Know the Bulls

Here's a brief intro of all the Raging Bulls of the CB team(in alphabetical first name order)-

Guys, the views expressed here are genuine observations about you and your skills interspersed with some tongue in cheek comments and I hope they are taken in good spirit. If you find anything out of taste just let me know - I will immediately put it in bold so others can know which specific portions you had objections on :).

Ananta
Abdul Qadir of the team. The only spinner (self confessed) in the team(and probably in the league). He is one of the founding fathers of Pearson cricket, on account of being present on the first day and still lasting( the other being me and Saurabh). His favorite shot is the leg flick(kalaai ka upayog)with his favorite light bat(à la Azar). Although some detractors claim that it is his favourite shot because that is the only shot he plays. But to be honest after seeing him play for so long I can tell you that if you put it in his slot he never fails with that flick. As for his balling we all remember how he made a fool of the batsmen by bamboozling them with his tempting but effective flighted deliveries. His runup to pace ratio is amongst the highest in the team(the other being me). In fact he will win the "Spinner with the biggest runup" award hands down - if they have one. He once used to lead the Test side(not the side which played like Test match but "Test"ing team side) against the developers. He has turned to coaching(solicited or otherwise) these days(even when he hasn't retired). In the league, we are afraid he would give coaching to the opposition team during the match. A good stragetist(and I'm serious this time) and a person with great enthusiasm for the game. One of Ananta's pastime is coin collection. He aims to collect coins of all the 55 states of USA. He also loves to follow American Football, and going by his IM logo seems to be a Cardinals fan.

Bosco
He seems to be the only one who fits the label "bull" in our team(and don't look at the person above for comparison).
Bosco came to our team purely by chance (he's not anyone's friend's friend). I think we were playing in Tempe one day and he just walked in and said "Can I play". He impressed the first day with his all round abilities. But its his breathtaking humongous sixers between long on and midwicket that are a treat to watch. Thank god I am not a bowler. He also is a man of few words. His total word count for any day would be less than 10. He is one of the two proud owners of the Xtra Large sized team T-shirts.

Ganesh
Well what can I say about me. I am very much like Ganesh Mali.
Ab khud hi apni tarif kaise karu. The only pure batsman(some pessimistic people call it non-allrounder) left in the team since Keshav has also started bowling these days. In the good ol' days when I used to bowl I used to compete with Ananta for the highest runup to pace ratio. But to tell you the truth I sincerely felt my bowling wasnt that bad. A proof being that the players liked it so bad to see me bowl I still remember them chanting my name "We want Ganesh-Ganesh" when our captain was in double minds as to who should bowl. I was a bowler in demand. Its a different story that those players were from the opponent team. It takes such skills to get appreciation even from the opponents. As for my batting yea its true that I can hit a ball or two. Some detractors (read Gaurav) call that "andhi"(blind). But I say that if I can play that kind of shot with my eyes closed imagine what I can do if I keep them open. Infact I did try that sometime only to see the furniture getting disturbed, so decided better to keep the eyes shut than the sight of stumps all over the place. In my spare time, I love to write blogs like this that no one reads.

Gaurav
Only bowler with a season ball experience(although we don't know how that is useful here). His fielding skills can be compared to my bowling. He sets high standards and aims for quality.He will stop the ball only if the batsman shows some skill and aims and hits it straight to his hands. Otherwise he wont bother to move for any unskilled shots. He is our Wasim Akram (Waqar Younis being Venkat) because he bowls left handed and opens the bowling(and the similarity ends there) and I never said the relationship between Waqar and Wasim was also a similarity. He's fond of trekking(this photo he had uploaded in his trek album although the back ground may feel like he is standing on the sand mound behind his house). He feels he can contribute to the team with his batting also and we should encourage that. We totally agree on that and although he never had his score in double digits we encourage him by handing him with a double digited batting order. He held the coveted post of no. 11 batsman in our first league match (Venkat grabbed the bat and raced off to the pitch as soon as the 8th wicket fell). Jokes apart - About his bowling well how many 5-fers do you see in a 20-20 match. He almost got one in our first league match, almost got an hattrick and almost won us the match with the bat coming at no. 11. His man of the match award was missed by two runs(it is awarded to a player from the winning team and we lost by two runs). Competes in half marathons, loves playing online chess and is a gymaholic.

