Author: Staff Reporter

Bangladesh pacer Marufa Akter broke down while speaking about her difficult childhood after making a dream start to her first Women’s World Cup. The 20-year-old fast bowler, who took two wickets for 31 runs in her debut match against Pakistan in Bangladesh’s tournament opener, said her journey from poverty to international cricket has been full of challenges. Sharing her emotional story, a tearful Marufa said, “They wouldn’t invite us to various gatherings (like weddings), saying we didn’t have proper clothes. If we go there, we’ll lose our respect — that’s what they used to say. There was a time when we…

Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who recently retired from international cricket, believes that performance in the domestic circuit should be the main criterion for selection to the national team. Talking to his ex-teammate Ajinkya Rahane in his own YouTube channel Pujara said: “So, what it suggests is that it is a positive move. Because when domestic players perform well in domestic cricket, they should get a reward.” “And I believe that this should continue. And the selection of the Indian Test team should be purely based on domestic cricket”, he added. Karun Nair performed well in the last few…

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has credited head coach Gautam Gambhir for his improvement with the bat. After India defeated the West Indies in the second Test to seal the series 2–0, Jadeja said that Gambhir has helped change his mindset as a batter. “As Gauti bhai (Gambhir) said, I am at number six now,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “So I am thinking more like a proper batsman, and that works for me. In the past, for many years, I was batting at number eight or nine, so my mindset was a little different from what it is…

Former England all-rounder Ian Botham has expressed concerns over the team’s preparation for the upcoming Ashes series beginning on November 21 in Perth. He believes playing only one warm-up game before a five-Test series is risky and could hurt England’s chances of winning the Ashes. Botham, one of the most successful England players of in the 1970s and 80s and a part of victorious Ashes sides, feels this team is not going to have sufficient time to get used to Australian conditions. He was critical of the state of fitness of the fast bowlers. Speaking on the ‘Old Boys, New…

The BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has confirmed that the upcoming Australia tour is not the final ODI series for veteran stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. His updates come amid speculation whether the two seniors will continue their ODI careers, especially since the 2027 World Cup is still two years away. The two former captains have retired from the other two international formats. Putting an end to rumours, Shukla clarified that both Kohli and Rohit are still a part of India’s plans. Speaking to ANI after India’s seven-wicket win against the West Indies in the second Test in New Delhi,…

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has requested better homepitches, stressing that surfaces should offer more bounce and carry to keep Test cricket balanced. His comments on the pitches came after India’s seven-wicket win over West Indies in Delhi, where the hosts had to bowl nearly 200 overs for victory. Though India sealed the series 2-0, Gambhir said he wasn’t fully satisfied with the pitch. “I thought that we could have had a better wicket here,” he said in the post-match conference. “Yes, we did get the result on day five, but again, I think nicks need to carry. I think…

Kuldeep Yadav proved his worth once again by taking eight wickets against West Indies in the second Test in Delhi as India wrapped up the series 2-0. He was named the Player of the Match, and in the post-match presentation, Kuldeep explained the thought process behind his success. “Playing two Test matches back to back is always fun,” he said. “Bowling a lot of overs and getting the breakthrough in the middle is something I enjoy a lot. When you put a lot of revs on the ball and because of the arm speed you generate, if you have a…

India defeated the West Indies in the second Test in New Delhi to clean-sweep the series 2-0. They put on a huge total of 518 and 5 and declared the innings, thanks to centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. In reply, West Indies could only manage 248 in their first innings. The Indian team then decided to enforce the follow-on, but in the second innings, the Caribbean batters showed grit and they scored 390 to give India a target of 121 in the fourth innings. Though it was chased comfortably, many experts criticised India’s decision of not batting in…

West Indies captain Roston Chase focussed on the positives after his team’s loss in the second Test against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The win sealed a 2-0series win for the hosts. Despite India winning by seven wickets, Chase said that histeam took valuable lessons from the match and showed signs of improvement. During the post-match presentation he said, “Two guys getting hundreds. We batted 100 overs, first time in a long time. And taking the game to the fifth day.” Chase was happy with the team’s determination and performance. John Campbell (115) and Shai Hope…

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly preparing for a backup plan after Afghanistan’s participation in the upcoming T20 Tri-Series became uncertain amid rising military tensions and clashes at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Afghanistan are likely to pull out of the tri-series. “The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has asked the International Cricket Council to start working on an alternate plan as he wants the Tri-Series to go ahead,” a source was quoted by news agency PTI. Pakistan are set to host Sri Lanka and Afghanistan for a seven-match T20 Tri-Series, scheduled on November 17 in Rawalpindi with the final on November 29 in Lahore.…