Years ago, I had met AB De Villiers during an assignment in New Delhi. After our chat, I requested the South Africa cricketer for an autograph on a copy of Michael Rundell’s Wisden Dictionary of Cricket. The ever reliant De Villiers duly obliged.
Published in 2012, De Villiers also admitted this was one his favourite books on the game – even if it had an academic feel to it. The man knew his cricket – and his cricket books.
Speaking of cricket, 2024 saw a steady flow of books on cricketers past and present. From memoirs to biographies on cricketers forgotten down the years, these are 8 books that will speak to cricket fans from every walk.
Gully Gully: Travels around India during the 2023 World Cup by Aditya Iyer
What better way to start the list but with focus on India and Australia, keeping in with India's last major series (never mind that it ended in a heartbreak). To Indian fans, the 2023 World Cup was memorable for many reasons and painful for more. In his first book, journalist Aditya Iyer captures these emotions that rule an entire nation, while taking the reader through all the ups and downs of the tournament. From fans who have named their kids after MS Dhoni to the undying fanaticism around Sachin Tendulkar, Iyer’s book is a beautiful reminder of what cricket means to India.
Penguin Random House India; 344 Pages; ₹499.00
I Have the Streets: A Kutti Cricket Story by R Ashwin with Sidharth Monga
One of India’s greatest spin bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin tells his story, along with sportswriter Sidharth Monga, on life before and beyond cricket, growing up in a cricket-mad gully and playing the sport with a tennis ball under the searing sun, battling health issues as a child and how his middle-class family supported his journey of becoming a professional cricketer. With a foreword from former India coach and player Rahul Dravid.
Penguin Random House India; 200 pages; ₹699.00
Mohinder Amarnath: Fearless – A memoir by Mohinder Amarnath and Rajender Amarnath
A cricketing icon of the 1970s and 80s, Mohinder ‘Jimmy’ Amarnath was a crucial part of India’s 1983 World Cup -winning squad. Amarnath was renowned for his might against pace bowling, overcoming a weakness during his early career years. Sunil Gavaskar once said it was Amarnath who taught him and others how to face fast bowling. Fearless is perhaps an apt word to describe a player of his caliber. Written with his brother Rajender Amarnath, this is a memoir for cricketing fans of every age.
Harper Collins India; 464 pages; ₹799.00
Sandeep Patil: Beyond Boundaries with Clayton Murzello
Sandeep Patil could do everything – pitch in with the bat and bowl medium-pacer deliveries when the team needed him. The lanky all-rounder from Mumbai excelled beyond cricket too, dabbling with a sports magazine as an editor and writing his autobiography Sandy Storm in 1984. In Beyond Boundaries, Patil recalls his life career like never before – be it his admiration for close friend and teammate Gundappa Vishwanath, working as a selector with the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli or his passion for cooking. In the book, Kapil Dev calls Patil a genius on and off the pitch. Rightly so.
Global Cricket School; 220 pages; ₹1,200
Glenn Maxwell: The Showman, with Adam Collins
Glenn Maxwell is perhaps the most mercurial cricketer of his generation. Be it his explosive batting or the ability to create moments of magic while fielding, it will be hard for the Aussies to find another Maxwell, when he eventually decides to ride into the sunset. The Showman chronicles Maxwell’s life, his battle with injuries, the first steps into fatherhood and that memorable innings of 201 against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup. Virat Kohli is India’s ultimate finisher and matchwinner. Maxwell is exactly that to the Australians. Beginning with heartfelt forewords from both Pat Cummins and Kohli, this is a beautiful cricket book about a remarkable person and athlete.
Simon & Schuster; 304 pages; ₹699
Jimmy Anderson: Finding the Edge, with Felix White
Jimmy Anderson might not have found any takers in the recent IPL auction, but his storied career has found its way into a book that will speak to fans of every cricket nation. Purists will marvel at his 704 Test wickets, but his story goes back all the way to his early career at Lancashire to success with England, being an integral part of four stunning Ashes series victories, and a resurgence under Brendon McCullum. Anderson dominated the 22 yards of the wicket as part of a fierce England bowling attack for more than two decades. A riveting read.
Blink Publishing; 336 pages; ₹2,350
Worrell: The Brief but Brilliant Life of a Caribbean Cricket Pioneer by Simon Lister
Frank Worrell was more than just a brilliant all-rounder for the West Indies. He became the first permanent Black captain of the West Indies cricket team in 1960 and formed the famous 3 Ws of West Indian cricket, along with Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes. Under Worrell, the West Indian team became one of the most exciting outfits in world cricket, recording famous victories against Australia and England. Knighted in 1964, Worrell died three years later, leaving behind a legacy that is hard to match. Worrell would have been 100 this year. Lister’s book is a definitive look into his life.
Simon & Schuster India; 320 pages; ₹1,922
Indian Summers: Australia versus India - Cricket's Battle of the Titans by Gideon Haigh
Let’s close this list with a Gideon Haigh masterpiece. The best-selling author and journalist captures a century of competition between the two cricketing nations who also squared off in the 2023 World Cup final. Be it Bradman versus Hazare, Warne versus Tendulkar or Cummins versus Kohli, Haigh takes you through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the World Test Championship, the ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup, and explores the near-mystical bond of two countries divided by a common game, as publisher Allen & Unwin’s website rightly describes it. The book also has a preview to the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers; 352 pages