Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Paras Dogra is 40 years old. He made his first-class debut in 2001-02. Originally from Himachal Pradesh, he captains Jammu and Kashmir these days. The second day of the Ranji Trophy match between Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai in Srinagar belonged to the veteran. His unbeaten century kept the hosts in the game. Against Mumbai’s 386 all out, Jammu and Kashmir finished the day on 273/7, still 113 runs adrift, but with an outside chance of taking a first-innings lead. Losing Abid Mushtaq (40), who added 68 runs with Dogra for the seventh wicket, was a blow.…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Only a couple of days ago, Cape Verde, a country with a population of 5.25 lakh, qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals. Close on its heels came India’s ouster from the AFC Asian Cup after they were beaten by the 159th-ranked Singapore. India, a country of 1.4 billion people, had already sent the long kiss goodnight to their World Cup prospects. Where does Indian football go from here? Is there a future? “There is always a future, but we need a complete, radical overhaul of the system,” said Bhaichung Bhutia, the former Indian football team captain,…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai The first question that Dinesh Lad asked his son Siddhesh was about the nature of his dismissal. The father and the son spoke on the phone after the first day’s play of the Ranji Trophy match between Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai in Srinagar. Siddhesh’s 116 off 156 balls resurrected Mumbai from a tricky 74/3. They were 336/5 at stumps. How did Siddhesh respond to his father’s — who also happens to be his coach — query? “He told me in mock anger, ‘you are asking how I got out, rather than talking about my century’. He…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Is there a tomorrow for Indian football after the defeat against the 159th-ranked Singapore? India are out of the AFC Asian Cup and the FIFA World Cup. Maybe, the time has come to board up the Football House and sell the football pitches for grazing. Anwar Ali and Rahul Bheke have a reported combined salary touching Rs 30 crore over the period of their contracts with their respective clubs. They wouldn’t have made it to the Mohun Bagan or East Bengal first team if they were playing in the 1970s and ‘80s. Sunil Chhetri has been brought…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai The Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) cricket museum at Wankhede Stadium will be open to public from Sunday, the association has informed. The museum, named after the former MCA, BCCI and ICC president Sharad Pawar, showcases the rich history and legacy of Mumbai cricket, as well as the achievements of the legends who excelled for India at the international level and for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. The museum was inaugurated in August. There would be a guided museum tour and also a museum-plus-stadium tour. The visitors will be allowed to go to select areas of Wankhede Stadium.…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Hopefully, the eight-member working group of the International Cricket Council, which is exploring the possibilities of having two divisions in Tests, has taken note of John Campbell’s century at Feroz Shah Kotla. If they have, the whole concept should be nipped in the bud. The most radical change in the 133-year history of Test cricket would be wonderfully lucrative for the broadcasters. But that’s not what we play the sport for. For 273 minutes and 199 balls, Campbell channelled his inner Roy Fredericks and Alvin Kallicharran, as he scored his maiden Test hundred against a world-class…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai Chennai Super Kings haven’t decided their retention list for the 2026 IPL, RevSportz understands. In fact, it hasn’t even been discussed in-house yet. A meeting between head coach Stephen Fleming, former captain MS Dhoni and current captain Ruturaj Gaikwad will finalise the list. At the moment, the franchise is waiting for the IPL to put out the date for the submission of the list of the retained players ahead of the mini-auction. A CSK official rubbished the rumours that the five-time champions have been contemplating on parting ways with Devon Conway and Sam Curran. Recently, a story…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai After a rigorous practice session at Shivaji Park, one of Mumbai cricket’s sanctum sanctorums, Rohit Sharma was packing his bags when a young boy ran towards him. Rohit’s security intervened, but he told them to let the boy come. “Aane de usko,” and the youngster’s day was made. He clicked pictures with his idol. When Rohit was doing the nets, a group of young trainees lined up at a distance to watch the master at work. Rohit’s training session on Thursday drew bigger crowds than the ongoing India-West Indies series. Irrespective of the ODI captaincy snub, he…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai One name was conspicuous by absence, as the senior selection committee of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) announced a 16-member Ranji Trophy squad for the first game against Jammu and Kashmir. It was Suryakumar Yadav. India’s T20I captain made himself unavailable for the game. Surya is not injured. Nor is he going into a red-ball recluse a la Shreyas Iyer. The decision is for the Ranji Trophy opener only and going ahead, the MCA expects the senior batter to be part of the set-up. The 35-year-old played three Ranji Trophy matches last term, scoring 109 runs at…

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai When he went to Ramakant Achrekar’s nets for the first time, Sachin Tendulkar was in a pair of white canvas shoes with flat green soles — something that almost everyone of a certain generation has worn for his/her PE classes in school. After a few days, the great coach asked Tendulkar’s brother, Ajit, to arrange for a pair of cricket shoes with spikes. In modern context, those boots would look primitive — long nails driven hard into ragged leather. But that’s the way it used to be for the budding cricketers in the 1980s. Achrekar’s gurukul had…