Now, Aakash Chopra turns writer!

His willow may have done most of the talking but cricketer Aakash Chopra has now donned the robes of a writer to come out with a tongue-in-cheek account of how difficult it is to be a Team India member and other interesting facts.Click here to see CNN-IBN HT Indian of the year: Sports category

His willow may have done most of the talking but cricketer Aakash Chopra has now donned the robes of a writer to come out with a tongue-in-cheek account of how difficult it is to be a Team India member and other interesting facts.

HT Image

"Being an Indian cricketer is hell in many ways, because of the intense scrutiny you are subjected to by a billion people. But not being an India player is worse than hell," Chopra writes in "Beyond The Blues: A Cricket Season like No Other".

When Chopra started to write his diary in September 2007, he had no idea that it was going to be an extraordinary year, both for him personally, and for the game of cricket, publishers HarperCollins said.

It began with a great run in the Ranji Trophy, culminating in Delhi's victory. Delhi also went on to become North Zone champions, the North Zone won the Duleep Trophy, and in almost every game, Aakash was among the runs. He ended the season with 1,339 runs from fifteen games, with five centuries that included three double centuries. Then came the IPL with its glamorous tie-in with Bollywood. And Aakash found himself on the most talked-about side of them all – Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders. The book is a view from within of all that made 2007 such an exciting year for cricketers and cricket lovers. According to the publishers, this fast-paced and often tongue-in-cheek account, "takes us behind the scenes with an honesty and forthrightness uncommon to Indian sport".