Author: Gargi Raut

In June 2024, after India won the much-awaited T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli revealed on air that fans had just witnessed the duo’s final T20I appearance. Already teary-eyed while celebrating the win that Indian cricket fans had been longing for, they also marked the end of a long and illustrious chapter in their celebrated careers. Then, in March 2025, in the midst of Indian Premier League (IPL) action, Rohit – out of the blue – announced his retirement from Test cricket on social media, only weeks before India’s five-match Test tour of England. Just as fans were…

Shreyas Iyer sustained a splenic laceration while taking a running catch at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the third ODI between India and Australia. Having suffered from internal bleeding, Iyer spent some time in the ICU in Sydney as the team moved on to the rest of the tour. Sources close to the development have now revealed more details on Shreyas Iyer’s injury and path to recovery. According to them, Iyer’s return to training will only be possible after another two months. Subsequently, the batter will need another month to regain full fitness. The last we heard from…

In a major development, new details of Hardik Pandya’s comeback to the Indian setup have emerged. It is understood that the NCA is not keen on rushing the star all-rounder back and wants to assess how his body handles the workload. He will likely not be picked for the ODI series against South Africa. Instead, Pandya will be assessed in the three Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games that he will play for Baroda. He will be part of the Baroda vs Hyderabad SMAT fixture later this month. After evaluating how Pandya manages the workload of the three SMAT games, he…

Hardik Pandya missed the final of the politically charged T20I Asia Cup in Dubai following a quadriceps injury that he sustained during India’s last group-stage clash against Sri Lanka. Following that setback, the all-rounder went for rehabilitation at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bangalore and subsequently missed the three-match ODI and five-game T20I tour of Australia. Sources close to the development have confirmed that Pandya is all set to make his comeback in the T20I series against South Africa starting December 9. The series consists of five games. This also confirms that Pandya’s much-awaited comeback to the ODI setup is…

By Gargi Raut After the disaster in Australia at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shubman Gill took over the Indian Test team ahead of one of the most important Test series, the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Five matches in England, treacherous conditions, a young team, no Rohit Sharma–Virat Kohli, and Gautam Gambhir at the helm as Head Coach. Fans had their reservations about naming Gill captain in the presence of India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah and senior batter KL Rahul in the set-up, but this management believes in taking bold calls and never looking back. Throughout the series, Gill answered the critics with…

Gargi Raut at Eden Gardens “Eden Gardens and headlines of the pitch are a match made in heaven,” is a phrase I love to use. The pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee took over headlines during the the last edition of the IPL, when he bluntly refused to produce a turning track for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He firmly stated that he will only follow the guidelines of the BCCI and not the franchise, “Ever since I have taken charge (as Eden curator), the pitches here have been like this. It was like this in the past. Things haven’t changed now, and…

picture credit- Debasis sen Gargi Raut in Eden Gardens Test cricket returned to one of the most storied venues after a wait of six long years. Ahead of the first Test between India and South Africa, Eden Gardens saw a buzzing buildup, with the first three days sold out well in advance. Fans and pundits alike anticipated a cracking contest but no one predicted a two-and-a-half day finish. While there was a flurry of wickets in the match, the public blamed it on the pitch curator for dishing out a rank turner, when in fact it was the…

On the final day of the final Test match between India and England at the Oval, when any sane cricket fan would have said that England would walk away with the series with the team only 35 runs away from victory, Indian fans thronged the stadium, knowing that the result was only an hour or so away. Loyalists like no other, for the first time in the series, the Indian fans were able to dominate the stadium with a sea of blue. As Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna continued their relentless attack with the ball, sending one batter walking after…

Gargi Raut at Eden Gardens On 4 August, Jamie Overton and Jamie Smith walked in with England needing only 35 runs to win the match. The odds were stacked against India and the result seemed all but sealed in England’s favour. Many wrote India off; logically it made little sense for them to make an inroad from there. But this Indian team is one that believes in flipping the tables. It is a norm in England that Test match tickets are sold at full price only until Day Four, and the prices for Day Five are slashed considerably if the…

Gargi Raut at Eden Gardens A bowler known for going all out. All heart, all intensity and all fierceness, is how I would like to describe Mohammed Siraj. A player on the field who refuses to give up till the last ball is bowled and someone who believes in second chances. Ahead of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England only months ago, there was a certain perception that Team India had only one breakthrough fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. But Siraj turned the narrative around with his perseverance, bowling a historic spell at the Oval in the final 58 minutes on Day…