Need to toe that write line!

Cricket books have gained in significance in the Indian market Thatrsquos not only good for the economy itrsquos also great for the average Indian fan who for years has been deprived of lsquotrue actionrsquo which unfolds behind the scenes mdash beyond the runs wickets catches and usual controversy A recent book launch revealed how Greg Chappell believed that Rahul Dravidrsquos success was not enjoyed by all his teammates There is no proof of how much truth there is to this but it has tickled the reader It has also forced the opening of palms to accept negative lines of your countryrsquos team and then decide for yourself the level of truth in the controversy Those Days Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid during a practice session at Mohali in 2006 Chappell recently wrote that Dravid39s success was not enjoyed by some team members PICAFP Chappell also talks about the Dravidascaptain phase in his autobiography Fierce Focus It is amazing that Chappell being Chappell who has always had plenty to say never wrote an autobiography although Adrian McGregorrsquos book written in 1985 had the blessings of his subject Quite understandably the Chappell chapter in the book on Dravid got massive publicity The Australian may not have many backers but he has done enough to show the kind of strife prevalent in Indian cricket during his tenure The Indian players cannot be gun shy They must counter Chappellrsquos views through books whose shelf value is far greater than the odd quotes piece Sourav Ganguly has plenty to write about So do Dravid and Tendulkar and Kumble Their silence will only pile on to the layers of authenticity in Chappellrsquos book Yuvraj Singh is in the process of writing his memoirs on his cancer illness mdash a la Lance Armstrong Hersquos got a great story to tell It will be interesting to see whether Yuvrajrsquos memoirs will tell us why he made himself available for last yearrsquos tour of England despite being crippled with the illness during the World Cup He also figured in two Tests against the West Indies towards the end of last year What one cannot wait to read is about how he coped with his illness and managed to be a hero on the field during the World Cup Remember Yuvraj ended up being player of the tournament That chapter will probably crush the myth that Indian cricketers cannot match the rest of the world when it comes to toughness mdash both mental and physical Talking about books and toughness I remember Aakash Chopra the former India opener an author of two books on cricket saying after encountering a torrid time after Brett Lee hit him on the head in the Melbourne Test of 2003 ldquoI didnrsquot want them saying an Indian batsman was scaredrdquo One of the reasons why India did well to deny the allconquering Australian team a series win was Choprarsquos adhesive ways and bravado An insightful book from a member of the Indian cricket has not been released Choprarsquos books focussed on domestic cricket since former coach John Wright wrote Indian Summers The New Zealander was slammed for for his views on Indiarsquos selection policy and his confrontation with Virender Sehwag in England 2002 Sure controversy helps to sell books No one should have a problem with that as long as the stories are not fictional Cricket writers too need to extend their contribution to the game by way of books It is a travesty that there is no book to do justice to the writings of Indiarsquos best cricket writer K N Prabhu Ron Hendricks could write on any sport While describing a funny conversation which Indian mediamen were having with former International Olympic Committee chief Avery Brundage a party in New Delhi in the early 1970s Hendricks wrote ldquoThe titter of laughter rose above the tinkle of icecubes in cocktail glassesrdquo Like Prabhu Hendricks doesnrsquot have a book on his writings Clayton Murzello is MiD DAYrsquos Group Sports Editor