Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai “He’s a very experienced campaigner,” said Suryakumar Yadav, in praise of Axar Patel at the press conference after he put on another of those invaluable performances with the ball against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup. “He’s been around the Indian team for a very long time. He knows his job really well. His plans are very clear. Whenever I see him at practice, he bowls a lot to the left-handers because that’s a proper match-up. You feel if a left-handed batter is walking in, you can’t bowl a left-arm spinner. But he practices more against…

Dubai, September 14: India dominated Pakistan in all three departments as they posted a thumping seven-wicket victory in the 2025 Asia Cup game played in Dubai. With this win, India secured their place in the Super Four. With a mixture of googlies, tossed-up deliveries, quicker ones and the stock ball, Kuldeep Yadav was India’s man of the moment. He finished with a redoubtable figure of 3 for 18 from four overs. Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with two wickets each, while Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy took one apiece. Pakistan mustered just 127 in their allotted 20 overs.…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai One question invariably crops up whenever there is a RevSportz live show in relation to the ongoing Asia Cup – Is there a possibility of dew coming into the equation in Dubai? Now, it is one of those external factors that is difficult to decipher. However, let’s take a deep dive to analyse whether dew has already played a part in the tournament, and whether there is a chance of it coming into play in the future matches. For starters, there has been no visible dew, at least during the matches held at the Dubai International…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai As yours truly tried to complete a quotes copy in the corner of the ICC Academy, there was a commotion of sorts at the ground. Shubman Gill, the India vice-captain, had taken a blow on his hand. The eyes were suddenly fixed on Gill as the physio came rushing out. He soon went off the field and sat on the ice box with a rather worried look on his face. Gautam Gambhir, Suryakumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma all had a word or two with him. However, the concern didn’t last for long as Gill was…

Bharath Ramaraj from Dubai Ahead of the India-Pakistan 2025 Asia Cup encounter, emotions have hit fever pitch, especially in the backdrop of Indian cricket fans calling for the boycott of the game because of the tragic incident that took place in Pahalgam. Ryan Ten Doeschate, the assistant coach of the Indian set-up, shared his insight on the thoughts of the players about the escalations and the Pahalgam attack. “It a very sensitive issue,” he told in the presser. “Players feel the emotion and sentiments of the public. This is what we have discussed in the team meetings. Players are here…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai Jasprit Bumrah versus Shubman Gill. And Bumrah versus Abhishek Sharma. These two contests in the nets at the ICC Academy on September 12 were worth keeping an eye on. India’s pace spearhead wasn’t exactly bowling at full tilt but he still seemed to trouble his opponents. It felt as though both Gill and Abhishek were a tad late on the ball. Abhishek did land a good enough pull stroke but even that didn’t go all the way. This made you wonder what it is about Bumrah that makes it difficult for the opponent to land…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai In the India-UAE Asia Cup game played at the Dubai International Stadium, Abhishek Sharma smacked the first ball that he faced from Haider Ali over wide long-off. And the second offering from the spinner rocketed away via the extra-cover region. Abhishek’s ultra-aggressive instincts go far beyond just one game. Last year, he had tonked Gerald Coetzee, a fast bowler, for a four off the first ball at St George’s Park. In the very next T20I of that series, the left-hand batter charged down the track to his first ball, only to miss out on an…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai Around 1,480 days ago, Varun Chakaravarthy might have wondered whether the entire world was against him. Although he wasn’t the only bowler who couldn’t make an incision in the 2021 T20 World Cup game against Pakistan, the mystery spinner came under heavy scrutiny. He also played in conditions where there was considerable dew. But in a game where emotions hit fever pitch, logic was thrown out of the window as Varun became one of the scapegoats. Four years later, if Varun looks back on that game, he might ponder the following lines: Am I living in…

On social media platforms, just do a simple search to gauge fans’ opinions on Shivam Dube’s bowling. You might end up getting the following results – Right-arm nothing, dibbly-dobbly bowler and certain abuses that aren’t worth mentioning here. To a certain extent, the criticism is valid. The all-rounder has just five wickets to his name in 79 IPL games. And in T20Is, he has taken 16 in 36 matches; three of which came against the UAE in India’s opening fixture of the 2025 Asia Cup. So, what could we tell of the three wickets that he took while facing…

Bharat Ramaraj “The art of leg-spin is not just bowling a leg-break; the art of leg-spin is to examine, deceive and outwit. That is the whole art. And within it is the magic,” said Shane Warne in his autobiography, No Spin. Many moons after Warne walked into the retirement life, Kuldeep Yadav has time and again looked to follow those golden nuggets from the legendary cricketer – inspect, deceive and outfox the opponent. We saw some glimpses of it during the India-United Arab Emirates game in the 2025 Asia Cup. The left-arm wrist spinner toyed with all the UAE…