Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Siddhesh Lad is 33 years old, an age when professional athletes start thinking about post-retirement. Youth is a fashionable word in sport, which steeply increases the degree of difficulty for the OTs (over thirty). But what about someone who is having a second wind to the extent of scoring five first-class hundreds so far in a season — four on the spin. On the face of it, it feels like international cricket has passed Lad by. His exploits on the field, though, should make the selectors sit up and take note. Five centuries in a season, and…

Back in the day, not too far back though, in September 2025, when Mohsin Naqvi fled with the Asia Cup trophy, he was enraged at the title-winning Indian team’s decision to not collect the piece of silverware from him. Four months down the line, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair has taken grave exception to the ICC’s decision to replace the sniveller Bangladesh, over the safety and security issues in India, with Scotland at the upcoming T20 World Cup. What Pakistan has got to do with Bangladesh’s ouster when they are playing all their matches in Sri Lanka is anyone’s…

The AQI on the weather app varied between 127 and 140. But multiple Mumbai cricketers, including Sarfaraz Khan, his brother Musheer and Himanshu Singh, wore masks. The Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), where at the MCA ground the Mumbai versus Delhi Ranji Trophy match is being played, is a commercial hub and non-stop construction work has made the area dusty. Precaution/prevention is always better than cure. Mohit Avasthi is 33 years old and sort of became the forgotten man in Mumbai cricket. A shoulder ligament tear had sidelined him and he had to walk a long road to return to the…

“I try to stay in the present. I can’t do anything about the past,” said Sarfaraz Khan on the heels of his magnificent 227 off 219 balls in the last Ranji Trophy fixture against Hyderabad. The next game is against Delhi here at MCA Ground in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) from Thursday. Ahead of that, the Mumbai batter opened up on his India snub. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Sarfaraz told reporters on the match eve. “All I know is that I’m going to go home (now). I’m going to bat at home. I’m going to spend…

Sanju Samson appears to be on a bit of a slippery slope ahead of the T20 World Cup. A string of low scores – he has scored 16 runs in the first three T20Is in the ongoing series against New Zealand – has seemingly jeopardised his position in the playing XI. Tilak Varma’s absence has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Ishan Kishan, who seamlessly fitted into the role of an enforcer at No. 3, making a mockery of his two-year-long international hiatus. Whether Ishan should partner Abhishek Sharma at the top once Tilak returns to the…

November 2024: “India not coming to Pakistan (for the Champions Trophy) is unacceptable. We will not accept a hybrid model.” That was Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair Mohsin Naqvi after the BCCI had requested the ICC to relocate India’s 2025 Champions Trophy matches to Dubai. There were genuine security threats and even the ICC’s internal security assessment corroborated it. The ICC Board approved a hybrid model and India played all their matches in Dubai in a title-winning campaign. Yes, as a quid pro quo, the ICC Board also decided that until 2027, all the India-Pakistan matches would be played at…

Informally, Pakistan will play the T20 World Cup, RevSportz understands. Formally, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has kept things open-ended after its chair Mohsin Naqvi met with Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday. This was along the expected lines, ostensibly to keep the ICC and the broadcasters on the tenterhooks. After the meeting, Naqvi came up with a post on X (formerly Twitter) that said: “Had a productive meeting with the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz (Shehbaz) Sharif. Briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It…

GS Walia I first met Mr Bindra in 1975 in Patiala and the association lasted for 50 years. Inderjit Singh Bindra and Jagmohan Dalmiya changed Indian cricket, but I would come to that later. First, how he brought top-class cricket facilities to Punjab. Mr Bindra knew that the starting point had to be infrastructure development and it was imperative that we built a world-class stadium. The work started in 1991 and we had Rs 40 crore at our disposal. Eventually, we would run out of money. But Mr Bindra, the great administrator that he was, would ensure our dream wasn’t…

Mohsin Naqvi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair, will be meeting the members of the Pakistan T20 World Cup squad in Lahore on Sunday, it is learnt. RevSportz understands that the meeting is about taking the players into confidence that the PCB would follow the Pakistan government’s instructions with regards to participating at the upcoming ICC event starting on February 7. This comes on the heels of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup announcement. Asked about why did the selection committee go ahead with naming the 15-member squad when the team’s participation is uncertain, senior selector Aaqib Javed said: “Our job is…

On Saturday, Mohsin Naqvi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair, cast doubt on Pakistan’s participation at the upcoming T20 World Cup. “Our stance (regarding World Cup participation) will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me,” he told reporters. “The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I will be able to give you our final decision. It’s the government’s decision. We obey them, not the ICC.” Until yesterday, rumours were floating around. Naqvi made the PCB’s stand official in the wake of the ICC’s decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland at the T20 World…