If you think about it, then you’d realise that life plays by a simple rule book. It’s really not that complicated. You end up becoming what you put your efforts into, and what you fill your mind with.
It is a bit like what the “Enlightened One” Siddharth Gautam Buddh said, “You are a result of your thoughts.”
For instance, if you think that irrespective of the surrounding or nearby loudness, you are the calmest person around, you will, definitely, be calm. Likewise, if you think that you will remain unaffected and maintain a smile regardless of what the universe throws at you- whether big hurdles or unstoppable difficulties- then, you will, remain smiling.
So the big question is, what do you tell your universe? What do you fill it with?
But I wonder, if someone were to ask the same to a certain Praveen Tyagi, then probably, it won’t be wrong to say that it would be found that his universe is Cricket and in cricket, at the end of the day, lies his universe.
It’s as simple as that.
However, that is not how actual life works for most people. If you love acting or anything concerned with the creative arts, you could end up in the film industry. Someone who is brilliant at singing will, in all likelihood, end up in the Playback singing industry or will, as seen in today’s times, dominate music streaming apps. A person blessed with exceptional culinary skills will be responsible for making the experience of consuming food a pleasure of life or, at least, at some stage end up even owning a restaurant.
This is exactly where it gets interesting for Shri Praveen Tyagi.
But how so?
Well, the definitive construct of his life is the real estate industry.
Ask eight in ten in Ghaziabad or to be specific, Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar region, they’ll tell you that the name Praveen Tyagi = VVIP Group.
For those who might not be aware, the VVIP Group happens to be one of the biggest names and among the popular ones in the real estate industry, up north of India.
But here is an individual whose world revolves around Cricket.
All the atoms, cosmic elements, the planetary positions and whatnot in Shri Praveen Tyagi’s universe revolve around a game that India, besides being great at, is constantly obsessed with.
The story of how a gentleman who single-handedly created a noted real estate business that was, and still is about apartments, buildings, commercial centres that ooze life and living got into cricket and is today doing his bit about shaping the sport is interesting and dazzling in equal measure.
source– IVPL Insta handle (@ivplt20)
What makes Mr. Tyagi, a common surname especially in the Uttar Pradesh region, uncommon is that he is the face of the Board for Veteran Cricket in India, serving what is also known as the BVCI as its acting president. The BVCI controls the entirety of Veterans’ cricket played all over India, including each of its five zones, namely- North, South, East, Central and West.
Founded by the legendary but sadly, late Chetan Chauhan, an illustrious member of the Indian Men’s National Cricket team back in the day, the BVCI today, is championed by none other than Mr. Praveen Tyagi.
But that is not all.
The BVCI, that has the warmth and acceptance of the mighty BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), took a massive step earlier this year in 2024.
And a huge part of that was thanks to the moustached man who sports a bright smile and an aura of simplicity: Mr. Praveen Tyagi himself.
Backed by a team of tireless, committed, exceptionally warm and cricket-loving executives; members of the BVCI, including Mr. JK Mahendra (former first-class cricketer of repute and might), Shri Ravindra Tyagi, Shri Sudhir Kulkarni, Mr. Arun Taploo, Mr. Vinod Phadke among others, the cricket world saw the launch of the IVPL.
With a vision to bring back former Indian cricketers, irrespective of their level of experience, whether national, international, or domestic, it was under Mr. Praveen Tyagi’s vision that the BVCI birthed a mega cricketing affair.
The T-20 format of the sport, which legends like Harsha have rightly described as the big saviour of our sport in its contemporary times, Mr. Praveen Tyagi brought world class cricket icons together with noted Indian talents to compete on a big stage.
The IVPL featured the six-hitting machine, Chris Gayle as, arguably speaking, the most iconic among the icon cricketers. The others included- Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Herschelle Gibbs, Manpreet Gony, S. Sreesanth, Anureet Singh, Richard Levi, Ricardo Powell, Ashley Nurse among several other big names.
A man from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh brought colossally popular cricketing names into the beating heart of Uttar Pradesh at Greater Noida a spectacular cricketing series, whose future seasons or editions, truth be told, are keenly awaited.
Six enterprising teams, powered by boundless love for Cricket and sheer talent made a series a hugely noted affair. That’s not to forget, an expert commentary panel that included legends like the much-respected Sushil Doshi Ji, widely regarded as the voice of cricket, besides featuring revered former Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof and arguably speaking, a young mind who, in all likelihood, shall be the voice of commentary in India: Suhaas Vedham, a well-meaning, polite, and massively talented lad.
Quite frankly, had it not been for the tireless vision of Mr. Praveen Tyagi, who lives for cricket and cricket lives in him like a child who lives for candy, Greater Noida would not have had its finest cricketing spectacle in all these years.
And hopefully, with forthcoming seasons, expected to be either in Chattisgarh or Indore and maybe even Rajasthan’s pink and rosy capital, the Indian Veteran Premier League will get to deliver more for the fan who’s existence is defined by cricket.
But having said that all, what went rather under-appreciated and must, therefore, be hailed is the sheer body of world that went into organising a series of cricketing tournaments that eventually led to the Indian Veteran Premier League’s maiden season.
Whether it was the wonderful Umesh Cup, created to bring together national talents from around the country, titled after the late doting wife of the President, Veteran Cricket Association of UP, Shri Ravindra Tyagi (without whose exceptional support the IVPL would not have been possible) or the Double-Wicket tournament that featured 96 teams from all around India, these important precursors to the IVPL set the perfect foundation to identify, select, and feature cricketers who then played one of the most-talked-about leagues in T20 cricket in the world this year.
Surely, there are much bigger leagues around and will be. Let’s not forget that, whether one talks about the Legends League Trophy or the mammoth Indian Premier League.
But to have created a league exclusively dedicated for veteran talents that featured not just cricketers from England, the West Indies, Sri Lanka among others, but that from our motherland India was an idea incredibly crafted and a vision birthed supremely by Shri Praveen Tyagi.
He is a man who, I presume, has devoted his life to the game. It’s a life that has less rest, more work and endless reasons to further the love his countrymen have for a game that truth be told, is a way of life here in the sub-continent.
But the big question for me is this:
Just how can a person juggle between two extreme opposites, real estate sector on the one hand and cricket on the other, yes both booming and challenging as we know, and yet, rarely sport a frown while always maintaining that humility and easy-going persona?
Act well the part, said the great Shakespeare. Well, here is a mild-mannered, always-on-the-move gentleman who is doing anything but acting: he is living the dream and making several a part of it, for real.
Happy b’day Shri Praveen Tyagi. You put yourself behind people. You face with a smile challenges that would bog down perhaps the ablest.
We are all excited to see what further gems are you planning on bringing to this great game of ours.
