Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Beyond the Blues A Season Like No Other by Aakash Chopra. A stonewaller at the top and one of the greatest short-leg fielders India have produced, Aakash Chopra played 10 Tests between October 2003 and October 2004. He took 15 catches, some of them exceptional, while his 437 runs came at 23, but to his credit he hung around for 66 balls every time he batted under challenging circumstances. Not that he complained, for he had to drop anchor as the swashbuckling batsmen went about bludgeoning the bowlers. He opened with his Delhi mate 11 times away from home — in Australia in 2003-04 and in Pakistan in 2004 — averaging 58 per dismissal. In Australia their 8 stands got them 459 runs at 57. He started well, crossing 30 in each of his first 5 innings, and though he got only 2 fifties, there were 4 other scores in excess of 40. His axing came abruptly, when India decided to push Yuvraj Singh to the top despite Chopra’s gutsy performances. Chopra had risen through the Under-19 ranks, and once in the Delhi team he found runs quickly, amassing 554 in his first season at 69. He topped the 900-run mark in the domestic seasons of 2000-01 and 2001-02, both at averages in excess of 60. Unfortunately, an anterior cruciate ligament delayed his Test debut in 2002-03. He never played after 2003-04, but he suddenly found form four seasons later, when he scored 1,339 runs in four-day cricket and slammed three unbeaten quickfire hundreds in . So belligerent were his innings that he earned an IPL contract with . But despite India’s opening problems he was left out of the squad for the 2007-08 tour to Australia as Sehwag was called up out of nowhere. Chopra later moved to Rajasthan, and played a key role in them their first two Ranji titles — that too in consecutive seasons, starting from the Plate Group in the first season. This also included 301 not out against Maharashtra — a marathon spread over 13-and-a-half hours. He also played for Himachal Pradesh, and finished with 10,389 First-Class runs at 45. He later became a popular columnist and commentator. His two books — Beyond the Blues: A First-Class Season Like No Other and Out of the Blue: Rajasthan’s Road to the are the greatest books written by Indian Test cricketers. Abhishek Mukherjee. Aakash Chopra Batting & Fielding Averages. Aakash Chopra Bowling Averages. Career M B R W Avg EC SR 5WI 10WM BBI BBM Test 10 ------ODIs 0 ------T20s 0 ------World Cup 0 ------Aakash Chopra Career statistics. India v New Zealand at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, October 8, 2003. India v Australia at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur, October 26, 2004. News ON Aakash Chopra. WTC Final | It Will be Down to Batsmen: Aakash Chopra Picks MVP of Both Teams. Both the teams have potent pace batteries. Aakash Chopra Picks Best XI of World Test Championship, no Place For Kohli And Rahane. Aakash Chopra has picked his best XI for WTC. Image Credits: Getty ImagesFormer Indian opener Aakash Chopra has picked his best XI of . Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin Should Both Play WTC Final, Aakash Chopra on India’s Bowling Attack. Chopra also explained why India should field two spinners despite the seamer-friendly English conditions. Watch: Aakash Chopra Tweets Video Of Kid Emulating MS Dhoni’s Helicopter Shot. Former India opener Aakash Chopra took to Twitter on Friday and shared a video of a kid who was seen emulating former India captain MS . WTC Final – Don’t Rule India Out But it is 55-45 in Favour of New Zealand: Aakash Chopra. New Zealand will play two Test matches against England and thus will hold the advantage. No , Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, MS Dhoni in Aakash Chopra’s Best IPL 2021 XI. Chopra backed KL Rahul and as openers because of their good show in IPL. Features ON Aakash Chopra. Where have all the quality No 3 batsmen in Tests gone? CricketCountry speaks to Dean Jones, Sanjay Manjrekar and Aakash Chopra while trying to assess the situation regarding Test one-downs. Aakash Chopra: Finest writer among Indian Test cricketers. Aakash Chopra opened batting for India, was outstanding at bat-pad, and is an excellent cricket writer. When Virender Sehwag lit up Boxing Day at the MCG with a breathtaking 195. Australia could not get Virender Sehwag out that day. He had to do it himself. Aakash Chopra: T20 cricket killing the classical spinners. Chopra was talking with CricketCountry on the sidelines of the release of his recent book, 'The Insider'. Aakash Chopra’s book should be part of cricket academies’ curriculum. Aakash Chopra has provided a huge boost for the younger. Unimpeachable facts: Why it is irrational to criticise MS Dhoni for dropping Virender Sehwag? The crushing defeat at the hands of the Australians was soon correlated with MS Dhoni’s move of keeping Virender Sehwag out of . Aakash Chopra. Chopra made his Test debut in Ahmedabad against New Zealand in late 2003 as India sought to find an opening partner for his Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag. [1] Chopra's international career started well, scoring two half-centuries against New Zealand during 2003/04 in the second Test in Mohali. On the 2003–04 tour to Australia, he featured in many solid partnerships with Virender Sehwag, including two century opening partnerships in Melbourne and Sydney. Chopra's work in seeing off the new ball saw him credited with the large scores that India accumulated in that series when middle-order batsmen Rahul Dravid, V. V. S. Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly regularly compiled large centuries. [1] On the subsequent tour to Pakistan, he compiled another century stand with Virender Sehwag as India posted more than 600 runs in the first innings to set up a heavy innings defeat of arch-rivals Pakistan in the first Test in Multan. However, in the second Test, the Indian batsmen failed in a losing effort, apart from a century from Yuvraj Singh, who played in place of the injured captain Sourav Ganguly. [2] When Ganguly returned for the final Test, Chopra was axed and Yuvraj was retained. Chopra was reintroduced as Sehwag's partner in the 2004 Border-Gavaskar Trophy after Tendulkar was injured for the First Test in Bangalore. However, a heavy loss saw Chopra axed for the following match in Chennai upon Tendulkar's return, with Yuvraj elevated to opening the innings. Yuvraj also struggled, and Chopra was recalled for the Third Test in Nagpur. However, a double failure by Chopra, as Australia won a series in India for the first time in 35 years, saw him dropped for the last time, after his career average gradually decreased, however, from 46.25 to only 23. Chopra was replaced by Delhi teammate , and was overtaken by Gambhir and Wasim Jaffer in the race to partner Sehwag in the Test side. Due to his low scoring rate, he was not considered for One Day Internationals. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 1, IPL 2, but was sent back to India as he was deemed unfit for T-20 matches played in IPL 2. In IPL 4 he had been signed by . Domestic. In September 2008, Aakash played for Delhi in the Nissar Trophy against SNGPL (winners of Quaid-i-Azam Trophy from Pakistan) and scored 4 and 197 for Delhi. [3] The match was drawn but SNGPL won the trophy on first-innings lead. [4] After representing Delhi for a long time, Chopra joined Rajasthan as a guest player in Ranji Plate division. [5] He helped Rajasthan to become the first Plate division team to win the Ranji Trophy followed by another Ranji trophy win in 2010–2011 season. He has won three Ranji titles in total—one with Delhi and two with Rajasthan. He's one of the few Indian cricketers who have scored over 8,000 First-Class runs. Media. His columns regularly appear in Mid-Day and on Cricinfo. He is currently with Star Sports, Sony and Sony Espn as a cricket commentator and analyst. He was also a commentator for the 7 network with its coverage of the 2018/19 Australia v India test series. In 2009 Chopra released Beyond the Blues: A First-Class Season Like No Other , a diary of Chopra's 2007–08 domestic season. It was published by Harper Collins. It was critically acclaimed and Suresh Menon of Cricinfo wrote that it was "the best book written by an Indian Test cricketer". [6] In November 2011, his second book was published by Harper Collins titled Out of the Blue , about Rajasthan's victory in the Ranji Trophy. He went on to write two more books—The Insider with Espn Cricinfo in 2015 and Numbers Do Lie with Impact Index in 2017. Harper Collins has published all his work thus far. In May 2020, Aakash Chopra signed as a commentator with popular mobile cricket game World Cricket Championship to lend his voice for the upcoming WCC3 game. [7] [8] Aakash Chopra was the first commentator to sign as commentator with a digital game platform. [9] Related Research Articles. Sourav Chandidas Ganguly , affectionately known as Dada , is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former national cricket team captain who is the 39th and current president of the Board of Control for . During his playing career, Ganguly established himself as one of the world's leading batsmen and also one of the most successful captains of the Indian national cricket team. While batting, he was especially prolific through the off side, earning himself the nickname God of the Off Side for his elegant stroke play square of the wicket and through the covers. Suresh Raina is a former Indian international cricketer. An aggressive left-handed middle-order batsman and an occasional off-spin bowler, he is also regarded as one of the best fielders in world cricket. He plays for Uttar Pradesh in all forms of domestic cricket. 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Sachin Tendulkar makes mistake while wishing Aakash Chopra on his birthday, posts Rahul Dravid's pic instead. Happy Birthday Aakash Chopra: As the cricketer-turned-commentator turned 41 on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to wish him, but made a huge mistake. New Delhi : Former Indian cricketer and a legend of the game Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday (September 19) made a mistake while wishing his former teammate and presently a commentator and a cricketing pundit Aakash Chopra a happy birthday on social media. Aakash, who had previously represented India, had turned 41 on Wednesday and so, Sachin had taken to Twitter to wish him. And while praising the former Indian opener, Sachin posted a picture of a different cricketer, before removing it quickly. "Commentator, host, analyst, author and a gutsy opener . a man of many talents. Wishing my friend @cricketaakash a very happy birthday!" tweeted Sachin on Aakash's birthday. And with it, he mistakenly shared the picture of Rahul Dravid and him during their cricketing days. Sachin later removed the picture on realising the mistake which was quickly pointed out by several of his fans, but kept the words. Commentator, host, analyst, author and a gutsy opener . a man of many talents. Wishing my friend @cricketaakash a very happy birthday! — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 19, 2018. Aakash had made his debut for India in 2003 and played only 10 Tests for India under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. He was, in fact, part of the New Zealand series in 2003-04 before sailing to Australia in the same season to stitch to a wonderful century stand with Virender Sehwag. He emulated his performance in