Keshav
Keshav happens to be another Mr Kool guy in the team. He is famous for his rocket hits to the long-on - his favorite region. He was the perennial opener in practise games only to find that spot being taken over by Omair and Saurabh in the league. In his earlier days don't expect him to turn up for a game if he has replied I am in. Although this trait changed over time. His promptness in replying to team mails is exemplified by the "Sent from my IPhone" signature in his replies which are amongst the first to arrive. He does give a feeling sometimes that he has learnt fielding and running between the wickets from the Inzamam School of Fielding and Running. He showed glimpses of Rahul Dravid in the first league match ;-). Always carries cricketing business on the field with a smile on his face.

Omair
Opening batsman of our team. Some ppl refer to him as the left-handed David Boon although dont refer him by this name on his face for obvious reasons. He is famous for depositing the bowlers above mid-wicket for really huge sixers. "Oye Cheetey" is what you get from him if you happen to bowl a beauty (and he happens to be in the fielding side). The first person to hit a sixer in our team(Cant wait to tell you that the bowler was Saurabh). He is the one who made the side "international"(he hails from Pakistan). He makes you realise you are in US by suddenly turning to an American accent. Being a doc you'd expect that typical meethi-chhuri flavour in his talk, but in his case the chhuri is absent.

Onkar
One look at his bowling action or batting style and you just get a feeling you are seeing a thorough professional. He just jumped in the team and in no time became the opening bowler on account of his consistent line and length bowling. His sensational close-in catches on the first day with us were matched only by Srinivas. On week-ends he tries to shuffle his time between travelling and cricket. Hates being referred to as Ness wala (although only one person refers him that way). Even I hate to refer him that way. Trust me. Really. Ask me to describe him and I'd say his favourite drink would be - NessCafe and his favourite celebrity - Ness Wadia. He seems to be the only enthusiast from the Ness gang(errr.....I mean to say amongst the group of our friends who stay in SpringHill). I also think that the ness-esity of bringing him in the team might be because the bosses(Saurabh/Sukrit) might have thought that Venkat and Ganesh's bowling and batting responsibilities should be slowly transitioned to him :).

Parag
He is another man who carries out his business with minimal fuss. While bowling Parag utilises the natural advantage that his height offers causing the ball to bounce more and discomforting the batsmen. He has an extra ordinarily powerful leg side shot in his repository which he has good control over and can play to the best of the bowlers. A complete team man who I never saw cribbing for bowling or batting in these two years.

Rajender
Chandler Bulls Sehwag. Unfortunately he doesn't get to bat in Sehwag's position. On his day there is no stopping Rajender. The moment his batting grip changes and the stance becomes a bit stiff, you know the next ball is going to travel. Although in our initial days he sometimes used to give a skip to the week-end session and do a Gabbar on Monday - "Kitne aadmi they"? Rajender started the good custom of voluntaring to bring in drinks for the team. A courtesy not shown by even teams that have been playing since 4 years. His bowling is a bit on and off. It clicks on most of the days but doesn't on some days. Although his short pitch balls seem to be tempting, they are mixed with raw pace and a little bit of spin and often end up as catching practice for the fielders in deep.
And remember the name is Rajender, not Rajan mind you.

Saurabh
Captain of the team. This blog could have easily been named guptakifauj.blogspot.com instead. When I said he is in the team as captain, it virtually means only captain. I mean I don't remember the last time he scored some runs and he bowls only to fill vacant spaces as he is the wicketkeeper. He does get some wickets with his bowling but then even Dhoni gets one out of the blue moon. He developed his wicket keeping skills while keeping as part of the batting side and stumping his own colleagues to get his batting turn. He resolved the dispute of multiple batsmen claiming the opening position by promoting himself to that spot. Well I must say I need to write atleast something positive abt Saurabh- so here we go - He is going to be unavailable for two league matches on account of his marriage. So guys go get your opening slots.
In his spare time he spends lots of time on the share market. His orkut profile picture also happens to be a bull - the Wall Street Bull, although his portfolio is a perennial bear whatever the market condition.

