Out Of The Blue  (English, Paperback, Chopra Aakash)

Written by a well-known cricket-player himself, this book covers the scintillating story of the resurrection of Rajasthan’s cricket team, and their way to victory.

Summary Of The Book

Coming from a cricketer whose actions and work speak louder than the others, this is the story of the Rajasthan team, deemed as underdogs, and how they struggled vigorously for success and ultimately, got a good taste of it in the form of the coveted Ranji Trophy that had eluded them for some time.

Ranked 27th in a table that consisted of 27 teams, the fortune of the Rajasthan team changed with the entry of Aakash Chopra. However, he makes it very clear that the success mantra of this team wasn’t the entry of a star player. Instead, it was a summation of the individual efforts and achievements of all the players who were glimmering with endless hope and enthusiasm.

Chopra is a master at explaining the game of cricket and what goes into it. He acquaints the readers with the lesser-known cricket players, including Vineet Saxena, Sumit Mathur, and Deepak Chahar. He talks about their roots, their realisation of an opportunity to make their state proud, the grit and hard work they put into the cause, and their glorious journey towards self-discovery to win the most important trophy in Indian domestic cricket.

In addition to the triumphant journey of the Rajasthan team, this book provides amazing insights and an extreme close-up on various facets of domestic cricket, umpires with a chancy outlook, teams that wish to be treated as royalty and nothing less, and the officials who add up to the drama.

About Aakash Chopra

By his own admission, Aakash Chopra is a cricketer, author, and a voracious reader.

He writes regularly for Cricinfo and the Hindustan Times. He is very active on Twitter and has a blog of his own too. He released another book in 2009, titled Beyond The Blues: A Cricket Season Like No Other.

He is a right-hand batsman who also proved to be a brilliant close-in fielder. For the same reason, he was often compared to Eknath Solkar. When he was playing for the Indian national team, he was known as a player who enjoyed the game and remained calm, more than anything else. He played for the national team from late 2003 to late 2004. Apart from that, he has played for different clubs including the Marylebone Cricket Club, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Rajasthan Royals. He was instrumental in making Rajasthan win the Ranji Trophy.