Falcons Own Mr. Dependable !!

Harsha Bhogle once famously quoted about Rahul Dravid, “You ask him to walk on water and he will ask, ‘How many Kilometers’?”. If one has to associate this statement with any of the Delhi Falcons there has to be only one potential candidate.

He is flamboyant, he is passionate, he is selfless, he is calm, he is composed, he is the fulcrum around which Delhi Falcons batting revolve, no prizes for guessing, he is Apoorv Srivastava.
Although he idolizes Sachin Tendulkar but you can see a lot of Dravid traits in him. The copybook all through the ground cover drives, the focussed defence, the immaculate straight bat, the softening of the grip, the late stroke play, the head totally still, eyes always on the ball, the focus, more focus, still more focus, even more focus.
His stint with Delhi Falcons has at times followed a similar yet dramatic pattern. It starts with the team in trouble, Chanderpaul like arrival to the crease with marking of guard with the bails, a beautiful stance, a great technique, the bat that goes up and down as the bowler runs in, the determination that drips from his eyes and the sweet sound of his forward stroke coaxing the ball to reach its desired place. The runs eventually come, gaps pierced with a surgical precision. The boundaries start coming in soon, hardly a slog and all the goodness of the textbook rules intact.
Apoorv has been at helm of the Falcons journey almost since it started. He has seen the team rise from a novice set-up to an accomplished unit. He has a colossal contribution in the Falcons journey with him donning different hats at different junctures. Being an ever reliable opening batsman or acting like a solid rock in the middle order, astounding wicket-keeper, terrific outfielder and a street-smart captain – With all these traits he can easily fit in any squad. He is only amongst the few Falcons who have played professional cricket in their yester years. His understanding of the game is immaculate and he often edifies the team members with his valuable inputs.

His century at the iconic Jamia Islamia ground against Fortis XI was a testimony of his immense batting capabilities. 104* in 168 balls against Renegades in a “Bat till you can” style match was a batting class they will never ever forget. His switch to beast mode (61 off 35 balls) against Natkhat XI in a high-octane chase was more of a show off of his wide spectrum of shots. Even when he decides to play second fiddle he ends up scoring 82 not out off 40 balls (Unbroken Partnership of 259 with Ankur against Ala Dragons). He getting out twice in nervous nineties before eventually getting his first century was just the perfect case of him being a true Sachin fan (no pun intended :) )

Delhi Falcons congratulate him on completing 200 matches and hope this is just the beginning of what it has been an exemplary journey.

A journey called Delhi Falcons !!

Name : Doesn't matter
Age - Somewhere between 25-35
Gender - Male, but for the moment we can avoid this in order to avoid being termed as 'Sexist'
Work - Doing some bullshit analysis for a bullshit company that pays you somewhat sufficient to fulfill your legitimate desire
Biggest Passion - Has and will always be Cricket. Infact passion is an underrated term to define what I feel for Cricket.

The above mentioned definition is the category which defines me. In a country like India there is a whole lot of population that lies in this category.
If you fall in this category plus you are married then trust me your life is in a big big soup. Your boss is after you to produce results and your family is after you to produce babies.
And the trouble doesn't end here.
In the hustle bustle of life often we find ourselves stuck in a routine, in a pattern or say in a flow chart. We are always in look out to break this monotony. The prime reason why every once in a while we end up catching a movie, shopping at the mall, satisfying our wanderlust or fulfilling our taste cravings is that we don't want to feel that our life is robotic in nature. Agreed everyone have their own priorities and interests but the root cause behind their execution remains the same.
And such was my life about 18 months back. Happiness prevailed in every corner but at the same time somewhere existed the continuous warship between the monotony and my attempts to break it.
Corporate cricket provided an occasional relief but that was too far and few.

As I wrote the word 'Cricket', my eyes suddenly lit up. Such has been the effect of this religion in my life for the last 25 years to say the least. People may argue that it's just a sport but I tend to disagree. Growing up Cricket was a big big teacher in itself. Teamwork, patience, overcoming disappointments quickly, not honing over success for long, yearning to improve each day, planning, side effects of over confidence etc. the list of learnings is endless. The relationship with Cricket was as versatile as it could get.

Infact many of my life moments are correlated with some or the other important Cricket memory. If you ask me what happened during my Goa trip I would say India U-19 team led by Unmukt Chand lifted the world cup. If you ask me what happened when I started working in 2010, I would say the English conquered the Ashes in Australia. If you ask me how I felt on being the city topper in Mathematics in 2002, I would always connect the dots with India's victory at Headingly followed by Natwest trophy triumph. The week I moved in my new home, South Africa chased down the historic 434.
The instances are numerous, but the point I am trying to make here is that Cricket was always something which was a part of me, part of my soul, part of my personality.