Srinivas
He is the Jonty Rhodes of our team. If you thought being out of the game for six months due to injury happens only in international cricket think again. Yes he fractured his fingers on his debut while diving to stop a ball and then was out of the game for six months. Well the rest wasn't recommended by the doctor but enforced by his wife. He returned to cricket but his fielding instincts didn't change. Still diving at the slightest sight of a ball in air. As they say with Jonty he doesn't take catches. He creates them. Of late he has developed as a pinch hitter with his favorite shot being the sweep. Again a person with tremendous enthusiasm for the game, he loves to discuss about any cricket game being played. He has inherited this passion for following the game from his father. Since he is our manager now (not the cricket manager - but the manager in office)I can go on and on abt Srinivas but have to stop because of space constraints.
And btw Badminton happens to be his other love.

Sukrit
I used to think I am the person with the greatest passion and enthusiasm for the game in our group until I met this guy. Imagine what a person can ask his newly wed wife to bring from India on her first voyage - Stump Base. We also came to know from some secret sources that he sometimes asks her to keep wickets while he practices those yorkers in the park behind San Ventura. His contribution off the field is unparalleled. He streamlined the accounting process with innovative ideas like Buxfer (I was a complete disaster at it). He also along with Rajender started the drinks practise. The red-white ice chest that we have been using every single day not only for keeping the drinks cold but also occasionally as stumps at the non-strikers end - is courtesy Sukrit. The list of what he has done and is doing for our team is endless and would have overshadowed what a fine player that he is. Although he is in the team as vice-captain, he certainly is not just a vice-captain. One of our main strike bowlers with a big heart who bends his back when the team needs it, a really good hard hitting batsman, a fielder who gives his all and dives without a second thought to stop the ball even to save just a single or to reach in the crease(his 4 set of torn jeans are testimonials), and above all a cool-headed strategist. His deadly yorkers and straight batted monster hits down the ground are legendary.

Sushil
If Rahul Dravid is the wall in front of the stumps, he is the wall behind the stumps. He is Adam Gilchrist, Dhoni, Moin Khan, Adam Boucher and Sangakkara all mixed in one. While batting when he hits the ball, it goes a long way. Hits his shots with super power like Gilchrist. His aggressiveness though is restricted only on the field. His Marathi is of typical Kolhapuri andaz but unlike them without the arrogance and the brashness. He has been on and off the team and joins only when his family of two young kids permitting.

Venkat
Well there are skilled players who walk in your team and you feel good to get such a talent in the side. But if you ask me, for Venkat his greatest achievement is not that he is a great fast bowler but that he was a complete zero only one year ago. Not many people will believe this seeing him today. But that is the truth. He was one of the worst bowler around who you would never ask to bowl. But with his sheer will power, and the will to be a good bowler at any cost he is where he is today. He knew ppl considered him a dud in bowling and he was determined to prove them wrong. And he did acheive that. Most good players you see in the team are good because they have been playing since kids. But here was one homegrown talent that I saw before my eyes in becoming a McGrath. Today he just decides to get a wicket and gets it. He believes in getting wickets solely(like Waqar who loved bowled and lbws). As for his batting skills his favorite batting shots are the Thumka shot and the free butt massage shot which are his copyrights. He has been promising us since the past one year that he will bat well today - Aaj to chakka marega re.... And we are still waiting. Gaurav is his closest friend in the team. They miss each other dearly if one of other is absent.
If not playing cricket he can be seen playing tennis.

Vivek
The stud who shud have been Bollywood hero but lost his way to software industry and now to our cricket team. This guy brings in a lot of enthusiasm to the team. He started his career with our team in a very low profile manner. But suddenly transformed in a hard hitting batsmen who hits at will and a good medium paced bowler with a deadly leg cutter that batsmen often leave as wide down the leg side but often see the leg stump uprooted. I still remember the day when it all changed for him. Till then Vivek used to be a batsmen who used to live a few balls, score off a couple of them and then gave away his wicket. But on that fateful day on Anderson Jr Highschool, he hit Gaurav Bhole to four consecutive fours(still a record) and announced himself to the world. Speaking of records well he also helds a not so mentionable bowling record for wides :). He maintains his stamina with cigarettes and brings his own energy drink(need ID) to the ground ;-).