Author: Bharath Ramaraj

A particular phrase seems apt to describe Marizanne Kapp’s deep reservoirs of willpower – Broken but not beaten. Over the last eight years, Kapp, alongside her teammates, has had to row through enough gut-wrenching losses in ICC tournaments. Be it the 2017 World Cup semifinal, the last-four game in 2020, the summit clash in front of the home crowd in 2023, or the final of the 2024 World Cup in Dubai, the narrative has remained the same. Not able to cross the final few hurdles or the last one. Despite the heartbreaks, Kapp answered the question on that…

Ever since India’s selectors announced the limited-overs squads for the Australian tour, Harshit Rana finding a place in both ODI and T20I set-ups has come under scrutiny. More importantly, Gautam Gambhir’s name has been linked up with the fast bowler’s selection across formats. And there have been a spate of memes on social media platforms with the head coach and Harshit as the main protagonists. So, is it right to believe that Gambhir is biased towards a certain player? Let’s examine what might be the thought process behind Rana’s selection. For that, you have to scroll through the selectors’ picks…

Aman Sehrawat, who won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics last year, has been handed a one-year ban by the Wrestling Federation of India, a source confirmed to RevSportz. The suspension is effective from September 23, 2025. The resultant outcome is that he won’t be involved in any wrestling events or to be specific wrestling-related activities during the aforementioned timeframe. Aman’s actions came under scrutiny during the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb in September. Aman failed to meet the weight parameter in the freestyle men’s 57 kg category before his opening round versus Vladimir Erogov of North Macedonia. Subsequently,…

While playing a series or a tournament in the subcontinent, it is a foregone conclusion that the spinners take over the mantle of spearheading bowling attacks. The 2025 Women’s World Cup is no different, with three of the top four wicket-takers turning out to be spinners. The Indian team’s strategy, too, is based on picking a slew of tweakers. In the two games India have played so far, they have selected three frontline spinners in Deepti Sharma, N Sree Charani and Sneh Rana. Let’s take a deep dive to analyse the Indian spinners – Their strengths, weaknesses and current form.…

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…