"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
Final Innings is the story of five tumultuous years in the life of a successful and internationally admired Indian cricketer, Ramdas Upreti. It explores the depths of human desire and disillusionment, hope and regret, love and longing, and deep passions. Above all it is a story of extraordinary courage in the teeth of danger and adversity.
A combination of extraordinary circumstances and coincidences on and off the cricket field conspire to rekindle Ramdas’ obsessions with contemporary global and subcontinental gridlocks. Three complex relationships add their own piquancy: with Anne, his ex-girlfriend, with Pakistani nurse Nargis, and the bond he develops with Nargis’ father, the Pakistani umpire Khalid Azam.
Events now begin to overtake him, and his life slowly begins to unravel. These multiple strands eventually converge to create a stirring and memorable crescendo.
Final Innings brings to life our world: the reality that subcontinental teams tend to struggle in the SENA countries, the fraught India-Pakistan relationship, the powder keg called Kashmir, terrorism, climate change and the environment.
The plot unfolds over four ‘Innings’ like the build-up to the climax of a cliff-hanger Test Match. The action swings across India, Australia, England, Pakistan and the UAE.
Final Innings is a voyage deep into dark, choppy and uncharted waters. It is not about the T-20 leagues, nor about corruption and match-fixing. It is a thought-provoking and deeply moving human story which happens to be set in the world of cricket.
Sunil Gupta
Author. Stage, Film and TV Actor. Radio & TV anchor and presenter. International sports commentator. History buff. Advertising professional. Sunil Gupta is a man of many parts.
His first book on his experiences in the Indian advertising industry Living on the ‘Adge’ in JhandeWalan Thompson was published by Roli Books in December 2009. He has contributed to an anthology by eminent authors and personalities on the COVID-19 pandemic titled The Phoenix Rises – Lockdown Chronicles, which was published by Wisdom Tree in June 2020.
He has performed in well-received films and web series such as Breathe-Into the Shadows, The Family Man, Mom and Talvar.
His love for nature, especially the hills, and his world view on current affairs are deeply embedded in Final Innings.
Sunil has spent over 35 years in the Indian advertising industry. He now heads his own communication consultancy services and also represents two global advisory networks in South Asia. He lives in Gurgaon with his wife Sunita, their two daughters and three temperamental canines.
