Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai The name Mike Hesson is synonymous with how he and Brendon McCullum helped New Zealand resurrect their fortunes in the international arena. He also was the Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bengaluru and went on to serve as the head coach of Islamabad United. In this freewheeling interview, Hesson shares his thoughts on cricketers that he has worked with before – Virat Kohli, Mitchell Santner and co. He also delves deeper to analyse India and New Zealand, two of the form teams in the ongoing Champions Trophy. Excerpts: The other day, Virat Kohli played a…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai A few enthusiastic fans chanted “cheeku, cheeku, Kohli, Kohli” as the mainstay of the Indian line-up showcased his control over football in the net session, ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy game versus New Zealand. Kohli, who scored a hundred in India’s win over Pakistan, looked relaxed and chilled out. But as soon as he put on his cricket gear, he seemed to be wearing again his special suit – King Kohli – and he ramped up his intensity levels. Initially, while facing Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, Kohli was intent on defending off…

Who is Arshdeep Singh? He is the bowler who can swing both the new and old ball, alongside possessing the left-armer’s angle. He is the tall bowler who can surprise the batter with the short delivery. He is the bowler who seems to have the required smarts to mix up his lines and lengths. Arshdeep is also someone who is ever ready to bowl the tough overs. So, with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the ongoing Champions Trophy, logic indicated that the left-arm pacer had the tools to succeed in this format. After all, he also had the experience of…

Mitchell Santner and the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali have very little in common. But in some ways, Santner’s bowling is based on Ali’s famous statement, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”. To understand the analogy, just think of how he deceived Angelo Matthews in the 2023 50-over World Cup. From wide of the crease, he bowled one above the eyeline of Matthews. For a split second, the batter might have thought that he is all set to stonewall the delivery off the front foot. Just that the delivery landed a tad shorter than what the batter would have…

Virat Kohli’s batting manual is a hub of cut-and-thrust activity, and it starts from the time chants of “Kohli, Kohli, Kohli” resonate through the length and breadth of a stadium. At the Dubai International Stadium, there weren’t just chants, but some of the fans also bowed down to ‘King Kohli’ as he made his way out to the middle. After sprinting to the crease, there is usually a bit of shadow practice — perfecting the alignment, such as head position and front shoulder. All of it was visible at the Dubai Stadium as he took strike at the fall of…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai ‘Virat Kohli practiced well before the rest of his teammates had their respective net sessions on Saturday.’ That was the major talking point before the marquee India-Pakistan Champions Trophy clash. Perhaps he wanted to practice without all the media glare around him. Whatever it was, Kohli reportedly went about his job of trying to iron out his flaws against spin. He also faced the net bowler, Waseem Akram, with an eye on countering the left-arm angle of Shaheen Afridi. Incidentally, Waseem happens to be a left-arm pacer. That was a short summary of Kohli. But what…

The year is 2016 and Virat Kohli is touching stratospheric peaks with his stellar performances in the IPL. One of the high points of his batting is how quickly he is picking the length against the spinners. Four strokes in particular still flash in the mind: A couple of cut shots off Gujarat Lions’ Shivil Kaushik; one through the point region and another that flies over the cover fielder. Then a dance down the deck while being up against Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Ankit Sharma. The resultant outcome was Kohli pinching a double. In the same innings, Kohli also essays a stylish…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai Shubman Gill cracked nine fours and two sixes during his superlative innings of 101 against Bangladesh in a Champions Trophy game in Dubai. Those 11 hits included a sumptuous whip, a flick played with a straight bat, and a short-arm jab cracked with nonchalance. In a nutshell, Gill put on an exhibition of sublime timing and how to keep the head still while essaying a stroke. Yet, the highlight of his batting wasn’t anything to do with his array of shots. It was more to do with how well he changed gears as per different situations…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai Rohit Sharma, the India skipper, had a chat with Matthew Sandery, the curator, during the practice session, on the eve of his side’s opening Champions Trophy game against Bangladesh, in Dubai. The discussion seemed light-hearted. Rohit’s laughter also was the essence of India’s practice as there was a feel-good atmosphere. One of the reasons for India deciding to have a training session at the Dubai International Stadium in the evening/night could be to assess the dew factor. However, there didn’t seem to be much dew around. One of the ways to gauge the dew would be…

Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai Who is Nahid Rana? The ‘Rajshahi Express’ spent his childhood days bowling fast with a taped-tennis ball. Nahid, who grew up in Chapai Nawabganj, has become the talk of the town in Bangladesh. A Bangladeshi fast bowler who can bowl 150 kph is unheard of. Even Taskin Ahmed, his pace colleague, hasn’t touched speeds in excess of that. Incidentally, Taskin himself forms a part of Bangladesh’s much-improved pace attack. Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who generates some swing and nip off the wicket at decent pace, and Mustafizur Rahman, the experienced left-arm pacer, are the other pace-bowling options.…