Considering the extent of the world he has seen, Rahul has a word or two about any book you mention. But reading never sits heavily on him. At a recent discussion on Dilip D’Souza’s latest book Roadrunner: An Indian Quest in America, Rahul was his modest best.

“I am no critic of books but I am here only because I enjoy some good reading and even better, I love good writing,’ he says.

But soon Rahul, the erudite took over. “The book gives you an insight into the religiosity and patriotism of the people of the United States. It takes you through a journey of discovering the same,’ says Rahul.  

Metrolife later caught Rahul for a brief chat amid endless stream of men ad women who wanted to get a photo clicked with him. Rahul says he manages to grab sometime to catch up with his reading and writes just about anything that interests him. “Reading and writing are the best ways to unwind,” he confesses.

So will he write a book someday? “I barely snatch enough time to read and writing a book seems like a far cry,” he admits.

What about television and of course does he watch movies at all? ‘Oh no, I am far away from all that. I don’t have the luxury of time,” he rushes off shying away
from women, men and kids who lost no chance to click    a picture with him or even stand somewhere next to him just to get his face in the frame.

But the talk with the one of the cricketing greats naturally soon veers to cricket and his roots in the game.  Rahul says he has always been simply crazy about cricket as a young boy, “I’ve played on the street, what we call rastha cricket and this game is very close to my heart,’ he says.

He points out that he’d always dreamt of making it big in cricket, “I will play for the Indian team for as long as I can, it’s passion, dedication and discipline that has brought me thus far,” he observes.

He says he’d best like to term his cricketing experience as a journey of sorts. “For someone like me who has grown up on a diet of cricket, the journey never ends," he avers.