The Conversation- The gentle BOSS!!

I have been meaning to cover Gopi , Gopi Sir, Gopi Anna and our go to man for sometime now. I was actually not sure how he would take my request but he was so prompt in responding and his responses were from the heart . 

To the quintessential teen amongst us with passion and hunger that we all aim to aspire . Enjoy this one with our Dear Gopi. 

- You continue playing here with us which we love. What makes you feel motivated to come over and play with this bunch on weekends?

Cricket has always been a passion of mine, right from childhood. Having  taken a long break after playing red ball cricket for domlur club, temporarily moving to sobha was a big boon in finding these amazing group of lads who are equally as passionate for the game. The love for the game and intensity from everyone and just the whole group as people has kept me from stopping even after moving out.

- Your energy and passion are unmatched. Is that how you are as a person or does cricket bring that extra out of you? 

Generally I'm a very calm and collected person but I always give my everything in anything I take part in. Playing with everyone who's atleast a decade younger than me, makes me want to bring that extra passion just to keep up with everyone's energy on field. Hope I'm not lacking when compared to all of you.

- Do you think the team is not leveraging your skills as much as before? You were one of fastest bowlers we had before but you rarely bowl now. Any reasons for your all round skills not being used?

I've been asked to bowl by my captain this season just like every other season however, I've decided to give my body a rest from bowling this time around as we have plenty of firepower to takeover, mind you, I'll be back bowling soon so watchout for my sliding yorkers 😅

- You have played on different teams in the last 5-6 years. Which team and captain have you enjoyed playing for and what are your reasons for the same? 

I don't take sides, I like to be good on everyone's books, every team and captain bring back fond memories, having said that, playing under Sundar for tsunamis had me fighting for everything (more than the usual)!! And it's one of maybe two seasons Aashish and I have been able to play on the same team so conversations at home were more interesting and less arguments leading from the weekend 

- Do Aashish and you ever discuss the game at home or do you have better things to do? 

As I've said earlier, maidaan cricket always flows into our home. It's not just Aashish and I but my wife gets involved as well a lot of  times!! As you guys love to put us on opposing teams most of the time, there's always one loser and one winner every weekend, so the happier one always has something to say about the other's team to "improve" like a wise-ass and that leads to a long conversation which may also become an argument on occasions haha!!

It's all in good fun though and we've always discussed sport as we watch every sport that we can get our hands on together, be it cricket, football, tennis, you name it.

- What does maidaan cricket mean to you ?

Maidaan cricket makes my whole week simply put. I look forward to the weekends as soon as the week starts. The comraderie within the group and the banter keeps me coming back week-in week-out. The individual characters we've managed to develop over the years is a sight to see that you won't get to see in any zoo around the world, me included ofcourse 😂

Jokes apart, it's a lovely group of guys and I can't think of anything that'll make me feel as young as playing with everyone does.