Akash chopra on IPL

Cool and restrained! That's how one can describe this batsman on the field. Akash Chopra served his captain well whenever he was sent out to open for India and proved his worth when he played for the national team from late 2003 until late 2004. But he went out of luck and his place went to players who were more illustrious in name and character both on and off the field.

Chopra has found a novel way to keep himself in high spirits. The veteran is wrote a book on cricket – beyond the blues – A first-class season lie no other --which purely talks about the domestic circuit.

"Harper Collins is the publisher. And this book is purely about the domestic circuit. It's a season's diary which includes everything that a batsman goes through. People only know cricket and cricketers as associated with glamour and easy going life. But it's just the elite class. I talk about the hard bits which no one talks about. The book is about what a first class cricketer goes through. It's just an eye-opener for readers," he informed.

With a calm demeanour, Akash has some different views on the Twenty20 format which is a big success at the Indian Premier League. Being part of it and playing for Kolkata Knight Riders gave him a first time experience of this shorter version game.

"Twenty20 is a good format. But according to me 20 overs are not enough to showcase your skills. The Indian Premier League has made this format a hit but the players have a lesser role to play in a Twenty20 game. In fact there isn't much to do for the middle order batsman in this format. The real test of a player lies in playing in Tests and to an extent in the ODI's," Akash expressed his views.

"T20 format will eat into the popularity of the game. But then it's a good format for attracting people in large numbers and will thus help in popularising the game," he said.

"The international calendar will have more of T20 matches but I say how many people can score centuries in this format? It's again the longer version where you can prove your worth and techniques," he added.

About the IPL, Chopra was happy being part of it and said it was fun being playing with world class players. He was all praises for King Khan as well. "I was playing in a T20 tournament for the first time. I would say that cricket has really changed from the time that I started. Having Shahrukh on our side was a big boost. He is fantastic and super cool. He never criticized anyone in the team. He was always supportive. He would send an SMS before and after the game, no matter we won or lost. He would remember everyone's name in the team. Being such a busy man, he could remember everything. Cool! He's really a superstar in his own way," said Chopra.

What about the captain? "I have played under Sourav Ganguly before also. Here in Kolkata Knight Riders, he was very motivating and encouraging. In T20 the role of a captain is very limited but he did his part well and managed the team well," replied Akash.

However, having one of the best captains of the national side and King Khan could not do wonder for the Knight Riders.