Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Two months ago, cricket here was played in the sound of silence. The noise would be deafening in the T20I series decider between India and South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. The India versus West Indies Test in early October came at a time when this part of the world was celebrating Navratri. A five-day game against the Carribeans was way down in the fans’ priority list. Barely a few hundreds turned up for a no-contest that ended inside three days. Test cricket these days doesn’t fetch money. T20 is the game’s cash cow. The fourth T20I…

The 2026 IPL auction saw a paradigm shift in Chennai Super Kings’ philosophy. They went to the auction with a purse of Rs 43.4 crore and spent Rs 28.4 crore of those to sign up two uncapped young Indian cricketers. Prashant Veer, 20, and Kartik Sharma, 19, became CSK players for Rs 14.2 crore each. The changed philosophy started to take shape midway into the last season, through the acquisitions of Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel and Dewald Brevis. As head coach Stephen Fleming said at the press conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the game has evolved and the…

At Chennai Super Kings trials, Prashant Veer was told to focus on consistency. The youngster is now going to MS Dhoni’s gurukul. The left-arm spinner, who can also give a cricket ball a real tonk with the bat, will have a wonderful opportunity to grow. At Rs 14.2 crore, Veer, son of a primary schoolteacher from Amethi, became the most expensive uncapped player in the history of the IPL. Kartik Sharma, who is called a ‘six-hitting machine’ back in native Rajasthan, later joined him at the top. But this story is about the boy from a village in Uttar Pradesh…

Unless there’s an eleventh-hour twist, Sarfaraz Khan is set to return to the IPL after going unsold at last year’s mega-auction. The Mumbai batter is in excellent form in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with 256 runs from six matches at 64.00 and a strike-rate of 182.85. It is learnt that at least three franchises are monitoring him ahead of the 2026 IPL auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Sarfaraz is listed in the opening set of capped batters with a base price of Rs 75 lakh. Circa 2025 didn’t go well for the 28-year-old. He was part of…

Shubman Gill started brightly in cold Dharamsala during the third T20I against South Africa on Sunday. There was no scoreboard pressure. India were chasing 118 for victory and, even in seaming conditions, Abhishek Sharma was making batting look like a walk in the park. Gill was content to play second fiddle. But once Abhishek was dismissed for an 18-ball 35, India’s T20I vice-captain seemed to go into a shell. In the end, a run-a-ball 28, the latter half of which resembled an ODI knock, was not detrimental to India’s cause. The hosts were always ahead in the game, but from…

First things first, Satadru Dutta, the sports promoter from Rishra, was either too naive or too clever by half. Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour, A Satadru Dutta Initiative, was his most ambitious project yet. He had organised the visits of Pele, Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho before. But they were the stars of yore. Messi, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, is still the world’s biggest sporting personality, notwithstanding that he is 38 years old and currently plies his trade in Major League Soccer (MLS). He is also a current World Cup winner. For a vast section of football fans in Kolkata, Fifa’s…

Shubman Gill might be playing the remaining three T20Is of the ongoing series against South Africa to save his place in the team. That he is the vice-captain of the side doesn’t insulate him from the chop. It is learnt that the selectors and the team management are concerned about a worrying top-order slump with the T20 World Cup around the corner. Gill will have to regain his mojo at the earliest. Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, is not covering himself in glory either. That Axar Patel was sent ahead of him in the second T20I in New Chandigarh, when the…

The ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), India’s premier domestic T20 tournament, has been rocked by allegations of match-fixing. The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has suspended four players — Amit Sinha, Ishan Ahmed, Aman Tripathi and Abhishek Thakuri — with immediate effect, as prima facie evidence suggested their involvement. “The above four players, who have represented Assam at various stages, are accused of influencing and attempting to instigate some of the current Assam team players, who took part in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 held in Lucknow from November 26 to December 8,” ACA secretary Sanatan Das stated via…

The 2026 Geopolitics World Cup has 12 groups. Yes, you read it right. With 48 teams in the fray, football’s quadrennial showpiece has taken a baby step towards achieving ArseneWenger’s dream of having a 100-team World Cup, tongue firmly ensconced in cheek. The people who matter are happy though. President Donald Trump is revelling in his FIFA Peace Prize. FIFA president Gianni Infantino had his fanboy moment during the group draw at John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC last week, and Cristiano Ronaldo is enjoying himself with a beaming smile after his ban has been…

Rohit Sharma’s participation in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy is all but confirmed. It is learnt that the former India captain will play a few matches for Mumbai in the domestic 50-over tournament, starting on December 24. According to an insider, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is yet to receive an official confirmation from Rohit with regards to him playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy. But the 38-year-old firmly remains in the association’s scheme of things. Mumbai are currently playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where their last Super League match is on December 16. If they qualify for the…