Proud father captures memorable events from TV

August 26, 2012
baba_copy_copy
Hyderabad, August 26: While the son was playing his bit in India’s memorable victory in the World Cup under-19 final against Australia ‘Down Under’, a delighted father is seen capturing the final images of those match-winning moments on his mobile with predictable joy.

Well, this is the story of Aprajith Baba who scored 33 in the final on Sunday besides taking a wicket. And, soft-spoken, proud father Dr. Baba is predictably delighted at the end-result. “This is obviously a great feeling and the credit should go to the entire team,” said Dr. Baba, who is also the BCCI media coordinator for the on-going New Zealand-India Test match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

Not surprisingly, because of the delayed start at the Test match in Hyderabad, the media was all focused on the Under-19 final in Australia and so was the proud father Dr. Baba, shooting the final, match-winning moments on his mobile, something which he will be cherishing for a long time.

The 18-year-old Aprajith, whose twin brother Indrajith (who led South Zone under-19), started playing the sport at the age of four and at nine was already playing for the State under-13 squad. He is always ahead of the age group, reminds Dr. Baba, who runs a 60-bed multi-speciality hospital in Chennai.

Aprajith, born in Ambattur in Tamil Nadu, is a plus-two student of St. Bede’s school in Chennai and has the rare distinction of even scoring a century for Vijay CC in the TNCA First Division league, three months ago, for which his idol former India’s captain Rahul Dravid played in the same match. In fact, the illustrious gave invaluable tips to the young Aprajith while standing with him in the slips, recalls Dr. Baba.

This Chennai boy has had crucial contributions of 44, 51 and 33 in the last three knock-out matches of World Cup besides taking six wickets, including 'man of the match' awards in the knock-out phase. He was first coached by Srikkanth and Bala Prasad before former India star T. E. Srinivasan and Suresh Kumar helped him fine-tune his skills. Currently, former Ranji player S. Balaji is his mentor-cum-coach.

“I would have loved to be there in Australia at this great moment. But because of my BCCI commitment, I had to stay back in India,” said Dr. Baba who was continuously busy responding to the congratulatory messages on phone. Significantly, he also reveals that he never discussed cricket with his son as there were already lot of people advising the young cricketer. “I did not want to put too much of pressure. I just let him enjoy the game,” he pointed out.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 4,2020

Feb 4: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday said the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash has impacted his outlook towards life, which he feels, is sometimes taken for granted in pursuit of control over the future.

Bryant, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash last month along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also a budding hoopster.

"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games in the morning and watching what he did on court. But when someone that you have looked up to in some ways, passes away like that, it does put things in perspective," Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand here.

"...at the end of the day, life can be so fickle. It's so unpredictable. I think a lot of the times we get too caught up in the pressures of what we have to do tomorrow...we really forget living life and enjoying life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life we have," he added.

Kohli said a tragedy like this makes one realise that nothing can be more important than enjoying every moment of existence.

"...it did put things in perspective for me massively. It just makes you feel like not wanting to have control of things in front of you all the time, and just embracing life and appreciating it.

"You start looking at things from a different point of view suddenly and you want to enjoy every moment you're going through. You realise that what you're doing at the end of the day is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself," Kohli signed off.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 27,2020

Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.

Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.

Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.

"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.

Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.

"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.

"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.

Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.