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