Amid the cinematic triumphs of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, seasoned filmmaker whose return to the limelight with 12th Fail garnered multiple accolades at the Filmfare Awards, Agni Dev Chopra, the 25-year-old son of the acclaimed producer and director, has quietly been etching his name into the record books of the Ranji Trophy. Transitioning from Mumbai’s Under-19 team to making his first-class debut for Mizoram in the Plate Group, Agni has set cricketing arenas ablaze with a string of extraordinary performances, including the unprecedented feat of smashing centuries in each of his first four Ranji Trophy games.
“It’s been good,” Agni told RevSportz in an exclusive interview. “I’m grateful and happy but I’m not done yet. The goal was never to score four or five centuries, the goal has always been to take our team to the elite division. I’m very happy with the way the last four games have gone. But the job’s not finished yet. “We still have another game and then a semi-final after that. So you know, once we win the semi-final, then I’ll feel better and then all my hundreds and performances will mean much more. That’s the job that is yet to be done.”
Entering the demanding realm of Indian domestic cricket is no easy task , especially when born into the spotlight of a celebrity family. Agni faced the challenge head-on, navigating a path distinct from his renowned father, and his mother, Anupama Chopra, a highly regarded movie critic. The question arises: amidst the lure of cinema, what sparked Agni’s passion for cricket?
“Honestly, I started playing cricket when I was seven or eight years old,” said Agni. “There was no reason why I kind of went into it. It was just something that I saw and loved like a lot of kids in India. When we won the 2007 (T20) World Cup, I think I was nine years old or something and winning it was huge. That’s when my love for cricket increased even more. But here was no reason to get into cricket. My parents have not done any sports ever. Nobody kind of told me: ‘jaa kar cricket khel’. In fact, you know, when I was younger, my dad used to tell my mom: ‘ye kiska beta hai (whose son is this)?’ I think cricket was something that I was always passionate about since I was very young. I was lucky enough that I knew my passion when I was that young. Yeah, I’ve been been following it since then.”
Having represented Mumbai at the Under-19 and Under-23 levels, Agni candidly acknowledged the challenge of finding a spot in the Mumbai senior team despite a fair degree of success in the age-group circuit. It was during this period that he came across Mizoram’s selection trials in Bangalore, prompting him to seize the opportunity with the northeastern team.
“I’ve played for Mumbai since I was under-14,” said Agni. “I played every age-group and I was part of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy probables as well. But once I crossed age-group cricket, I realised it was going to be very difficult to break into the Mumbai Ranji team.
“It was kind of like a hard reality I had to confront. And at that point, I was lucky because the Mizoram team actually held a selection trial in Bangalore, I think on August 5, and at the time, I thought, I’ll go for it and do my best. And I was lucky enough to be selected. It really worked out because I got an opportunity to just go and play for them straightaway. After that trial, I knew that it was the best opportunity for me to move my career forward by playing List-A cricket and first-class cricket because it would have been very difficult to to get that opportunity in Mumbai.”
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EXCLUSIVE: Agni Dev Chopra: Carving a Cricket Legacy Beyond Bollywood Shadows
Meet Agni Dev Chopra, the 25-year-old cricket sensation rewriting Ranji Trophy history with Mizoram. In this exclusive interview, Agni shares his journey from Mumbai’s youth ranks to smashing records.… pic.twitter.com/L82chSGyfY
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) February 1, 2024
So, would Agni want to head back to Mumbai in the future after making a mark for Mizoram?
“I’m just trying to stay in the present right now,” he said. “My only goal is to take Mizoram to the elite division and then you know, we will be playing all of the elite teams. Even though people may talk about the quality of players in the Plate Division, it’s still first-class cricket. We have beaten Bihar this year, which is an Elite Division team. In the past, Meghalaya have beaten Mumbai. I remember because we were all shocked when that happened. Puducherry have beaten Mumbai. Now, Pondicherry is an established team, far better than what it was a few years back. If a team that is in the plate division can beat a team like Mumbai, then I don’t think they have much of an argument. But as of now, I am very happy where I am. My only goal for the next two weeks is to bring this team to the elite division. And, you know, we’ll see whatever happens in the future. I don’t think I’ve really thought about next season or where I’m going to play or anything as such, because, as of now, I just want to do well for this team. They’ve given me an opportunity, a second chance of playing first-class cricket. So I’m here, I’m very grateful to them. I’m not really thinking about the future or the next plans.”
If one scrolls through Agni’s Instagram feed, one athlete that is omnipresent there is the late Kobe Bryant, basketball legend. While the Mizoram teammates have started calling him Kobe, the Lakers icon has a special place in Agni’s heart.
