. Then there is the 15 year old lad, promising fast bowler Prasanna who plays 4th division league in the city. We are hoping that Prasanna will be an exciting prospect in the next few years to come.

Well the lively conversation did come to an end. Vikram and Vedha decided to build truce, for the sake of a sequel, time being they walked over to the neighbor-hood shop for a generous helping of Elaneer water(Coconut Water). Entire state of Tamil Nadu seems to be reeling over an overdose of copious amount of Oviya tears(Wish we could do with Real Water not Reel Water. We pray for it to rain in Chennai) while Big Boss is away in Sri Lanka, on national duty making the Sri Lanka Batsman dance to his tune of spin music.






  

WHEN CRICKET BRINGS FOOD TO THE TABLE

One fine morning in April, after the Summer Slam coaching sessions had gotten underway, in walked into our ground a journalist from a leading national daily. What followed were interactions with our head coach Mr. Srinivasan and our COO, Mr. Sudarshan. Today, about three months later, the insights from the interactions have gone into a book titled Cricket Soru Poduma? authored by Bagawati Prasad, senior correspondent at The Times of India in Chennai. The book was launched on the evening of July 19 in Mylapore by a host of eminent cricket personalities.

Before we dwell into the specifics of the book launch event and the book itself, let us analyse, for a moment, the larger context of the game of cricket. Have you ever wondered what is it that makes a cricket match or a tournament successful? What goes behind the scenes to make the match a roaring success? Behind every cricket match is a whole gamut of activities executed by a team of people working in clockwork precision to deliver a world class experience at every level, be it a school level tournament organized by the state cricket association in a city ground or an Ashes Test match in a high-profile Melbourne Cricket Ground. The book profiles 22 such people who have been involved both directly and indirectly to deliver world class cricket experience at all levels.

The book officially launched
Photo courtesy : Srinivasan Venkatachalam

Back to the book launch event, it was graced by Mr. Dav Whatmore, present coach of the Kerala state team and former international coach, Mr. L. Sivaramakrishnan (popularly known as LS), commentator and former Indian cricketer, Mr. V.V Kumar, former India cricketer and Mr. Kasi Viswanathan, former secretary, Tamilnadu Cricket Association. Speaking first, Mr. Whatmore expressed his regret at not being able to read Tamil but he promised he would be the first to hit the stores if an English translated version comes out. Among others, LS narrated anecdotes about how video analysis helped India beat Australia in Australia in 2003-04, Mr. Kumar spoke on harnessing talent in the right manner and Mr. Viswanathan described the constant support the state association was rendering to the game. Finally the author, Mr. Prasad himself, described his experience of penning the book by drawing from his work experience of having interacted with a multitude of people from the world of cricket. Later our head coach was called up on stage, along with Mr. Ramki (cricket data analyst) to hand over a memento to LS.

From left : Mr. Ramki, Mr. Sivaramakrishnan and Mr. Srinivasan
Photo credit : Mahesh Ramesh

We in Gen-Next have every reason to cheer the book since it profiles our COO and our head coach in exclusive chapters. The former’s chapter profiles his journey from a software professional to cricket academy manager, about the power of using social media to promote oneself. The chapter on Srinivasan sir describes his journey from his early days in suburban Tambaram where he coached young kids until he moved on to take up full-time coaching responsibilities with GenNext. To make things sweeter, there is a chapter on Mr. V. Balaji, manager of our chief mentor Ashwin. But topping it all, the icing on the cake, is the book’s foreword, penned by none other than our chief mentor himself.

Photo courtesy : Bagawati Prasad

The event concluded with a photo-op of the personalities, profiled in the book, with the chief guests and the author. 

Standing : Mr. Srinivasan (third from right) and Mr. Sudarshan (partly hidden)
Photo courtesy : Srinivasan Venkatachalam

The title of the book translates into ‘Will cricket feed you?’ This is a common question asked by a majority of Indian parents when their sons aspire to become professional cricketers. The answer to this is a resounding YES ! Read the book to learn about more interesting personalities like video analyst, scorer, umpire, cobbler (yes, you read that right), throw-down specialist and lots more. Available in Amazon here. Happy Reading !

Happy BirthDay Ravichandran Uncle

Its been quite awhile since I tapped on my favourite keyboard, but thanks to Facebook, I was blessed with an opportunity to do what I like best, blogging. A match does beckon me to the screen. Today happens to be the final ODI-India Vs West Indies, however that does not distract me as much as the job at hand.

