Chasing Like Dhoni By Ayush Puthran and Samod

For every cricketer who wears the India jersey, millions fall short. Yet their stories of grit and unrelenting belief rarely find their way into the spotlight.

Chasing Like Dhoni, by Aayush Puthran and Samod, turns its gaze toward these overlooked journeys, offering a deeply human portrait of Indian cricket beyond its celebrated heroes like Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Drawing from the experiences of aspiring and professional cricketers across different stages of their careers, Chasing Like Dhoni captures the emotional and social realities of pursuing success in one of the most competitive arenas in India.

While popular narratives often romanticize the struggles of those who eventually make it, this book focuses on those who do not. In doing so, it reveals the underbelly of the cricketing dream: the pressures of expectation, the weight of socio-economic barriers, and the psychological toll of near-misses and unfulfilled ambition.

Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing India, the book explores how cricket has come to mirror broader societal dynamics. Touching upon issues of class, access, small-town aspiration, parental pressure, and mental health, it interrogates the idea of cricket as a “level playing field’’. The book asks whether talent alone is ever enough in a system shaped by deep-rooted inequalities.

With sharp insight and empathetic storytelling, Ayush and Samod offer a rare, grassroots perspective on Indian cricket.

About The Author

Aayush Puthran is a Bengaluru-based journalist and author. His debut non-fiction, Unveiling Jazbaa, was shortlisted at the Sunday Times British Sports Book Awards 2023. His work as a journalist was nominated in the longlist for the L’ Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive Award. He writes for Cricbuzz.

Samod is a Mumbai-based journalist with over 25 years of experience. He has covered travel, crime and communities and worked with some of the big names of the industry. A law graduate, he discovered early on that his true calling lay in writing. Alongside journalism, he also serves as visiting faculty, teaching journalism and related subjects.

The official release for the book is in May 2026