Though I was not born a sportsman but I always loved outdoor games. I was regular in one game or the other though I could never learn any. Depending on seasons and availability of partners I played Cricket, Tennis, Hockey, Football and Badminton. When I could not play outdoor games, I would switch over to Table Tennis, Chess and even to playing with dolls with my little sister. But my favourite game was Cricket though I enjoyed Tennis too, especially with people who would lose to me. Though I was always short on talent but was never found  lacking in enthusiasm and hence was always able to find a place in what could be termed as Mohalla Team. And to keep my position in the team I would try everything, leg break bowling, fast bowling (without much control or pace), wicket keeping, batting and what not. Though I can keep bragging about my talents and capabilities in various sports at various levels....  My actual study of sports started during my second tenure in IIT Kanpur while doing my PhD. I studied the technical points of Cricket, Tennis and Chess. With a bit of hard work, my game showed drastic improvements and was able to contribute at the Institute Level. This was a tremendous progress from being one of the contributers in the intra-hostel level to becoming an important member of the team at institute level.

I have always believed in strategic planning in games. And number of times our team with lesser talent has delivered results beyond expectation, just because of strategic planning and greater team-effort. I could narrate so many of my close encounters on cricket field when I contibuted to winning a game we had lost and at times also to losing the game which was in our hand. But in this page I wish to talk about some of my favourite sportsmen. This list includes Cricketers I admire and I love to hate, and my favourite Tennis stars.

Cricketers:

• Sachin Tendulkar: The GOD of Cricket is my favourite cricketer. He is a perfectionist, I would like to emulate in different spheres of my life.

• Kapil Dev: The smiling Jat from Haryana has always been a symbol of hard work and commitment to the game for me.  A fighter to the core, he always delivered when the chips were down. A great motivater who always led from front.

• Ranjit SinghJi: I have only read about him. And whatever I have read has made me an ardent admirer of this Prince of Jamnagar. A master of leg-glance, he tortured so many bowlers in English County that reading his exploits is a pleasure.

• Sunil Gavasker: My liking for Gavasker has been for his talent. A master batsman and a shrewd cricketer who played a bit too safe to draw the number of matches which otherwise could have been lost or won.

• Mohd. Azharuddin: A cricketer I love to hate. The destiny's child who always scored a century when his place in the team was in danger. Though he was a beauty to watch when in full flow but such occassions were very few.

• Javagal Srinath: A genuine fast bowler India produced. He could have been more dangerous had he developed an outgoing delivery and concentrated a bit more on movement cutting down on his speed.

• Anil Kumble: A leg-spinner who does not spin the ball. Batsmen played him as a leg-spinner covering for the turn and leaving a gap between their bat and pad to find themselves either clean-bowled or adjudged Leg-before, to their dismay. It took the batsmen some time to realize that Kumble should be played as an In-Swing bowler. By then Kumble had become one of the best spinners in the world. And till date this has allowed him a secure place in playing eleven of Indian Cricket Team. He is very dangerous on the tailor-made pitches (Kotla class) of the country where his ball turns and bounces. He looks a helpless bowler on flat pitches elsewhere.

• Venkatesh Prasad: Another over-rated bowler of Indian Cricket. A fast bowler whose pace is slower than the part-time bowlers. He always got the advantage of bowling in tandem with Javagal Srinath. A bowler who doesn;t seem to have even the basic cricketing sense.

• Zahir Khan: A youngster who needs to be nurtured. He has the agression, a rare quality in Indians. And he is quick and willing to learn. Indian Cricket needs more of these Khans and Singhs.

• Saurav Ganguly: The Prince of Calcutta is a beauty to watch as long as he is in the middle. An aggressive captain, who hopefully will mature into a good leader.

• Rahul Dravid: A talent who is yet to win a match for India on his own. A solid Test-Match Batsman who more often than not will give catching practise to slip corden if over-exposed to One-Day Cricket.

• Wasim Akram: One of the greatest Fast Bowler with lot of variation and control over line, length and pace.

Tennis Players:

• Pete Sampras: My favourite Tennis player who plays almost perfect Tennis.

• Ivan Lendl: A workhorse who symbolised stamina and hardwork. A player who will win nine out of ten times in a five setter.