A bit about me

I’m a freelance writer and editor.

I have worked as a reporter and editor for ESPNcricinfo. I was part of the team that launched their digital magazine – The Cricket Monthly. You can read all my articles here.

I used to write a fortnightly column for cricketnext.com,

I host podcasts and (occasionally) write pieces at 81allout.com.

I have contributed articles to Wisden, Nightwatchman, The Hindu, Mumbai Mirror, Indian Express, Forbes.com, AOL, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and Yahoo India.

I have worked for Bloomberg News and Wall Street Journal as a features reporter.

26 thoughts on “A bit about me”

  1. Hi Sid,
    I am Chaitanya, a 23-year-old, sports fanatic. I am a football freak, though, being an Indian, I follow cricket religiously. I was fascinated by your advent into the world of sports writing, even though you were an engineering student. I’ve always nurtured hopes of becoming a sports journalist and would like to know what I must do to become one. I blog quite regularly and I participate in numerous discussion forums. What should I do??? Please reply

    Regards,
    Chaitanya

    Reply

    1. Hi Chaitanya,
      I’m glad to hear of your interest. I guess it depends what you want to write about and where. I would suggest you continue writing on your blog and engage with sports editors and journalists on social media – try and get your pieces read by people who matter. The more attention your blog gets, the better for you. Also, I would advice you to try and meet sports journalists and editors in person (after contacting them on phone or email) and find out about opportunities.

      Reply

    2. Chaitanya,

      if you are seriously interested in trying your way in Journalism please contact me with few of your sample writings I can help you in finding better people and provide me an opportunity.

      Sid,

      Could you please let this comment reach him, I appreciate your help.

      Regards

      Reply

  2. Hi Sid,
    I am a TV journalist from Nepal, occasionally writing a sports column in a national daily.
    Came across the blog accidentally. Just wanted to tell you that I like it. Refreshing it is… would be coming here regularly, it seems.

    Somesh Verma

    Reply

  4. Hi Siddharth,

    My name is Vikas and I work with Google. I’ve been a following your writing since your Cricinfo days. I’m an avid cricket fan and blog a bit about it. I’m interested in pursuing it as a profession. In your spare time, will it be possible for you to read up on my blog a bit and give some feedback about it? Here’s the link to my blog:

    http://vikasrimal.blogspot.com/

    Thanks you in advance, and have a good weekend!

    Cheers,
    Vikas

    Reply

    1. Hi Vikas,

      Sorry for the delayed response. I was away and wasn’t checking comments so closely. Thanks for the kind words. I will check the blog. Do keep writing regularly. Building an online presence and having a dedicated audience for your blog will go a long way. I would also suggest you connect with full-time cricket writers on networks like Twitter. All the best.

      Reply

  5. Thanks for taking the time out to reply Siddharth – much appreciated. No problem at all about the delay. I’ll try to do the things you have suggested.

    Thanks Again,
    Vikas

    Reply

  6. Why don’t you flesh out this page of yours? 🙂 It would interest those who would like to know a little bit more about you

    Reply

  8. Hey Sid,
    This is Manjiri Indurkar. I work for Nine Dot Nine Media’s newly launched magazine called Democratic World (you can visit our Facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/DWzine). It is a general interest magazine cutting across spaces of Politics, Society, Arts & Culture, Entertainment, etc. We have a section in the magazine called the Social Agenda where we publish interesting blog posts by different bloggers. We would like to publish your recent post on Sachin in the January issue of the Magazine and I was wondering how to get in touch with you about that. We of course will be giving you due credit and the post shall be published with your name. image and the URL to your blog with it. Should you like the idea please write back to me on my id.
    I look forward to hearing from you.

    Reply

  9. Hi Sidvee,
    I am Srinivas from Sportskeeda.com. I would like to know if you would be interested to share your blog posts on our site we will give credit to your blog prominently as well.

    Regards,
    Srinivas

    Reply

    1. My son who is 15 cares about Dravid. He is the one who sent me this link and I reckon there are scores who look upon Dravid as their idol

      Reply

  11. Hello Sid ,
    I have been an avid cricket aficionado throughout my life and an enthusiastic blogger for the past two years (http://earththebeauty.blogspot.in/) . Pursuing Sports journalism has been one of the most important targets of my life. I write regularly on my blog, and also contribute articles to various sports websites on the net. Can you tell me how i can enhance my chances of pursuing the aforesaid profession ?