“He (Kobe Bryant) was and is a big inspiration to me, because in 2010 my father was making a movie in the US and we were staying in Los Angeles at the time,” said Agni. “And I didn’t know anything about basketball. One of our family friends was in Los Angeles as well. He took me to watch a Lakers game at the time. There were a lot of tough times when he retired but he was always someone who inspired me greatly and his work ethic, just the amount of work that he put in, the amount of dedication he had, the loyalty – he stayed with the same team for 20 years. Even though it’s very difficult to do that, there’s a lot of tough times, a lot of difficulties for 20 years, your whole career to be with the same team. He was really influential for me and he continues to be even after his passing. He’s someone who will always inspire me to keep working hard, to keep putting in the hours and to wake up early and work hard, to go to the gym and everything.”
And when asked about his cricketing idol, Agni quickly names Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. However, Ben Stokes, England Test captain, is another that Agni, a left-hand batter, would love to meet and learn from.
“Cricketing idol for any Indian of my age is always Sachin Tendulkar sir,” he said. “It always had to be him. He is the number one. But for me, Yuvraj Singh was someone who made me feel like that I want to be like him. Because he was a leftie, I’m a left-hander. I have a very aggressive style of play. It is similar to his. He was someone whom I saw and I was immediately like: I want to be like him. Yuvi paaji was somebody who I really idolised at the time. Even when we won the 2011 World Cup, he was so important in that team, I always wanted to be like him.
“I have met him (Yuvraj) a couple of times. It’s kind of crazy because anytime you meet your idols or someone you’ve idolised, it doesn’t feel real. I’ve gotten the opportunity to interact with him a few times. Him and my dad spoke in Punjabi, they’re both Punjabi. He really made me feel comfortable. I didn’t get the chance to talk to him about cricket because it was a very brief kind of interaction. But yeah, it was pretty amazing to meet him and actually see how his batting is actually his personality; like flamboyant and open.
“From present cricketers, I’d say Stokes because, another left-hander. I recently watched his documentary as well. I could choose a Virat paaji (Virat Kohli) or someone from the Indian team, but I think, I would love to just learn from Stokes because he has done some impossible things in cricket. And he has that kind of self-belief and ability. After watching his documentary, seeing where he came from, the kind of difficulties that he had to go through, I would love to have the opportunity to have a conversation with him.”
While Agni’s parents are popular names in Tinsel Town, how did they help him with cricket?
“Aside from these last few months, it’s only been rough patches, because I was injured and I didn’t do well,” said Agni. “And then, I wasn’t selected. I think that the main thing that they gave me and my younger sister as well was freedom to do whatever we want. And I think that when you get that kind of freedom, you feel empowered, that you can actually do anything. Something my dad always told us, and actually his dad told him, my Dadaji, was: ‘Aap sadak par mochi bhi bann sakte ho par uss sadak ka best mochi banna [Even if you become a cobbler, be the best one on the street].’ So that was something that he always told us since we were young. That was something that always kind of made me feel like I can actually do anything. If tomorrow, I get up and say, I want to be a musician, he’ll be like, ‘okay, let’s start working at it’. He would never ever try to turn me into something I don’t want to be. So I think giving me and my sister that kind of power was the biggest thing for us.
“When times are difficult, it’s great to have your family around you. The main thing is just to know that they’re there for you and support you. Because, you know, as an athlete, it’s very lonely when you’re not doing well. And nobody can really understand except maybe another athlete. It’s still very difficult to kind of understand how you feel. Especially with cricket, it’s a very difficult sport, because you will, as a batsman, fail more than you succeed. You can train as much as you like, but most of the time, you will fail only. And I think that failure has really turned me into a much stronger person. In terms of my parents, it was just that they were like my silent supporters. There was no words of encouragement. I just knew that they were there for me, and they were supporting me, no matter what I wanted to do.”
Though Agni is completely engrossed in his cricket, movies run in his veins and a cult dialogue from the movie ‘3 Idiots’, which his father produced, remains in his mind even when chasing dreams out on the field.
“I honestly don’t think I’ll ever say I have succeeded, because over these past few years, it’s been difficult to run after success. Sometimes, you can work as hard as you want but you will get out first ball. Even my dad taught me from 3 Idiots, ‘Kabil bano, kabil…kamyabi toh jhak maar ke peeche bhagegi [Become capable and success will come chasing you].’ It’s of course my dream to play for India.
“My dream is to next play in the IPL. But when I was young, my dream was always to play cricket. When you pick up a bat, you never think that I’m picking this up because I want to play for India. You know it’s because I want to play cricket and be the best cricketer. I just want to work as hard as I can. In the next few years, if I’m kabil (capable) enough, then the kamyabi (success) will come. I want to make my first goal, which is to get Mizoram to the elite division, then I’ll see what the goal after that is. I’ll be happy as long as I’ve worked as hard as I can.”