Author: S Kannan

Babar Azam is facing the heat. The Pakistan captain has been subjected to pure vitriol, with the ARN – Abdul Razzaq Network – leading the way. Razzaq, an all-rounder of some distinction who played in the side that reached the 1999 World Cup final, has been at the forefront of a malicious campaign against Babar, which has peaked in the last few days. Agreed, the Pakistan captain and his team have bombed at the box office in the ICC World Cup, but to subject him to harsh, cheap words and ask for his head to roll is insensitive. Perhaps as…

How often have we heard that bowlers never get their due in white-ball contests? On Sunday night in Lucknow, it was a lot about India’s bowlers getting their due in conditions where dew was a big factor against England. With due respect to Rohit Sharma, man of the match for his splendid 87, this had never been considered part of the main World Cup script. Then again, there was a change in the proceedings. For once, India were not chasing. They were defending a total which seemed anaemic in front of scores totted up on the board in previous matches…

Rohit Sharma will walk out for his 100th toss as India skipper on Sunday when the hosts take on beleaguered England in the ICC World Cup. Lucknow, once the city of Nawabs, is decked up to host a contest where India is the favourite. Indians cricket’s own Nawab – not to be confused with the late Mansur Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi – Rohit will hardly think of this century as he prepares to challenge the defending champions in a format which has produced high intensity and crazy contests over the last two days. This Rohit ton is an aggregate of…

Manu Bhaker exorcised some ghosts of the past as she won India a quota place for the Paris Olympics in the 25-metre sports pistol event. Finishing fifth in the Asian Championships may not seem a big deal for a layman, but it builds on the steady progress Indian shooting has made in the last two decades. “I was not even aware I had won the quota once I stepped out from my shooting lane and returned to sit on the chair,” Manu told this writer on Saturday. “The coach told me I had sealed the quota for India.” Spread over…

If Kapil Dev earned the sobriquet of “Devil” after his exploits during the 1983 World Cup triumph, Madan Lal was always “Warhorse.” A fighter by nature on the cricket field, Maddi Paaji, as he is fondly known by those in his inner circle, is still passionate about Indian cricket. Old-time cricket writers from Delhi swore that as long as Madan was around, anything could happen. It was not just a cliché but a tribute to the man’s spirit – even in a David-versus-Goliath contest. Madan’s swagger on the cricket field was always there, even though some were harsh and said…

Maninder Singh gets angry and emotional when you talk about the Reliance World Cup semi-final between India and England in 1987. Having won the 1983 Prudential World Cup, India, as hosts, were firm favourites. Then came the Wankhede clash against England and, to borrow partly from Margaret Mitchell, the famous author, India’s chances went with the wind. Romance and tragedy are part of life, interlinked in many ways. For those that were part of it, India losing that semi-final was indeed something of a tragedy. The run till the semi-final was smooth. Then came Graham Gooch’s epic 115. Gooch…

S Kannan in New Delhi For a champion side, one loss can be an aberration, two bizarre, and a hat-trick of setbacks a nightmare. But that’s what English cricket now has to confront after Jos Buttler’s men waved the white flag at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in just 59 overs, against a Sri Lankan side that had begun the ICC World Cup with three straight losses. The much-talked about Bazball has transformed England’s Test fortunes, and the defending champions – who also won the T20 World Cup in Australia last November – arrived in India to much fanfare. But…

It was hard to get Kirti Azad talking about cricket. For, the mortal remains of Bishan Bedi turning to ashes on Tuesday left everyone feeling a deep void, the kind of vacuum which can never be filled. For Kirti, Bish Paaji was a guru and a mentor, in the Delhi cricket context. Reluctantly, Kirti spoke of the forthcoming India-England contest, the next assignment for Rohit Sharma and his men in the ICC World Cup. It will be held at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh. Any mention of India and the World Cup inevitably leads us back…

What lamps ceased to burn, and what hearts ceased to beat? The news of lion-hearted Sardar Bishan Singh Bedi passing away on Monday cast a pall of gloom over the cricket fraternity. Any adjective used to describe Bedi will be incomplete. Paaji, a term used with utmost respect for anyone who commands it, fitted Bish, as the old-timers knew him. His passing away at 77 hits you hard, more so when Indian cricket is shining at the ICC World Cup. Bedi was old school, yet, until two years ago, he was frank and forthright, even on Twitter. It was only…

There is something really cool about Team India these days. No, we are not talking about the weather in Dharamsala, where fog stopped play for a brief phase on Sunday. Nor are we talking about the cold weather up North, where a 2pm start may have been poor planning for a World Cup match of this magnitude against New Zealand. New-generation fans and old-timers are getting used to phrases like “cool dude” and “bro”, watching the Indian team win match after match. Five wins in a row, getting past the Black Caps without Hardik Pandya in the XI – that…