As I was glancing through the social media pages, I became aware that today happens to be Ravichandran Uncle's birthday. So my smart  device took over my senses as I quickly typed out a customary birthday wish on WhatsApp. Happy Birthday Sir. However I was not satisfied. I wanted to hear his voice today. There were two reasons for wanting to talk him, one to wish sir, the other was to get a few sound bytes from him to pen this blog.

So a call it was and the conversation went like this:

TallboyKarthik: Happy Birthday Sir....How are you doing?

Ravichandran Uncle: Thank you so much, where have you gone missing? (In that voice I could make out his genuine love for me and I am grateful for that loving concern, which is the case with anyone who knows him well, the same kind of loving regards for everyone)

TallBoyKarthik: Sir, work has kept me away from the ground and my sons school, daily routine, life has been quite hectic

Ravichandran Uncle: All that is fine but why are the kids not coming for practice?

TallBoyKarthik: Sir they go to school as early as 6 in the morning and I will have to find a way to get them to practice. I will be soon talking to Sudarshan about it.

Ravichandran Uncle: Oh Don't worry, we will figure out a way to coach them, just send them, and leave the rest to me to figure it out. By the way, How will they come?

TallBoyKarthik: Sir, They have cycles and since they are old enough, I guess I will ask them to cycle down .

Ravichandran Uncle: No don't do that, fix an auto, make a note of the auto drivers number and send them over. We will take care of everything and don't forget to inform Kumar about the auto. Kumar will also ensure that the kids are taken care of.

I was touched and most importantly was left wondering if such kind of love and affection happens anywhere else, I was for sure left short of words for the genuine concern he has for all the kids around. This is the same treatment meted out to each and every child at Gennext Cricket Institute.

So the conversation went on.

TallBoyKarthik: What is special for today Sir? Are you planning to go out somewhere.

Ravichandran Uncle: No Karthik, Today is just another day spent with my family and most importantly grandchildren. Today my granddaughter came running to me from her room singing the birthday song. I was so happy. I blessed her and gave her some money to buy whatever she wants.

TallBoyKarthik: Sir how would you spend your birthday when you were younger?

Ravichandran Uncle: It was just another day when I was young as well. I always go to a temple on this day. I just make up my mind on which temple to visit and then proceed. There was no concept of new clothes or anything like that. As the years rolled by things have changed. My wife would decorate the entire house on my birthday. Ashwin would give me some gift. Even Today morning Ashwin called me up from West Indies to wish me. Then in the evening, these kids always gather together, get a cake and then we have a small celebration. In their happiness lies my own happiness.

TallBoyKarthik: Then it must be a hectic day for you today?

Ravichandran Uncle: Yes it is. I love to see everyone happy. I called up Sudarshan today and asked him to take all the staff out for lunch at Saravana Bhavan. I have told you earlier as well. I take care of all my staff both at the institute and at my house. I don't like anyone going hungry. I personally ensure that everyone is well fed. That is how I spend my birthday. Till my parents were alive, I would fall at their feet and take their blessings.

TallBoyKarthik: As usual I loved having this conversation with you. Thank you sir and Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday once again.

Ravichandran Uncle: Thank You Karthik. Thanks for calling

Each time I have a conversation with Uncle I feel extremely light and then I am left with a valuable lesson of life: How much ever you grow in life, never ever forget your roots, never ever give up on being Humble. This is exactly what Ravichandran Uncle stands for.

Manna Royal Rumble

We at Gennext have always believed that Cricket is a very competitive game and to represent the game at the highest levels one must have the talent. We feel that to conduct any tournament, it must serve a certain purpose. For Example the ongoing Champions Trophy does serve a valid purpose. There are these top eight ranked countries in the world who compete against each other in a 50 over format to see who emerges as a Champion team amongst them. For us at Gen-next to conduct the Manna Royal Rumble in Chennai city we had set our aims high from day one.

Reason One: It is summer time and most of the children would be at home so we wanted the kids to be involved in some sort of a physical activity away from the comforts of their home and all the smart devices around them.

Reason Two: There are very few Under 14 Tournaments that are conducted in a prescribed 25 over format in the city of Chennai. We wanted to conduct this tournament at the various coaching institutes level. We found out to our own surprise that there is a lot of promising young talent in the City of Chennai who if exposed to the right kind of training have all the potential to break into the next level of competitive cricket.