    Reply

    1. Hey Debotosh,

      As always I am heartened to see the number of people who write to me expressing a similar interest. I am glad you have begun with writing a blog and contributing to websites. In case you want to be a full-time journalist, there is no better route than to work for a newspaper or website full time and understand the way cricket works. Some who are young opt to do a degree (in India or abroad) before doing this. Others simply write and share their work in the social media/blog space and get noticed. There is no formula for this. Each one finds their own path. But most importantly: keep writing. All the best.

      Reply

    2. Hi Sid bro, I’m 20 years old and I’m a cricket fanatic. I always follow up your pieces on your own blog, cricket Next and ESPN. You’re one among them who inspired me to write. I always wanted to become a Sports Journalist. I would like to know what I must do to become one? And if you could spare a minute for me, will it be possible to read my piece? With your blessings, my article about Shane watson has been published in CSK’s official twitter handle. Would love to hear your thoughts and also I Would love to get your support too. Please do read, share with your friends. Your single word of appreciation will motivate me to write more pieces.

      https://aivishal.wordpress.com/2019/06/17/watto-man/

      Reply

      1. Thanks for this, Vishal. Always heartening to see someone passionate about sports and writing. I enjoyed this piece on Watson. It tells me that you are a serious follower of the game and someone who has keenly followed Watson’s career. His commitment to CSK, especially after his injury, was indeed admirable.

        A few of us have started a site called 81allout.com. You may have seen the articles and podcasts that I link to on Twitter. Write to us at [email protected] with any ideas and we are happy to consider publishing you there. The idea is to showcase passionate cricket writing. And you seem to have the ingredients to become a good writer. Keep writing. You will be amazed at how much you will improve if you persist.

  12. Sid,
    We spoke last Sunday on the radio show dedicated to Sachin’s ODI career. Have been a big fan of your writing, and it was great talking to you in person. Keep up the great work.

    Reply

    1. Hi Rajan,

      Great to see you hear. And it was wonderful to catch up during the show. Thanks for the kind words. Hope we can meet sometime soon.

      Reply

  13. Dude, hi! I’m sure you don’t remember me, but we met many many years ago in Cubbon Park for a QuizCorp meeeting. This must have been in the fall of 2002.

    Great to see you doing so well. Fantastic job with all the writing. It truly is a pleasure to read your stuff.

    Best wishes,
    Pramod

    Reply

  14. Dear Mr. Vaidyanathan,

    I wonder if you might be able to help me with something. I’m an academic at the University of Glasgow, and am currently working to edit a new collection of essays on CLR James’ classic ‘Beyond a Boundary’, which brings together responses to the book from both academic and non-academic writers.

    One of our contributors has referred, in their chapter, to a comment from C.L.R. James, but we’ve struggled to find the original source for the comment they’ve used. I’m writing because I notice that you used the same quote in your reflection on the retirement of Tendulkar, and I wondered if you would be willing to help us by pointing us to the original source?

    The quote reads: ‘‘I wouldn’t call it an accident,” said CLR James of WG Grace’s colossal effect on English cricket and society. “I don’t think a thing like that is an accident. It is clear that he filled a certain need, and that a certain man fills a certain need… Would you call Shakespeare an accident? Or Balzac an accident? Or Michelangelo an accident? Something is required and they do it.”

    If you were able to help us find the source for this, that would be very much appreciated and we would acknowledge your help in the volume, of course. It looks like it comes from an interview, but despite considerable efforts we haven’t been able to track it down and our contributor himself is not able to recall where he recorded it from.

    Any help very much appreciated. And thanks for all of the thoughtful reflections on the politics and meanings of cricket in the world,

    Andy Smith
    Reader in Sociology, University of Glasgow.

    Reply

  15. Hello Sidvee,
    I remember reading a lot of your articles during your time at cricinfo. I think the first one that stuck to me was “Losing my religion”. Being a quizzer myself, the reference to an REM song was not entirely lost on me either (I might have run into you at some quiz some point of time. It is also a happy coincidence that I happen to know some of your batchmates from RVCE). Over the years, I’ve read quite a few evocative and articulate evocative pieces at cricinfo, cricketmonthly and your blog. Keep up the good work.

    We’re are an anonymous cricket blog (one month old) who write about various aspects of cricket including analysis, commentary, long form pieces and satire. We’ve written 9 articles which have garnered more than 1300 views since inception, mainly through word of mouth publicity. Along with it scratching an itch for a “different” type of cricket articles, it also serves as a social experiment to see if the maxim “Who says it is more important than what is being told” holds true. We would appreciate it if you could have a look at our site and do let us know if we’re in the right direction. A recent article which is buzzing around is: https://paajivspunter.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/the-thrill-of-the-chase/
    Your opinion on our writing would be valued highly. Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Thank you,
    waterboyforever on behalf of the blog.

    Reply

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