Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

After the eighth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa are among the three joint leaders with 5.5 points each. There is nothing unexpected about it because these Indian players are in the elite of the world. The surprise lies at the bottom of the table. Having started the year’s first top competition as World No. 4, Arjun Erigaisi is winless. With four draws and as many defeats, he has just two points. The top-rated Indian languishing at last in the 14-player field is something that nobody saw…

A few days ago, there was a post on social media showing a picture of Pat Cummins. The text said something on the lines that the Australia captain had forced the entire Indian team to play domestic cricket. The source couldn’t be traced immediately. If someone notifies, it will be acknowledged here. It’s a laudable directive from the BCCI that India stars turn up for their states when available, following some lacklustre performances in Test matches of late. A lot of players had skipped these fixtures when they could have played. If they needed to be told that Ranji Trophy…

This is going to be a big year for R Praggnanandhaa, and he has made a good start. Overshadowed by D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi for most parts of 2024, he is sharing the lead after Round 5 of the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee in the Netherlands. Eight more rounds remain in the event featuring five of the world’s top 10 players, sans No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Pragg, the 19-year-old ranked 13th in the January Fide rating list, can expect a re-entry into the top 10 next month if he continues to play the way he…

R Praggnanandhaa was the joint leader with Nodirbek Abtusattaorov after the third round of the Tata Steel chess tournament being played in Wijk Aan Zee in the Netherlands. The Indian and the player from Uzbekistan were on 2.5 points each, following two wins and a draw. World champion D Gukesh was in a pack of three players following the leaders on two points each. Pragg, as he is known in the circuit, had drawn with Abtusattaorov in the first round. After that, he won against fellow Indians Pentala Harikrishna and Arjun Erigaisi in the subsequent games. Fifth in terms of…

There is clamour in certain quarters over the exclusion of Sanju Samson from the Indian squad for the England ODI series and Champions Trophy. The dashing wicketkeeper-batter has been making waves in the T20 format and he also has an average of 56-plus from 16 ODIs. He is in form too, having cracked two T20I centuries in South Africa late last year. The Indian squad announced yesterday has two wicketkeepers — KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. If Samson were to find a place, it would have to be at the expense of one of them. Looking at Rahul’s experience, ability…

The Tata Steel chess tournament starting in Wijk Aan Zee in the Netherlands today will be a new beginning for D Gukesh. This top-tier event featuring 14 players will be his first outing after winning the World Championship in Singapore just over a month ago. This is also the start of a period when he will be under pressure to deliver, and his moves on and off the board will be closely followed. It’s said that in sports, defending the crown is more difficult than winning it. The Tata Steel event is not the equivalent of the World Championship, of…

India’s pace bowling stocks are not as strong as they used to be. Despite Jasprit Bumrah and what he can do. Mohammed Shami isn’t expected to last much longer. Bumrah, too, has fitness issues and there is no guarantee that he will deliver in every major outing. The next crop has promise, but all of them are works in progress. Under the circumstances, and looking ahead to India’s next Test assignment in England, it’s important to take a look at the options. Yes, that series is about five months away and coming soon is the Champions Trophy. What if the…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay Domestic cricket has suddenly become a buzzword of sorts. Usually, just a handful keeps track of what plays out over there. Only those who bat, bowl, field, officiate, take care of logistics and report on those are aware of these proceedings. But, with the BCCI and the Indian team management emphasising the sacro-sanctity of these fixtures of late, perceptions have changed to an extent. These games are played aeons from the spotlight. Even if an India star makes a stray appearance, the crowd by and large stays away from the action. Hardly anybody knows that a match about…

‘Intent’ used to be the most mentioned word in Indian cricket not long ago. It was spoken of frequently in press conferences. It seemed that the team was using it to convey that they would play an aggressive brand of cricket and be prepared to take risks. The attitude paid dividends. Although not relying on it completely all the time, India came close to winning the World Test Championship. As fortunes take a dip, in a phase of transition under a new coaching team, amid uncertainty over the red-ball future of some stalwarts, the word intent is not heard that…

Ten Test matches in five months. Lost six, drew one and won three, including two against Bangladesh at home. There were T20I series wins against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and an ODI defeat against the latter. There’s a sharp decline in the longest format — highlighted by the first-ever home whitewash against New Zealand — which resulted in a failure to make it to the World Test Championship final despite being in a strong position. The waning powers of Virat Kohli, uncertainty over Rohit Sharma’s red-ball future, Ravichandran Ashwin’s shocker of an announcement to quit midway through the Australia series…