Reason 3: At Gen-next we have always believed in the concept of "Joy Of Cricket" which really means that it really does not matter whether you win or you lose, the spirit of participation is most important. It is really not important whether you took five wickets as a bowler or scored a hundred as a batsman, it is most important to get happiness out of hitting the ground on a daily basis at six in the morning. This tournament was all about the "Joy of Cricket"

Our partners in this tournament Manna have truly endorsed our thoughts by way of being the title sponsors and have been very kind in giving away Manna Goodies at the end of each match to the Man of the Match. Children were given Health Drinks like Manna Badam Milk at each and every drinks interval, thus bringing the concept of good health into the tournament. We being the organisers of the tournament went on to ensure that no stone was left unturned to ensure the smooth conduct of the tournament.

Our aim as always has been to give happiness to the children in very unique and small ways. Thus the prize distribution of the Manna Royal Rumble was not at the RKM grounds where the tournament was conducted but by way of a glittering ceremony at one of the Star Hotels in the city of Chennai. We invited Indian Team International Player Lakshmipathy Balaji to distribute the prizes to the winners and the runners up. Our Founder Ravichandran Sir graced the occasion along with Mr V. Balaji. Deservedly FSCA were crowned the champions of the tournament while AVM were the runners up. They walked away with a few glittering trophies and medals under their belt.

The success of a tournament of this scale can never be complete without teamwork and we wish to thank all our colleagues who have made this tournament a grand success, including the efforts of the umpires who stood in all the matches without complaining a bit about the relentless heat and unforgiving hot weather conditions. Thanks due to our groundsmen who went about their task of keeping the pitches in match preparedness condition at all times. During the break after the prize distribution ceremony, someone walked to Ravichandran sir and thanked him for conducting this tournament. Sir said "Do not Thank me, Thank Sudarshan, Balaji and Shekar who have ensured that this tournament was conducted smoothly and with such perfection.

That about sums up the Manna Royal Rumble1.0. We are eagerly looking forward to Manna Royal Rumble 2.0 in 2018. If you would like to meet the Gennext team you are most welcome to visit the RKM grounds and it shall be our responsibility to hear you out.

"I wanted to be a master of my own destiny" Straight Drive With Sudarshan COO Gen-Next

As you walk into our institute you will invariably bump into a bespectacled, bearded young man. You can almost mistake him to be the boy next door. It's only when you get introduced to him do you realise he is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Gen-next Cricket Institute. It is indeed a great honour to be presenting to you, Ladies and Gentleman, Straight Drive with Sudarshan.
The game of cricket and it's addiction can lead people in many ways. It can shape destinies and chalk out glorious, chequered maps for the future. However, it's only meant for the brave-hearted and those who are willing to throw caution to the winds. Read on to find our COO talking us through his one year journey at Gen-Next.

TallBoyKarthik: Tell us something about yourself Sudarshan

Sudarshan: I am an Engineer by qualification. Graduated in 2012. Worked in IT for 3 years. Been with Gen-Next since May 2016.

TallboyKarthik: Engineering and Cricket! What's the connection?

Sudarshan: Well, cricket has always been my passion. I've loved watching the game since I was a kid. I still vividly remember the 1999 World Cup Semi Final between SA and Aus (which according to me is the greatest ODI of all time) that ended in a tie. Allan Donald getting run out, with Zulu stranded at the other end. The pure emotions at the end of the match: elation & jubilation for Australia; despair for South Africa, was mind-blowing! I could feel it myself. I was 8 then. I think my fascination for cricket became a passion exactly then.

TallBoyKarthik: How did you land up at Gen-next?

Sudarshan: Ok, here comes the story. It was Feb 2016. I had been to Germany to preside over a cricket tournament for which I was invited as a guest. That was exactly the time when I got in touch with Ashwin as well, impromptu. I explained to him about the tournament. He was excited about it and asked if I could do a similar tournament in Chennai. Concurrently, I was orchestrating an IPL Fantasy Auctions Game for my closely knit cricket group called 'Cricketism', in which Ash participated. He had a similar idea as well. You see where I'm getting? I think our wavelengths match and we struck an instant chord. So, when he offered me the Gen-next job, I didn't think twice. I lapped it up with both my hands.

