Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Bharath Ramaraj Some years ago, Shane Warne said in his autobiography, “The art of leg-spin is to create something that is not there”. This one-liner can be extended to another much-talked about art in cricket – swing bowling. Kranti Goud, the 22-year-old, put on one such exhibition of swing bowling that left Pakistan in a daze in a 50-over World Cup encounter. Initially, it seemed as if Goud was mainly concentrating on bowling the outswinger on a good length against the right-hand batters. But then, just like that, she got the ball to hoop around the other way while bowling…

‘Justice for Sanju Samson.’ ‘How can the selectors leave out a batter of the class of Samson?’ ‘Is the think-tank indulging in preferential treatment?’ Over the last some years, the above-mentioned questions and statements are repeated by numerous fans on social media platforms every single time Samson is left out of India’s limited overs side. In certain ways, they are justified in thinking that Samson should be an established member of the ODI set-up. Unfortunately, though, he couldn’t secure a berth in India’s ODI squad for the upcoming Australian tour. The elegant right-hander has played only 16 ODIs over a…

Bharath Ramaraj Alana King, the leg-spinner, took nine wickets in a one-off Test against England in the 2024-25 Women’s Ashes. In that multi-format series, King also reaped a rich harvest in the ODIs, taking 11 scalps. In total, King took 23 wickets at a mind-numbing average of 11.17. Meanwhile, Georgia Wareham, another leg-spinner, plucked eight wickets at just 10.5. Some months later, in the England-India T20I series, the trio of Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani and Radha Yadav combined to take a whopping 25 wickets between them. None of them averaged over 18 in that series. Although India’s spinners weren’t able…

Last year, after New Zealand defeated India in a T20 World Cup game in Dubai, a conversation with Sophie Devine went as follows: “Devine, you seem to be picking really well versus spin”. “Oh! thank you,” she said in a lighthearted tone. And that was followed by a question on how she had negated the threat of Indian spinners. That question cropped up in my mind while watching Devine’s stroke-filled hundred in New Zealand’s opening fixture of the 50-over World Cup against Australia, in Indore. Granted that Australia once more comfortably beat their Trans-Tasman rivals, but it doesn’t change the…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai Shane Warne wrote in his autobiography: “Leg-spin is no half-hearted journey. You have to love to bowl leg-spin.” In present times, this quote can be a reference point for Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling. Kuldeep, who bowls left-arm wrist-spin, seems to be in love with his craft. And that is manifesting into wickets and success. After bowling two overs in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan, his figures read no wickets for 23 runs. Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan had landed a six each off his bowling. At that stage, many bowlers of his ilk would have wilted…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai ‘Where is the trophy?’ In the aftermath of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Stadium, this was the question lingering on everyone’s lips. Team India celebrated too, without the trophy in their hands. Amid all the cacophony surrounding the trophy-less celebrations, we can’t forget that it turned out to be a thrilling encounter, with a certain Tilak Varma coming to the fore. It was an innings that told you everything you wanted to know about the cricketer’s temperament. The score read 20 for 3 at one point of time. But just a glance…

In sport, one mistake can change the script. And that is what exactly happened in the iconic India-Pakistan Asia Cup final. In the 14th over, Tilak Varma (69 not out) survived a run out chance. Thereon, he never looked back as he steered India to a famous five-wicket win over their arch-rivals as they chased down the target of 148 in the final over. Shivam Dube gave Tilak the required support. In the 15th over, he tonked Haris Rauf for a four and a six. In the 18th over, while facing the same bowler, he smashed one over mid-wicket. Dube…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai ‘When did it start? And how did it end so quickly?’ On the last day of this trip to the UAE, this line keeps flashing in the mind. It seemed like just a few days ago that yours truly landed in the UAE to cover the tournament. Simply put, time files. On the eve of the Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan, you’re left with a trail of evocative memories to take back home. Here are some of them: ‘Are you Arabic?’ On September 8, when I landed in Dubai, one small conversation left me…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai Should India make changes for the 2025 Asia Cup final against Pakistan? On the surface, this question doesn’t have a great deal of merit. In this context, an old adage flashes in the mind – why try to fix something when it isn’t broken? India have remained unbeaten right through the tournament, and it is perhaps prudent to not make changes. Having said that, it must still be tempting for India’s think-tank to look at Arshdeep Singh as an option ahead of Shivam Dube, the all-rounder. For starters, the left-arm pace bowler has an impressive record…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai On another of those humid nights in Dubai, two free-spirited batters belonging to different edicts of batsmanship were looking to wrest control. The duo of Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav shared an alliance of 59 against Sri Lanka, and one couldn’t help but notice the contrasting fortunes of the pair. With Abhishek, bursts of energy gushed forth through the majestic arc of the bat-swing and the eye-popping follow-through of the willow. Point, long-off, fine leg, third man, extra-cover, midwicket – You name an area of the field and he targeted it with his gift-wrapped skills.…