the subsequent Pakistan tour. However, his struggle to score runs thereafter that stood out as a reason in India's defeat to Australia in Border-Gavaskar series in 2004, saw him being dropped from the team. He never made a comeback to Indian team later. Playing only 10 Test, he scored just 437 runs which included just one fifty. He also played in the inaugural edition of the India Premier League in 2008, for Kolkata Knight Riders. Aakash is however widely famous for his commentary and for his columns on cricket. In 2009, he released his first book, named Beyond the Blues: A First-Class Season Like No Other, describing his 2007–08 domestic season. Get Indian Premier League news including IPL 2021 Schedule , IPL Points Table 2021 and check for IPL Team rankings, matches won, loss, the net run rate on Times Now. Aakash Chopra: A cricketer with an erudite insight of the game. LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Indian cricketer Akash Chopra leaves the field. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) Aakash Chopra: A cricketer with an erudite insight of the game: Class, talent and temperament, these three words astutely demonstrate Aakash Chopra’s abilities. A former Test cricketer, whose journey at the highest level of the game might have been hindered to only climb the higher echelon of success in the next few years. Repeated injuries hampered his cricket career but his love for the game continued and he became a popular cricket expert-cum-writer. Aakash Chopra’s charismatic style of saying difficult things in simplistic manner has connected with his fans well. The crafty batsman, whose square cuts and cover drives on the off-side often mesmerised all of us, is now enthralling us even more with his in-depth cricket knowledge as a writer. His articles have appeared in both the famous books named; Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel and Sachin Tendulkar: The man cricket loved back, making him hugely popular as a cricket columnist and journalist. Beyond the Blues: A First-Class Season Like No Other – The former India Test opener’s debut novel “Beyond the Blues: A First-Class Season Like No Other (based on 2007-08)” made him a literary genius in a very short span of time. He wrote this book when he was already playing first-class matches, making him one of the rarest cricketers to have tasted literary success as an active cricketer. This book marked the literary journey of India’s finest cricket analysts and writers. Out of the Blue: Rajasthan’s Road to the Ranji Trophy – His very next book, Out of the Blue: Rajasthan’s Road to the Ranji Trophy, was once again declared super-hit and won many hearts as well. Both these books ignited fresh thinking and understanding towards the nitty-gritty of India’s domestic cricket. Thereafter Aakash started writing for India’s prominent newspapers as columnist and continued to remain a source of inspiration for young cricket reporters all across the globe. The Insider – A few days back, the former flamboyant opener, launched his latest book, “The Insider” his third one. Aakash Chopra has now become the second most successful cricket writer after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who has authored 4 books until now. In other words, Aakash is now just 1 short of equaling Sunil Gavaskar’s tally as a writer. In The Insider, Aakash Chopra tried to capture the on field excitement. There is not even an iota of dull moment while reading this book. The cricketer-turned-author has discussed several aspects of cricket in his latest book. He has thrown light on the ‘concentration a batsman needs’. What determines whether a player is in-form or out-of-form? Why the preparation for Tests, ODIs and T20Is differ? Why most teams crumble under pressure? Though, these questions are very much familiar to cricket, yet there are no easy answers to these ones. This is the mastery of Aakash Chopra. He has brought few vibrant and relevant questions in front of us and analyzed their possible solutions. Obviously, fans and the readers will necessarily feel engaged while reading the book. Chopra has tried to dig deeper into these pertaining questions surrounding the world of cricket and almost each player. In other words, it is ideally a book for the learners, and the learned’s who wish to know more about the intricacies of the game. Interestingly, the book covers almost all angles of the cricket from the perspective of a bowler to an opening batsman, from technical requirement of the game to psychological factor and much more. The book looks beyond what is obvious to our eyes. Readers will have a lot to take back as they complete reading the book – a magnum opus of Askash Chopra. *Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal views and opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of Cricket Tracker and CT does not assume any implied responsibility or liability for the same. Aakash Chopra Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics. Aakash Chopra is an Indian former cricketer turned cricket commentator who played as a defensive opening batsman and close catcher for a year. Aakash’s cricket career began as a member of the Sonnet Cricket Club in Delhi which later flourished into his international beginning with the Indian national cricket team. However, despite his good start, he was dropped from the national team in 2004. Along the way, he picked up a huge fan base with more than 4 million followers on Facebook, more than 4 million followers on Twitter, more than 2 million followers on YouTube, and more than 1.5 million followers on Instagram. Born Name. Nick Name. Aakash Chopra as seen in a selfie taken at the Terminal 2 Chatrapati Shivaji Terminal Mumbai in November 2019 (Aakash Chopra / Instagram)