Author: Staff Reporter

UP Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar took full responsibility for the batting-order changes after his team suffered their second straight loss in WPL 2026. The strategy to send Harleen Deol to open and push Kiran Navgire to No. 4 did not work in their favour against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Nayar admitted his mistake. Warriorz lost their second match by nine wickets on January 12 and explaining the idea behind the change, Nayar said after the match, “We felt that with the moving ball at that point, Harleen could add a bit of value in the power play. She’sobviously…

One of the well-known names in India’s domestic cricket and the IPL, KC Cariappa has announced his retirement. The mystery spinner did so through a social media post, reflecting on his journey from the very beginning. He wrote on social media: “From the streets where it all began to stadium lights and wearing the jersey with pride, I lived the dream I once only imagined. Today, I officially announce my retirement from BCCI cricket. This journey gave me everything. Victories that made me smile, defeats that broke me and lessons that shaped me. I owe my deepest gratitude to KSCA…

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana expressed her happiness after their nine-wicket win against UP Warriorz (UPW) in the ongoing WPL 2026 and praised her bowlers for making the batters’ job easier. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, she said: “It was the best seat in the house for me to watch Grace whack those balls. But the bowling, the way everyone bowled and chipped in and executed the plans, I mean, that was something really special to watch. (On Bell) I was just joking around about how she’s going to get plans back home, because in the last…

Former India coach Ravi Shastri praised India’s star batter Virat Kohli and suggested India captain Shubman Gill to follow the veteran’s work ethic and dedication to achieve greater success in his career. Shastri made the comments during commentary in the first ODI of the three-match series between India and New Zealand in Vadodara, as quoted by NDTV Sports. Highlighting Kohli’s discipline and hunger, Shastri said: “The single-mindedness, the hunger. The willingness to push that body to the limits. And I have seen that in my time when I was with the team, his work ethics probably second to none. I…

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 matches scheduled on January 14 and 15 could be played behind closed doors due to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in Mumbai. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that the matches will go ahead as planned, but the inclusion of spectators remains uncertain because of security concerns raised by the Mumbai Police. Explaining the reason behind the uncertainty to IANS, Saikia said, “The thing is that there is a local (municipal) election in Mumbai on 15th. So we are contemplating that we’ll go ahead with the matches. Whether there will be crowd in the…

Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal has created history in the Vijay Hazare Trophy by becoming the first batter to score more than 700 runs in a season twice. Padikkal reached the milestone during the quarterfinal against Mumbai on January 12, further underlining his dominance in domestic cricket. Earlier, Padikkal had crossed the 700-run mark in the 2020–21 season, and he has now repeated the feat in the 2025–26 edition. Previously, players like Mayank Agarwal (2017–18), Prithvi Shaw (2020–21), Narayan Jagadeesan (2022–23) and Karun Nair (2024–25) had achieved 700-plus runs in a single season once, but Padikkal is the only player to…

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has given India’s star batter Virat Kohli a new name — “Virat consistent Kohli” — to describe Kohli’s recent dream run in international as well as domestic cricket. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Irfan said: “The way Virat Kohli is batting, we can call him ‘Virat consistent Kohli’. Kohli deserves praise for the way he approaches his innings, especially for stepping out regularly at 37. When a batter steps out regularly, many things can go wrong. But Kohli’s head position is strong, and it shows his technique is strong. Your core needs to be strong,…

Nandni Sharma delivered a memorable performance for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 on January 11. In her second WPL match, she took a historic five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick against Gujarat Giants (GG) in Navi Mumbai. Nandni is currently the Purple Cap holder with seven wickets in two games. While addressing the media after the clash against GG, Nandni opened up about the trust and encouragement she received from her captain, Jemimah Rodrigues. “Jemi kept telling me to do my best. She was guiding me ball by ball and that helped me a lot,…

India’s wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has opened up about how batting at No.6 has completely changed his approach to the game and helped him understand his batting better. He explained that the role is very different from opening the innings, as it requires quick thinking, fast scoring, and strong decision-making from the very first ball. In the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, Rahul batted at No.6 and remained unbeaten on 29 off 21 balls, finishing the chase of 301 runs with one over and four wickets to spare. Speaking to the broadcasters after the match, Rahul explained how the…

Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis believes that India’s stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will decide when to retire based on how their bodies respond to the demands of the game. Speaking to ANI, Kallis said such decisions depend largely on fitness levels and personal readiness, especially at the later stage of a player’s career. “He (Virat Kohli) obviously knows his body when you want to call it quits. Hopefully, he goes out to the bank. He certainly deserves it. Fantastic player (Rohit Sharma) and hopefully he also deserves to go out to the bank.” When Kohli and Rohit…