Author: Staff Reporter

Former India selector Saba Karim believes that there will be no place for Rishabh Pant in the playing XI for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Karim said that KL Rahul will be India’s wicketkeeper-batter. “I would love to see him in the XI, but I think the way the XI is going to be constructed, I see no place for Rishabh Pant at this stage. He comes in because Shubman Gill is not there in the side and once you have decided to pick Tilak Varma in the XI, you see KL Rahul coming in…

Former India bowler Harbhajan Singh believes that India currently lacks a specialist off-spinner for Test cricket. Harbhajan, who himself was an off-spinner, told PTI: “Looks like (India does not have a specialist right-arm off-spinner for Test cricket).” On the sidelines of the launch of 8JJ Sports India, he said: “I think Washington Sundar is there, but we will have to bowl him more. He will have to be bowled for 30-35 overs in a Test match to make a bowler out of him.” India faced two Test whitewashes at home within the span of one year. In the recently concluded…

Prithvi Shaw cracked a brilliant innings of 66 in 36 deliveries, in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Trophy game versus Hyderabad. He has also taken over as the captain of Maharashtra after Ruturaj Gaikwad left for India’s ODI series against South Africa. Shaw smashed his half-century in just 23 balls. His knock included nine boundaries and three sixes, while chasing 192 runs against Hyderabad. He built a strong partnership with the young Arshin Kulkarni as they added 117 in 12 overs. Kulkarni scored 89 runs off 54 balls. Rahul Tripathi also added 26 runs off just 11 balls as Maharashtra…

South African cricket legend AB de Villiers has praised Temba Bavuma for his calm and steady style of leadership, while comparing him with MS Dhoni, one of India’s most successful captains. De Villiers believes Bavuma’s captaincy has surprised almost everyone, and he helped South Africa rise in Test cricket again. On a YouTube show with R Ashwin, de Villiers said, “I think it was similar with MS Dhoni back in the day. I hardly ever heard his voice. He was calm, didn’t speak much, but when he did, people listened. I think it might be the same with Temba. He…

In the backdrop of India losing the Test series to South Africa 0-2, ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has observed that they are ‘one of the poorest spin-playing nations’. Speaking on Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin said, ” And in this day and age, we are probably one of the poorest spin-playing nations in the world as a batting unit. There is a reason for this — we’ve talked about it earlier.” India were defeated by 408 runs in Guwahati, which in turn gave South Africa their first Test series win in India in 25 years. Spinner Simon Harmer took the most wickets, he…

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has defended the Indian team management after Ravichandran Ashwin hinted that a lack of clarity pushed senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to retire from Test cricket. On his YouTube channel, Ashwin shared that he, Kohli and Rohit felt uncertain about their future, which led them towards their Test retirements. “There must be a certain pathway for transition,” he said. “When there is no clarity, it becomes an individualistic decision. Virat could have groomed players. Rohit could have done that. I could have done that. I have always spoken about the importance of…

Australian captain Alyssa Healy went unsold at the Women’s Premier League 2026 mega-auction, held in New Delhi on Thursday, November 27. Healy entered the auction as one of the most prominent names, but not a single franchise showed interest in her. The wicketkeeper-batter was the first player presented in the marquee set. Usually, the first set is dominated by heavy bidding, but, surprisingly, no franchise raised the paddle when her name was announced. Healy is currently playing in the Women’s Big Bash League for the Sydney Sixers. Her current form is not particularly strong, as she has scored only 65…

Madhya Pradesh captain Rajat Patidar has recovered from a left-knee injury and is now set to rejoin his team for the 2025–26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). The BCCI’s Centre of Excellence has given him the green light to play, and he will join his team in Kolkata on Friday. He will feature in the third round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which begins on Sunday, November 30. Patidar’s knee problem first arose during Madhya Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy match against Punjab on October 15. The right-handed batter also missed some matches for India A against South Africa A on…

South Africa defeated India comprehensively by 408 runs in the second Test of the two-match series in Guwahati, whitewashing India 2-0. Rishabh Pant, who captained the second match in Shubman Gill’s absence due to injury, apologised to fans for the team’s disappointing performance. In a social media post, Pant wrote: “There is no shying away from the fact that we did not play good enough cricket over the last two weeks. As a team and as individuals, we always want to perform at the highest level and bring smiles to millions of Indians. Sorry we could not live up to…

Ace India all-rounder Deepti Sharma became the joint second-most expensive player in WPL history at the mega auction held in Delhi on Thursday, November 27. UP Warriorz (UPW), for whom she played previously, exercised their right-to-match (RTM) option to retain her services for INR 3.2 crore. In 2023, Ashleigh Gardner and Nat Sciver-Brunt were bought for INR 3.2 crore by Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians, respectively. Smriti Mandhana remains the most expensive player ever sold at a WPL auction, having been bought by RCB for INR 3.4 crore in 2023. To everyone’s surprise, Australia’s wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy went unsold in…