IPL 7 is back in the India. And it started with a bang. Mumbai Indian won their first match in IPL 7 and King Punjab XI suffered first defeat in IPL 7 after coming to India. Well this is just the beginning. We are expecting more surprises in the coming week.
Well you must be wondering why I’m writing all this. Actually, it is the effect of the book The First XI: Junior Premier League – Vol. 1 by Joy Bhattacharya, which I’ve just finished reading. It is the second fiction book I have read based on cricket. The first being The Big Fix by Vikas Singh.
Till now we all have seen Hindi movies on Cricket, now it is time to read fictions on Cricket and Joy Bhattacharya has done a scintillating job in portraying the matches in the words and believe me, they were as heart stopping as the real matches are.
The book is set in the backdrop of IPL and it is about the junior version of IPL. Readers will find everything in the book like Duckworth Lewis, Super Over, spot betting, star sightings, injured stars battling injury and selection politics, sledging, intimidation etc which goes on the real field.
Apart from the on field dramas, the book also has few off field drama as well. Like, sudden mysterious disappearance of the coach, media attention etc.
But the plot of the book is pretty predictable. Junior Premier League is just like Chak De India. We know that Indian Women’s hockey team will win the World Cup, but how, is something for which we saw the movie.
Similarly, while reading the book we all know ultimately who will win the title but it is the mindblowing descriptions of matches which will keep the readers glued to the book, as we all are glued to TV while watching the match.
Joy Bhattacharya, who has been a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team has poured his experience into the book. He has also given interesting names to the different teams which are quite close to the names of original IPL teams. Like Junior Devils, Mumbai Patriots, Bangalore Boxers, Kolkata Lancers, Punjab Princes, Chennai Emperors.
Verdict: Read the book Junior Premier League to continue your fever of IPL. It is the series of three book. The First XI: Junior Premier League is the first book.