Tallboykarthik: How easy or tough was it for you to decide to take the plunge?

Sudarshan: Lemme tell you, it was not easy. Here I was dropping the comforts of a nice job in an air-conditioned environment to a job that took me to a cricket ground & its functioning. Obviously, it meant getting up early in the morning, slogging it out in the ground, hot sun, but I was willing to give it a shot. There were other factors that played in my mind, like my own humble middle class family bearings & whether this was sustainable long-term. However, I hated the comfort of my sofa and thought it was high time I got the hell out of it. I wanted to go all-in & be the master of my own destiny. I wanted to succeed or fail on my own terms. It's been a year & it has been an extremely fruitful experience so far. I thank my parents for supporting my decision and backing me, when no one did. I am thankful to Ash for giving me this opportunity.

Tallboykarthik: It must have been a startup kind of scenario when you joined Gen-Next. Can you please take us through this one year journey of yours with Gen-Next?

Sudarshan: Would you believe it? I had never set foot  on to a Cricket Academy ever in my life before I joined Gen-Next. The first six months were extremely challenging. I tuned myself to the requirements of the job. It has been an on the job learning for me. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my business mentor & my close friend, Srinath: Wharton graduate and a 2-time entrepreneur. An absolute champ and a top guy, he has been my go-to man in this journey. I'll always be grateful to him. From December, things started to look up. In Dec 2016, I engineered a #GenNextGlobalTour to Dubai for a 3-day cricket coaching clinic with Ashwin at the helm to resounding success. From Jan, I have been planning and scheming the summer event, which you know now as the highly successful #SummerSlam. I wanted the Summer Slam to be totally different right from the concept to the branding. I did not want it to be a run of the mill stuff. Today, when I look back upon what I set out to do and what I actually achieved, I am quite happy with the progress. Now, I'm organising the 16 team flagship U-14 tournament in the city, #RoyalRumble. It has been a hectic summer, but an enjoyable one at that.

Tallboykarthik: Obviously, Ashwin being the mentor of Gen-Next is an influencing factor. Can you talk to us about Ashwin as a person & as a mentor? Does he give you a free hand in the decision making process as far as Gen-Next is concerned?

Sudarshan: As far as being the #GenNextMentor, Ash is 200% hands on. He is totally committed. Whenever he is not representing the country, you can either find him with his family at home or with his extended family at Gen-Next. He loves mentoring the kids, knows everyone by name & keeps track of their performances. He is a true inspiration. As far as my work is concerned, he hasn't asked me to stick to the basics. Instead, he has given me the full freedom to go out there and express myself. He has encouraged me to walk & he has done so without holding my hand. It has been the biggest take-away/positive for me: the self learning process. It has given me the confidence to tackle any challenge that's in front of me. I love Ash for that.

TallboyKarthik: There are cricket academies mushrooming all over the city.
1) How does a parent select the right academy for their children 2) How is Gen-Next different from the rest?

Sudarshan: 1) Most of the parents today are tech savy and get to find the solutions that they need online. They go by word of mouth, they go by reviews online.
2) Gen-Next is different because of our operational efficiency. We have processes in place much like a corporate environment. For example, we have a review meeting every month with the coaches, where we review the past month's performances, identify the areas of improvement. We constantly strive for excellence in whatever we do and try to take the bar up a notch higher each time. We are never satisfied with what we do. We are extremely finicky when it comes time and discipline. As far as coaching is concerned, we have set programmes in place, collectively designed by our mentor, Ashwin & head coach, Srinivasan.  We are perhaps one of the few institutes that is extremely upbeat about social media. We have a huge following on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & then we have our own blogs. I don't think any of the cricket academies have a social media presence as we do.

TallboyKarthik: When did Gen-Next start getting active on Social Media?

Sudarshan: After I joined, of course. Back when I joined, we didn't have an Instagram account or a twitter account. The Facebook page was inactive with 4000 likes. Today, Gen-Next has 20000 likes on Facebook, 5000 followers on Instagram and around 4000 followers on Twitter. Our blogs are growing rapidly as well. A year ago, not many people knew that Ashwin was our mentor. Over the last year, thanks to social media, I have made known globally Ash's involvement with Gen-Next and you see the desired results.

Tallboykarthik: What about expansion plans for Gen-next. Obviously home turf is Chennai but any plans for taking Gen-next to other places?

