In the pantheon of cricket literature, where tales of heroic knocks and dramatic finishes often dominate, Devendra Prabhudesai’s Running Between the Wickets stands out as a refreshingly holistic chronicle, one that doesn’t just celebrate the glory but meticulously traces the gritty evolution of Indian cricket from its colonial roots to its status as a global powerhouse.
Published by the prolific Rupa Publications in 2024, this book is more than a timeline of triumphs and heartbreaks; it’s a love letter to the sport’s unheralded mechanics, embodied in its title, a nod to the relentless, unglamorous hustle that turns potential into runs.
Prabhudesai, a seasoned cricket journalist with a keen eye for the game’s undercurrents, structures the narrative chronologically yet thematically, weaving through decades with the precision of a spinner on a turning track.
We begin in the pre-independence era, where pioneers like CK Nayudu laid the groundwork amid colonial constraints, and progress through the post-1947 renaissance, the lean years of the 1950s and ’60s, the Kapil Dev-fueled resurgence of the 1980s, and into the modern T20-dominated landscape.
What elevates this beyond a standard history is Prabhudesai’s focus on the ‘running between the wickets’ metaphor—not just literal quick singles, but the incremental efforts, tactical acumen, and sheer resilience that propelled India from underdogs to overlords.
Bombay’s Ranji Trophy Dominance: A Crucible of Greatness
One of the book’s standout sections is its deep dive into Bombay’s (now Mumbai’s) Ranji Trophy dominance in the mid-20th century.
Drawing on vivid anecdotes, Prabhudesai recounts how the side’s indomitable spirit, fueled by bowlers like Ramakant Desai snaring 50 wickets in a single season and batsmen like Ajit Wadekar anchoring crucial chases, transformed domestic cricket into a breeding ground for national heroes.
An excerpt highlighting Desai’s tactical whisper to a young teammate during a tense semifinal against Maharashtra exemplifies this: it’s a reminder that Indian cricket’s success was built on mentorship and mental fortitude, not just raw talent.
These stories breathe life into statistics, making the prose feel like a fireside chat with a wise uncle who’s seen it all.
Prabhudesai’s strength lies in his balanced lens. He doesn’t shy away from the sport’s darker chapters, the match-fixing scandals of the early 2000s, the administrative bungling under the BCCI, or the socio-economic barriers that sidelined talents from smaller states.
Yet, he tempers critique with optimism, crediting the IPL’s democratisation of opportunities and the emergence of stars like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah as harbingers of a merit-based future.
The writing is accessible, laced with dry wit (a line about India’s 1974 England tour feeling like ‘a polite surrender’ had me chuckling), but it occasionally dips into dense match recaps that might test casual readers.
A few more visuals, scorecards or rare photos, could have polished the presentation, though Rupa’s clean typesetting keeps it engaging.
At around 300 pages, Running Between the Wickets is essential reading for Indian cricket enthusiasts, offering context to why that 2011 triumph or 2024 T20 World Cup glory feels so earned. Prabhudesai doesn’t just narrate history; he runs through it.
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