03/06/2026
India's most swashbuckling opener once privately shared our video on Vinod Kambli with a friend. (A little birdie perched at the right place told us. 😊)
Then, Mr. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan publicly responded to the same video with a heartfelt comment, sharing his own experience of how easily people are branded as "failures" despite everything they have achieved.
That single short-form video has now crossed:
🏏 1 Million+ views on YouTube Shorts
🏏 Nearly 6 Lakh views across Instagram & Facebook
But beyond the numbers, what makes this truly special is that the story resonated with former Indian cricketers and lakhs of cricket fans alike.
In the conversation, Mahesh Kutty, author of *Cricket Kathas*, reflected on Vinod Kambli's early exit from Test cricket. Perhaps the story struck a chord because it wasn't just about cricket. It was about potential, missed opportunities, public perception, and the difficult journeys that often remain unseen.
Maybe that's why so many people connected with it.
OFNJ was never conceived as a cricket IP. At its core, it is a fun, slice-of-life conversation platform where stories, nostalgia, humour, and lived experiences intersect.
Yet, almost every time we sit down to discuss cricket, something magical happens.
Perhaps because cricket in India is never just a sport.
It's memory. It's aspiration. It's heartbreak. It's identity.
And sometimes, it becomes a mirror through which we see our own struggles and triumphs.
The biggest reminder from this experience:
In an era dominated by algorithms, authentic storytelling still wins.
♥️
