14 Comments
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Prem Panicker's avatar

Nicely balanced and argued piece! So good to see your voice grow stronger and clearer with every post

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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Thank you so much, Prem!

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Chandu Tan's avatar

Great to read a solid piece. For sure, that Express article nailed the (negative) impact of our emotional heft. The 'jasbadt' can get too much in the way of sanity :-|

- Question -

"He only needs to look closer to home, towards another man who played most of his cricket in Mumbai, and whose flamboyant lifestyle made many observers uncomfortable."

Sorry, my general knowledge is poor. So, is this a Baroda/Gujarat "man" who played "most of his game" in Mumbai? Do you mean (IPL) Mumbai Indians or the Ranji team?

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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Thank you, Chandu!

Keeping the name ambiguous was a choice. :) I was referring to Vinod Kambli.

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Aditi Taswala's avatar

A lovely piece to read. I am not a cricket follower so thank you for making me understand through your writing.

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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Thank you so much, Aditi! Always means a lot when non-followers of a sport can find some value in my essays :)

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Is this anything?'s avatar

There is just so much in this one piece. Thank you for educating me always with such fine writing. Also, you have got the praise from GM. God almighty.

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Sudhanshu Dikshit's avatar

Great opening segue from the social challenges of being Hardik to becoming the scapegoat for MI fans’ ire, and the general vitriol that’s now on steroids courtesy social media..

On an overall note, I see a jhalak of some Sid Lowe style in your sports pieces, so intended or not, please keep em coming 😊

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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Ahah thank you so much! I love Sid Lowe's work, but can confirm any shades are coincidental :) As a practice, I don't read my favorite authors while drafting a piece because I don't want to even inadvertently borrow from their style haha.

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Rohan Banerjee's avatar

Great read, Sarthak. A seamless narrative from Camp Nou to Wankhede is not easily achieved!

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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Haha, thank you, Rohan!

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Arindam Banerjee's avatar

Very well written . I like the way you brought in Gealano and fan culture and the intersectionality

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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Thank you, Arindam!

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Kiran Gupte's avatar

Mumbaikars hate Gujaratis & vice versa .This animosity was created by Thackarey's Shiv Sena & has still not abated..

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