Sudarshan: In the last 6 months, we have taken rapid strides as far as Chennai is concerned. We do have some plans for expansion. Wait and watch.

Tallboykarthik: Any message for young cricketers and parents?

Sudarshan: We want the children to come, discover the joy of cricket. Our intention is to make the child to fall in love with the game. To quote an instance, we have a kid called Vikram in our High Performance program. His father has clearly told him to go and enjoy the game. All he wants for Vikram is to learn the sport, become a better human being: anything else is a by-product. These are the kind of parents who really excite us and enable us to give off our best. It was the same philosophy that our founder, Mr Ravichandran, had in his mind when he was parenting Ashwin. To make him play for the country was perhaps the last thing in his mind. To make Ashwin develop a joy for cricket was top most priority. Results of such an approach are there for everyone to see and learn from.

TallboyKarthik: Any memorable experiences that you would like to recall that involved you and Ashwin?

Sudarshan: I can't pinpoint an instance, cos I have had many: conversations about twitter, keeping nicknames, tracking scores of our U-14 boys, playing street cricket, etc. My own reading of Ashwin is that he is a very simple, down to earth person. He loves his movies, TV movies, still hangs out with the same set of friends, and is quite active on social media, has an outstanding sense of humour (sarcasm) and has the ability to pick up a conversation with anyone .

Tallboykarthik: This blog cannot really end without a word being spoken about the founder of the institute, Mr Ravichandran.

Sudarshan: We, at Gen-Next, know him as Ravi uncle. He is a cricket fanatic and has gone through the entire cycle of parenting Ashwin. He has seen the ups and downs of life. Back when Ashwin was growing up, he would take Ashwin to different coaching academies and matches all by himself. Having seen what a player goes through and the struggles he has had to face, uncle wanted to set up an academy where a player could be exposed to the best of coaching and infrastructure. It is only because of his foresight and thinking that Gen-Next has come into being today. As a person, uncle is very simple & comes daily morning to the ground, most of the times in the same old two wheeler on which he would take Ashwin for matches 15 years back. He is an inspiration and I totally love him.

Quite a long conversation but at the end of it you are left with quite a few pearls of learning:

• If you are indeed passionate about something, follow it, chase it as if your life depended on it and you will enjoy and do what you love.
• Sometimes in life, moving out of your comfort zone and doing something offbeat, despite the baggage of difficulties and challenges that come with it, can take you to success.
• Being simple and humble is indeed a true sign of success.

Hope you enjoyed reading our blog. Keep sending us your valuable feedback, for that is what keeps us coming back to you with more.

Super Straight Drive with Ravichandran Ashwin 2.0

There is nothing more pleasing to the eye than watching a sprinter running on a track. the smooth and easy steps, the slow and gradual start and finally that burst of speed. I have been a silent spectator as Ashwin has been gradually upping the ante on the fitness front, all in earnest preparedness for the forthcoming Champions Trophy to be conducted in England. Even as I watched him take those sprints it was all awe inspiring for me. We as fans see him play and take those wickets but hardly know the kind of hard work and effort that goes behind all of it. It also gave me an opportunity to be up front and close with Ravichandran Ashwin.

In last Friday's column of Straight Drive with Ashwin we spoke about his initial childhood days and how he developed a love for the game of Cricket. A time does come when children lose that flab, that chubbiness and the voice gets a makeover. Priorities, likes and dislikes change. A love-able maturity creeps in and in most of the cases new friends become a part of life. In this edition of Straight Drive

we shall talk about Ashwin's tryst with teenage and his circle of close friends.

Hunger for Cricket Just Grew on Ashwin:

As the years rolled by, Ashwin started to like the game even more than anything else. In one of the U17 tournaments in Vizag, Ashwin scored a century and the day came to a close. Well this story has two endings and we would like you to take up either one version of the story. Two people have narrated their versions to me, one is a version that Ashwin tells me and the other is a version that Arvind aka takali tells me. Ra Arvind also happens to be Ashwins childhood friend and a coach at Gen-next Cricket Institute.

Ashwins Version: Ashwin says that he completed a century, came back to the room, was very tired, however had a shower,changed his clothes and went to sleep. Anirudh Srikkanth happened to be his room mate. Ashwin says that he went on to compile a double century in this match.

