Author: Debasis Sen

Debasis Sen, Kolkata The dusk had just set in as an empty Eden Gardens presented a sombre look with the iconic venue losing its rights to host the IPL 2025 final. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Snehasish Ganguly was visibly dejected as he left the association after a meeting of the coaching committees on Tuesday. Despite the best efforts of the state association, the Indian cricket board decided against staging any playoff matches in Kolkata due to early monsoon setting in the eastern parts of the country. The BCCI on Tuesday officially announced Mullanpur and Ahmedabad as the two…

By Debasis Sen It has been more than a week since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the IPL 2025 playoffs schedule. Eden Gardens, which was previously slated to host one of the Qualifiers and the Final has not been given any matches in the rescheduled fixture post the resumption of IPL 2025 on June 17. Despite repeated requests and mails being sent along with a report on the weather pattern expected in Kolkata on June 3, CAB officials are yet to hear anything from BCCI. In the past one week, the sport-loving people of the…

With the 2025 IPL all set to resume on May 17, Kolkata Knight Riders’ cricketers and support staff have assembled in Bengaluru. Ajinkya Rahane and his boys will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in a must-win game for them, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Most of the Indian players arrived in batches in the Garden City. Meanwhile, the Caribbean trio of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Rovman Powell will reach Bengaluru by Wednesday night. The Windies cricketers, along with the assistant coach Otis Gibson and team mentor Dwayne Bravo, were in Dubai after the 2025 IPL was suspended for a…

Virat Kohli shocked the entire cricketing world, on Monday, by announcing his retirement from Tests, thereby concluding a remarkable 14-year career in the longest format. The 36-year-old made the announcement via Instagram, expressing gratitude for the journey that saw him play 123 Tests. He also scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, which included 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. Kohli stepped away from the longest format of the game as India’s most successful Test captain. He led India to 40 Test wins out of 68. This correspondent is fortunate to have covered Kohli over multiple overseas tours, including his…

Debasis Sen in Kolkata Following a disappointing campaign, East Bengal are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to build a competitive squad for the upcoming season. The Red-and-Golds have been very active in the transfer market, with their focus now firmly on bolstering the midfield. The club are currently in advanced negotiations with Bashundhara Kings’ Brazilian midfielder Miguel Figueira Damasceno. If talks progress smoothly, the 25-year-old could become East Bengal’s first overseas signing of the season. Sources indicate that the deal, which is expected to be for one year, is subject to the successful completion of medical tests. Discussions…

Subrata Dutta, former vice-president of All India Football Federation (AIFF) is not in favour of the profit-sharing model proposed by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the marketing partners of the federation. FSDL, in its proposed Master Rights Agreement (MRA) to the AIFF for the Indian Super League (ISL), suggested a shift from an annual-fee arrangement to profit-sharing model. According to the new proposal from FSDL, AIFF would receive a smaller percentage of the overall profits, potentially a 14% share. Speaking to Revsportz, Dutta said, “The newly elected body of AIFF should not accept the new proposal of FSDL which suggests…

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, urged East Bengal club’s officials and investor Emami to build a strong team to compete with Mohun Bagan. The chief minister was speaking at the launch of East Bengal club’s centennial documentary “Shatoborsher Mashal” at Rabindra Sadan. The documentary is directed by noted filmmaker Gautam Ghosh. Expressing deep concern over East Bengal’s recent performances in the Indian Super League and other tournaments, Banerjee said, “I have a grievance towards East Bengal club’s officials. Emami has been supporting the club financially for the last few years, but the club needs to get good…

Debasis Sen, Kolkata Mohun Bagan Super Giants joined Mumbai City by becoming only the second club in Indian Super League history to make a grand double – winning both the ISL League Shield and Cup, on Saturday, at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan. Subhasish Bose and his boys came back from a goal behind to win the final in front of a packed home fans. Jose Molina’s side also became the first club to win the ISL final on home turf, a feat that no other club has achieved before. There were wild celebrations in the stands as the referee…

The pitch remains the talking point, a day ahead of the IPL 2025 game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants. As Revsportz already reported, there will be no used pitch for Tuesday’s game. The franchise’s request to give the same strip used for the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad has been turned down by Eden Gardens chief curator Sujan Mukherjee. It is learnt that pitch No. 4 will be used for the LSG match, which will be similar in nature to the one on which the home team registered a comprehensive 80-run win. On Monday, players and support staff…

Debasis Sen in Kolkata Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) dominant 80-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens on Thursday highlighted the fact that it is crucial to focus on playing quality cricket, rather than being overly concerned with the condition of the pitch. The defending champions played as a cohesive unit, with captain Ajinkya Rahane and vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer leading by example. There were useful contributions from Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana as well. The victory not only pushed KKR up the points table to fifth, but also gave a much-needed boost to their Net…