From playing gully Cricket to being a part of school team to getting into college team, the journey was phenomenal in itself. Every win was an achievement in itself and equally cherished. The only thing constant across all these years was the passion involved - passion to perform, passion to win, passion to do something which I loved the most.

But ever since I got into post grad Cricket took a back stage. I guess everyone felt too burdened by societal pressure to be involved in anything else than to give their career a shape. Passion never faded away, just that a lot of hopes were at stake.
Came 2010 and professional journey initiated. Slowly Cricket got confined only to occasional corporate cricket and keeping a track of international matches around the globe.

I really wished at times that someone turned back the clock for me to re-ignite my relationship with Cricket. What I hardly knew that this would actually happen.

It all started when 'Apoorv', who was then my teammate/ neighbor at workplace and is still a very good friend got an invitation from one of teams to play for them. Dont know the exact history behind it, but he somehow acquainted with them and got an opportunity to showcase his abilities.
Later when he narrated the match summary in his own Harsh Bhogle style, I got aware that this team was called 'Delhi Falcons' and comprised of individuals who all belong to the category which I defined in the beginning.
At the outset 'Delhi Falcons' appeared to be an exciting idea but the thoughts of me playing for them didn't cross my mind. After couple of weeks they were scheduled to play another match and were a player short, Apoorv asked me if I could join. I didn't require any second invitation. Though the match got completely washed off due to rain but I got introduced to few members of the team.
What I didn't had a clue that in coming few months Delhi Falcons will become an integral part of my life.

Delhi Falcons was primarily the brain child of Ankit and he deserves a due mention here. Agreed everyone involved is equally responsible for keeping the intensity going but giving an idea a substantial shape is never easy.
Delhi Falcons is special for every member of the team. It’s a team of individuals with Contrasting personalities coming together for a common purpose: To re-indulge with first love of their life. It’s the passion and not the pedigree that is driving the Falcons. Team has gone from strength to strength over the course of two years, not just with respect to resurfacing of cricket abilities but also with respect to bond we all have formed with each other. The more we have understood each other the more we have played better. Winning and losing is a totally different aspect of playing, but stepping on to field with prime motive of giving it your all is important and every Falcon is up for it. Delhi Falcons is a reason for every member to think about something else than the usual life stuff. It’s a celebrated reason indeed. Every match is no less than an event for everyone. An event in which all want to perform, put in their best and create life hitched memories.

In such short span of time, there are already numerous cherished memories - when Ashu bhai rolled back the years to pick a flier at slip, Ankur's herioc efforts against Singh & Associates, Apoorv falling 3 short of being the first centurion, Nirbhai picking first 5 wkt haul, Amit’s Jonty kinda catch at covers, Agney eventually becoming the first centurion are few I can recall at the moment. And yes my Man of the match award will always be very special for me- something I will take to my grave.

I have no qualms in accepting that Delhi Falcons holds a way too special place in my life. We love, we fight, we win, we lose, we try, we fail but we stick together, we make sure we improve. Everyone holds pride in representing that journey. Somewhere everyone sees Delhi Falcons as a medium to fulfill their dream of performing on a big stage, a dream which got buried deep down many years back.
I am short of words to describe kind of feeling which I experience when I step on to field representing that Jersey. It's like mirage.
I will talk about the complete team some time later but at the moment all I can say is that Delhi Falcons is certainly amongst the best thing that has happened to me in last two years or so. It's gives me a sense of accomplishment to be a part of it.

Delhi Falcons is an added family to everyone.
I am pretty sure the journey has just only started. There are many more memories yet to be created. I look forward to being a part of it and celebrate each achievement with equal pride and enthusiasm.

A Falcon for Life!!!

P.S. -- Article is subject to difference in opinion, especially with families of every member.

मां तेरी गोद बहुत याद आती है ।।

हर शाम के बाद ये रात मिलने आती है,

पर अब पहले जैसी नींद कहाँ आती है,

आती है तो सिर्फ ये बात आती है,

मां तेरी गोद बहुत याद आती है ।।

रोज पूछती है तू हाल मेरा,

मेरी खुशी से जुड़ा हर सवाल तेरा,

पर तेरे आँचल की छायों अब कहा मिल पाती है,

मां तेरी गोद बहुत याद आती है ।।

खिलखिला के हंस देना हर सरगोशी पे मेरी,
और अब समझ जाना खामोशी को मेरी,
तेरी उस मीठी मार की बहुत कमी सताती है,
मां तेरी  गोद बहुत याद आती है ।।

बचपन की हर शाम आंखों में उतर आती है,
जब भी मेरी हर छोटी बात तू यूँ चहक के बताती है,
रात की बेसमय भूख पे तेरी वो रोटी कहाँ मिल पाती है,
मां तेरी  गोद बहुत याद आती है ।।