Author: Staff Reporter

Former South African batter Hashim Amla has named Jasprit Bumrah as the most difficult bowler he faced during his Indian Premier League (IPL) days. In a recent podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, Amla lauded Bumrah’s magnificent skill set and consistency across all formats of the game. “Obviously Bumrah,” said Amla when asked about the best he’d faced. “I mean, he’s an amazing bowler, and you see how fantastic he’s been for India. Yeah, I think Bumrah is definitely the best bowler and somebody who challenged me the most. I’d say he’s the most skilful, and as an all-format bowler, he’s just…

Opener Shafali Verma has opened up about the difficulties she faced before becoming one of the key players in India’s historic 2025 Women’s World Cup victory. She joined the squad as an last-minute replacement for the injured Pratika Rawal, and delivered a match-winning all-round performance in the final. “The last year was tough for me,” Shafali told reporters in Rohtak, Haryana. “I faced many struggles, but I kept working hard and was rewarded by God for my effort.” Though she couldn’t create much impact in the semi-final against Australia, where she scored only 10, she used theopportunity perfectly in the…

Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium has been shortlisted to host one of the semi-finals in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. The world’s largest cricket stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, can also host both the tournament opener and the final. While the schedule has not yet been released, the multi-nation event is expected to take place from 7 February to 8 March in India and Sri Lanka. The ICC and the host nations are focusing on better planning and smooth logistics for teams and fans by concentrating the venues in a few major cities. If India and Pakistan meet in a…

England great Kevin Pietersen has praised India’s rising batting sensation Abhishek Sharma, hailing him as the ‘most complete’ opening batter in T20 cricket. “Not surprised at all by this. Abhishek is the most complete opening batter in T20 cricket. Fearless, courageous and talented!” Pietersen wrote on X. Abhishek has emerged as one of the most talked-about cricketers in recent times and currently sits at the top of the ICC T20I batters rankings. The 25-year-old was India’s leading run-scorer in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against Australia, amassing 163 runs at an average of 40.75. The talented left-hander was in…

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised Jordan Hermann for his brilliant knock in South Africa A’s five-wicket win over India A in the second unofficial Test at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru. The visitors chased down the massive target of 417 runs in 98 overs with five wickets to spare and the two-match series ended 1-1. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Ashwin wrote: “South Africa ‘A’ led by Jordan Hermann are throwing in some punches on day 4 of the Unofficial Test chasing 417. He is batting on 90 against Siraj, Prasidh, Kuldeep and Akash Deep.…

India lost the second unofficial Test in Bengaluru, with South Africa winning by five wickets. With this result, the two-match series ended in a 1-1 draw. India lost it mainly because the bowlers failed to build the pressure on the South Africa batters in the final innings. India scored 255 in the first innings and 382/7 in the second, which gave them a strong standing in the game. But South Africa showed composure and built important partnerships. In their first innings, South Africa scored 221 runs, with captain Marques Ackerman playing a brilliant knock of 134 runs. In that innings,…

World Cup champion Richa Ghosh was honoured by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the West Bengal government for her contribution to India’s historic ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup triumph. The young wicketkeeper-batter received glowing praise from CAB president and former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who expressed his wish to see her captain the national team in the future. At the felicitation ceremony, where Richa was presented with the Banga Bhushan award, Ganguly said, “Your career has just begun. Women’s cricket will grow massively in the next four to six years, and there will be more opportunities. I hope…

Team India clinched the five-match T20I series 2-1 in Australia after the fifth and final game was washed out due to rain. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan praised the current crop of all-rounders — Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar — for their impactful performances throughout the series. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Irfan said: “We have seen some changes but there is a story in those. The strength of this team is the all-rounders. I’m focussing on all-rounders because Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel have been the biggest positives, especially Sundar as he’s not been a…

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel has raised a key question for the team management ahead of the Test series against South Africa starting November 14. Speaking on Star Sports, he asked whether India should go with an all-rounder like Nitish Kumar Reddy or pick a pure batter in Dhruv Jurel. “There will be only one question for India, and that will be at No. 6, whether you want to play Nitish Reddy or Dhruv Jurel. It will be an early start in Kolkata. So can Nitish Reddy play the role of the third seamer? Then you can use Nitish Reddy…

Ravichandran Ashwin believes that teams will have to stop both Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy if they want to stop India from winning next year’s T20 World Cup. The veteran all-rounder said India have a strong squad capable of defending their title under head coach Gautam Gambhir. India were crowned T20 World Cup 2024 champions under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. On his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, “If any team wants to win the T20 World Cup in India, they will have to master two factors. I was saying until now that handling Jasprit Bumrah. But I will say right now, the…