Books cricketers like
Russian classics, erotica, crime and cookery - players like 'em all
James Marsh
09-Jan-2015
"I wanted to dedicate a chapter to my esteemed colleagues here, titled 'In My Shadow', but my publisher said that might be a tad depressing"
This week Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg changed his status to "reading" when he revealed to the world he likes books. Although, unlike Facebook, these fusty old paper-based things are unable to provide regular updates on your auntie's new carpet, books, or e-books as they are known if Wayne Parnell offers you one in a nightclub, can nevertheless be, as the social media wunderkind put it, "intellectually stimulating". To celebrate this literary zeitgeist, we asked a selection of Kindle-wielding cricketers to share with us the tome that has inspired them to network with greatness. Their choices are as follows:
Virat Kohli, Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
"Cricket fans will know I'm normally disgusted by any form of vulgarity, but MS slipped this racy romance into my kit bag when he resigned as Test skipper. I was a bit bemused at first, but he explained that with the bowlers he was leaving me I'd need to read something that gave me a thorough understanding of the nature of punishment and psychological torture. It's been invaluable, really."
"Cricket fans will know I'm normally disgusted by any form of vulgarity, but MS slipped this racy romance into my kit bag when he resigned as Test skipper. I was a bit bemused at first, but he explained that with the bowlers he was leaving me I'd need to read something that gave me a thorough understanding of the nature of punishment and psychological torture. It's been invaluable, really."
Kevin Pietersen, KP: The Autobiography by Kevin Pietersen
"Enjoyed this immensely. Some sections feature a lot of egotism and bitterness, but I honestly don't know how else the author could have described Andy Flower's team talks. Other than that, excellent. I even developed a little bit of a crush on the main character. Hot!"
"Enjoyed this immensely. Some sections feature a lot of egotism and bitterness, but I honestly don't know how else the author could have described Andy Flower's team talks. Other than that, excellent. I even developed a little bit of a crush on the main character. Hot!"
N Srinivasan, The Godfather by Mario Puzo
"My absolute favourite knockabout family drama in which a powerful but misunderstood cuddly old gentleman builds up an empire then hands it over to his son-in-law. Or son. One or the other, I can't remember. Anyway, I particularly enjoyed the use of concrete boots to kill off one of Don Corleone's henchmen, although perhaps with hindsight a better choice might have been cement. The bit where the big three families meet up to solve their differences and consolidate power to the detriment of everyone else was also superb."
"My absolute favourite knockabout family drama in which a powerful but misunderstood cuddly old gentleman builds up an empire then hands it over to his son-in-law. Or son. One or the other, I can't remember. Anyway, I particularly enjoyed the use of concrete boots to kill off one of Don Corleone's henchmen, although perhaps with hindsight a better choice might have been cement. The bit where the big three families meet up to solve their differences and consolidate power to the detriment of everyone else was also superb."
Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana Khazana - Celebration of Indian Cookery by Sanjeev Kapoor
"I don't normally like to mention my love of food, but I must admit I absolutely adore Sanjeev's cook books and was disappointed when my own publisher didn't allow me an entire chapter on how I once spent a week trying to perfect his rogan josh, strangely insisting I instead wrote about my 241 not out in Sydney. Actually, there's a little place in Mumbai that does dum aloo just like Sanjeev's, and one time Vinod and I were feeling peckish so finished off our net and headed to..." (continued on every other page of Sachin Tendulkar: Playing it My Way).
"I don't normally like to mention my love of food, but I must admit I absolutely adore Sanjeev's cook books and was disappointed when my own publisher didn't allow me an entire chapter on how I once spent a week trying to perfect his rogan josh, strangely insisting I instead wrote about my 241 not out in Sydney. Actually, there's a little place in Mumbai that does dum aloo just like Sanjeev's, and one time Vinod and I were feeling peckish so finished off our net and headed to..." (continued on every other page of Sachin Tendulkar: Playing it My Way).
Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar: Playing it My Way by Sachin Tendulkar
"I absolutely loved this until page 194 when I declared I'd had enough. Some excellent recipes, though."
"I absolutely loved this until page 194 when I declared I'd had enough. Some excellent recipes, though."
Salman Butt, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"A lot of people initially baulk at this tale of a man trying to find moral justification for a terrible act he's committed, but for some reason it spoke volumes to me. I felt it crossed the line in places, but the final scene where the protagonist's appalling and sickening actions are vindicated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne is absolutely brilliant. A must-read that I insist impressionable youngsters from small villages everywhere take time to study. A leader in its field."
"A lot of people initially baulk at this tale of a man trying to find moral justification for a terrible act he's committed, but for some reason it spoke volumes to me. I felt it crossed the line in places, but the final scene where the protagonist's appalling and sickening actions are vindicated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne is absolutely brilliant. A must-read that I insist impressionable youngsters from small villages everywhere take time to study. A leader in its field."
James Marsh writes Pavilion Opinions. He is also a Tefl teacher whose students learn superlatives by being shown Graham Thorpe videos