Author: Bharath Ramaraj

When United Arab Emirates’ cricketer Yayin Rai walked back to the pavilion after being dismissed by Henil Patel in the Under-19 Asia Cup, he might have wondered – What was that delivery all about? The tall Gujarat pace bowler had snapped his wrist, imparted enough backspin to find inward movement and castle Rai. Replays indicated that Rai had hardly moved his back heel, but the bowler might just point out that the late movement forced the mistake from the batter. In summary, Henil has the ability to nip the ball both ways with a rhythmic approach. Henil, who is basically…

‘The conditions were too much in favour of the batters.’ This is a constant complaint against modern-day ODI cricket. We saw enough evidence of it in the recently concluded India–South Africa series, where, in the first couple of games, both teams ended up with monstrous totals. At times, it makes the sport a bit boring when it is all about a bunch of batters accumulating hundreds. Granted, T20 cricket is more about fours and sixes. However, the 50-over format would be better off with a more even contest between bat and ball. In that respect, it was a pleasant surprise…

‘Will Bengaluru’s cricket fans get to watch RCB’s matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium?’ The aforesaid question is making the rounds ahead of the 2026 season of the IPL. There have even been reports that RCB’s home matches could be shifted over to other venues. However, according to certain sources in the KSCA, they are still ‘confident’ of acquiring the necessary permission from the state government to host international and IPL games. The source said to Revsportz, “we are confident that we will get international matches. That means IPL can be staged as well”. If in case they don’t get the…

Bharath Ramaraj The eyes light up with interest while watching Devdutt Padikkal’s spread of run-making traits. He is languid and lissome at the crease and makes batsmanship look rather easy. On a cloudy day, with a green tinge on the wicket at the Centre of Excellence, those salient characteristics were very much on display against arch-rivals Mumbai. Ultimately, Padikkal ended up with an unbeaten 81 as Karnataka sealed a spot in the last-four of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. There were cuts and pulls as he took advantage of Mumbai employing short-ball tactics. It is true that Padikkal was given…

Harshit Rana. The name itself evokes a gamut of emotions, most of which revolve around him being at the receiving end of extreme trolling. On his part, Harshit seems to have charted a path to shut out the outside noise and focus on improving his game. In the ongoing India-New Zealand ODI series, Harshit showcased his all-round skills by contributing a vital innings as India chased 301 in the first game, alongside taking a couple of wickets. A look at Harshit’s ODI record reveals his potential – the pace bowler has 22 wickets at a notable strike-rate of 25. But…

Adithya Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Hay, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Michael Rae. These are some of the members of the New Zealand ODI squad set to partake in a series in India. If you send a questionnaire to a group of cricket fans on the above-mentioned players, then a sizable portion of them could leave the answer boxes blank. Just consider the following lines to have a better idea of this New Zealand squad. Eight players from the New Zealand set-up haven’t played in this country. Five of those players have less than ODI caps, and two of…

Pedro Martinez. As soon as yours truly hear this name, the brain transmits a message – Effective tennis player on clay court. So, as a tennis aficionado, when Martinez was drawn to play none other than the unstoppable force – Jannik Sinner – in the third round of the 2025 Wimbledon, a sense of curiosity aroused in the mind. ‘How will Martinez go about tackling a player who seems to be near-perfect at everything that he does on grass?’ The answer was he could only win five games over three sets. The highlight of that match for Martinez was perhaps…

What could be the initial thoughts that flash in the mind while scrolling through the Indian Under-19 squad for the World Cup to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia this month? Perhaps the firepower in the batting department is the cornerstone of the line-up. However, to win a tournament, you also need a group of potent pace bowlers. So, what about the Indian pace stocks for the tournament? Here at Revsportz, we explore India’s pace-bowling options for the Under-19 World Cup. Deepesh Devendran – Deepesh, who hails from Tamil Nadu, is the X-factor in the pace-bowling department. Probably his biomechanics…

‘What next for Dhakshineswar Suresh in terms of upskilling his game?’ This thought kept echoing in the mind as Harold Mayot served for the match in their quarter-final. Soon, Mayot wrapped up the proceedings with a clinical 7-6, 6-2 victory to move into the last-four of the Bengaluru Tennis Open. But even after the duo left the tennis court, those thoughts continued to gush forth. In summary, here is a 25-year-old, who has the big weapons – powerful serve, decent ground-strokes and the feel for the net. However, to succeed in the harsh world of professional tennis, you need more…

At the end of the Gabba Test, versus India, in 2021, it seemed as if Mitchell Starc was going through a rather difficult phase in the longest format. He had averaged over 40 in that Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and a young Shubman Gill smashed the left-arm pacer to all corners of the ground in Brisbane. The veteran pacer looked bereft of ideas as he kept trying to bounce out the promising opener, with Australia hurtling to a shocking defeat against an understrength Indian team. At that juncture, Starc’s detractors had pointed out that the left-arm bowler needs to upskill his game. …