ABOUT THIS BOOK
In 1983, a World Cup triumph was not even in the realms of fantasy. By 2011, it had become
non-negotiable.
The Lords of Wankhede explores the evolution of Indian cricket in the 28 years between the two
World Cup successes. Seen through the eyes of a former Test cricketer, who has been associated
with the game for four decades, and a cricket writer with 30 years behind him, this book provides
a perspective of the successes and strife, the trials and tribulations that made the journey of Indian
cricket so fascinating over the 28 years bookended by Lord’s and Wankhede. An absorbing revelation
for the millennial, a stab of nostalgia to the middle aged and an essential for the cricket romantic,
this book lays bare the conditions that led to India becoming a cricket behemoth.
AUTHOR OF THE BOOK
W.V. Raman is a former Indian cricketer who represented the country between 1988 and 1997,
and played for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket for more than 17 years. He coached several elite
teams in the Ranji Trophy, as well as KKR and KXIP in the IPL, India A and India U-19. His last
coaching assignment was with India women as the head coach. During his term, Team India won
all the ODI series and reached the final of the T20 World Cup in Australia in February–March
2020. Raman’s first book, The Winning Sixer, which focussed on leadership lessons, was a runaway
success. Raman created history by notching up the first ever ODI hundred by an Indian in South
Africa during the 1992–93 series. His varied talents enabled him to contribute to the game he is
passionate about, for which he was felicitated by the Sports Journalists Federation of India with an
honorary membership. He is only the third Indian cricketer (after Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri)
on whom that honour has been bestowed.
R. Kaushik is a cricket writer with 30 years’ experience. Formerly the executive editor of Wisden
India, he is now a freelance writer who works out of Bengaluru. The co-author of V.V.S. Laxman’s
award-winning autobiography 281 and Beyond, Kaushik has also penned India’s 71-Year Test: The
Journey to Triumph in Australia, a coffee-table book supported by the Bradman Museum, on India’s
first series triumph Down Under in 2018–19. Kaushik is also the co-author of G.R. Visvanath’s
autobiography Wrist Assured and R. Sridhar’s memoir Coaching Beyond. He has reported on more
than 100 Test matches involving India and been at every 50-over World Cup since 1996. He has
the distinction of covering several key moments in the history of Indian cricket, including the 2007
World T20 triumph in South Africa, the rise of the Test team to the No. 1 ranking in 2009 and
much-awaited success in the 2011 World Cup at home.