Takkalis Version: Ashwin completed a century, came back to room, was very tired, hit the bed in the same pair of clothes, next day travelled to ground in the same whites and went on to complete a well compiled double century.

 Leave it to the audience at this point of time to pick up their own version and why they think so. One must however appreciate the passion for the game which is so very inspiring for kids of that age into a sport like Cricket.

The Four Musketeers

They were a group of four friends, travelling for tournaments together, involving themselves in pranks and most of all having a very normal childhood. Ashwin,Santosh,Arvind,and Kedar made up for a very formidable and strong circle of friends. Ashwin says that for most of the tournaments this group travelled together, either at the school or the college level. Once the team travelled for a tournament in Dharamshala, while the coach was quite excited with the serene atmosphere, he was quite sure that they would win the tournament. However the team ended losing the matches and travelled by road to different venues across the country. While the kids won, they were quite pampered for choice and when they lost they were made to sweat and toil. Valid lessons learnt at a very tender age, the carrot and stick policy worked well for the team, they won several tournaments together, losing only a few along the way.

Ashwin says that while all the kids were active in their naughty, active, fun and frolic ways, there was one in the group who was the most goody, goody and sober. that was Kedar. Kedar used to be an adventurous type. When they would check into a town or city for a tournament it would be Kedar to find out all about the place. He was also very fond of shopping so he would know what would be available in which place including some great food. Homework done, Kedar would inform the other four and they would be out exploring the city. Kedar was the Mr Nice of the group, never indulging in any kind of mischief. Thus he was nicknamed as the Jesus Christ of the group. Ashwin recalls them waiting on Kedar , one of the nights in the hotel room with lit candles on either side, just to welcome their Godly

friend.

In one of the state games, they had tied the match, Kedar was overcome with joy and started sprinting to the pavilion in joy to meet the coach. In his exuberance he had apparently forgotten that he had worn spikes. He ran on the concrete, full speed ahead with spikes on to the concrete, only to come crashing down, in the midst of the arranged chairs kept neatly under a Shamiana. All the friends had a hearty laugh together.

Ashwin and his University Days

Ashwin, Sanch, Venkat and Thakkali would travel together in their times during graduation. Ashwin says of the lot, Venkat was the smartest clocking over 85% each time in examinations. Sanch was good at numbers and Thaks was the weakest link amongst the four. While all of them would sincerely attempt to study for the exams burning the midnight oil in most cases, it was sanch who would want to sleep that wee bit extra, even on exam mornings. On a aside Ashwin adds that Sanch would be the one to set up the alarm clock, each time woken up, he would be the one to want to have that luxury of extra five minutes of sleep.  it happened that one of those days it happened to Mathematics time. They all prepared for the exam. Ashwin owned a Santro those days, while he picked up his friends for the examination.

All of them finished the exams much ahead of the stipulated time except for Arvind. They were quite taken aback that Arvind was taking so much time. There was more in store. While discussing the tough question paper it was Arvind who came up with all the correct answers. The fun does not stop here. On the day of the results, Sanch called up Ashwin "Machi marks aa paatiya da"(Did you see the Marks?). Ashwin replied saying that he had cleared the paper. Sanch stressed again"Adhu illai da Thakaali Maths marks paatiya da?" (Did you see Thakaalis Maths marks?) The Three had crossed the requisite line while Arvind was left behind. It was even quite puzzling for tallboyk, who then ventured to interrogate further. "Ashwin how did this happen?Arvind got all the answers right, thats what you just said." Ashwin with that tangy mischevous, quirky look on his face said " Oh Thaks finished the exam much earlier, went back to his place of dwelling, had a mid afternoon siesta, consulted Mr. Mcgraw Hill for all the right answers and had come collars up to discuss the answers with his friends.

Ashwin feels that Arvind,Sanch,and Kedar were as equally talented as him in modern cricket, despite this it was only he who donned the India colors. He laments this fact as he says with the other musketeers around the India dressing room would have gotten even more lively.

For me it was a pleasure bring to you all this column of Straight Drive. It was fun for Ashwin recalling his own childhood days, for a boy who dreamt making it big in Indian Cricket Team, who morphed himself into a young man, who the rest of the world knows as Ravichandran Ashwin. There will be more such columns in the near future. Keep reading and leaving your valuable feedback as that would encourage us to keep writing to you.

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.....