Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Shamik Chakrabarty in Mumbai On the face of it, Musheer Khan’s emotional celebration seemed to stem from scoring a hundred in first-class cricket after a long time. But the Mumbai opener revealed the real reason at the end of the first day’s play of the Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh at the MCA Ground in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Saturday. Musheer lost his maternal uncle earlier in the day. His world was submerged in grief, yet the 20-year-old showed real character to help his team recover from a precarious position. “My mother’s brother died this morning, so I…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai The ICC Board has decided to expand the Women’s World Cup from eight to 10 teams in 2029. This comes on the heels of the resounding success of the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup in India that logged record viewership globally. India beat South Africa in the final to clinch their maiden title. “The ICC re-affirmed its commitment to the growth of Women’s Cricket and heralded the success of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India as testament to its long-standing faith in the Women’s game,” cricket’s global body stated via a press release at the…

By Shamik Chakrabarty in Mumbai On a day when the Maharashtra government felicitated Women’s World Cup-winning Indian team members from the state, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, requesting a plot of land to establish a dedicated residential women’s cricket academy. In his letter to the chief minister, MCA president Ajinkya Naik mentioned that the academy would serve as a centre of excellence. “In line with our commitment to the growth of women’s cricket, we are keen to establish a dedicated residential women’s cricket academy within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR),” Naik wrote in his…

By Shamik Chakrabarty in Mumbai The numbers read like this — three matches, five innings, 95 runs at 23.75, and a highest score of 42. Still early days in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, but for a player who boasts an average of 63.73 (north of 110 over the last five years in first-class cricket), these are modest returns. It’s too soon to say Sarfaraz Khan is going through a lean patch, but he hasn’t quite looked like his usual self so far this season. In his pursuit of returning to the Test side, Sarfaraz’s preparations for the season began…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai The real talking point in India’s squad selection for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa has been the omission of Mohammed Shami. On Wednesday, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee announced a 15-member squad, and Rishabh Pant coming in for N Jagadeesan and Akash Deep in place of Prasidh Krishna were expected. Shami wasn’t considered and his exclusion naturally has divided opinions. There’s a school of thought that the veteran fast bowler, one of the finest-ever in Indian cricket, has been unfairly treated. The counter-view is that the selectors still have every reason to be sceptical about…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Are Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) up for sale? In a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday, Diageo — the owner of the franchise that has teams in the IPL and WPL — called it a ‘Strategic Review of the Investment Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd (RCSPL)’. It didn’t use the word ‘sale’. But the buzz in the market is that come the next financial year, RCB will have a new owner/owners. According to reports, Diageo might ask for a valuation of around $2 billion. “RCSPL’s business comprises ownership of the “Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)”…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai At the presentation ceremony after the Women’s World Cup final, Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, bowed down to touch Jay Shah’s feet. The ICC chairman stopped Harmanpreet and bowed to the skipper in reverence. He saluted India’s ‘narishakthi’. Now, Shah has spoken about his passion for women’s cricket. “I’ve been passionate about women’s cricket for a long time, and the success of the latest ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is a testament to so many who have been working openly and behind the scenes for years to see this growth and evolution materialize before our very eyes,”…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Tom Moody is set to join Lucknow Super Giants as their global director of cricket and the announcement is imminent, RevSportz understands. Moody, the former Australia all-rounder and one of the most respected coaches in the circuit, will be in charge of the all RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG)-owned franchises — LSG, Durban’s Super Giants in SA20 and Manchester Originals in The Hundred. This will mark Moody’s return to the IPL after 2022. LSG had appointed Zaheer Khan in a similar role ahead of the 2025 IPL, but things didn’t quite work out as planned, and the…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai A victory parade to celebrate the World Cup triumph of the India women’s team appears unlikely at this moment. The BCCI haven’t yet finalised any plans, and to put things in perspective, the cricket board has every reason to be a tad hesitant. “Nothing like a victory parade is planned as of now,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. Saikia has left for Dubai to attend the ICC meetings. Several other Board officials are expected to be there as well. People in Mumbai still talk about the open-top bus parade of…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Navi Mumbai In the western suburbs of Mumbai, it was pouring since morning. Until midday on Sunday, Navi Mumbai had kept the inclement weather at arm’s length. Eventually, the region’s luck ran out. Closer to the toss, as India and South Africa were gearing up to play the final of the Women’s World Cup here at DY Patil Stadium, the heavens opened up. It was, in fact, a slow burn — a drizzle that increased steadily and turned into a downpour. The toss was initially delayed to 3 pm, which obviously couldn’t take place. At the…