Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Shamik Chakrabarty There have been better fast bowlers than Mohammed Siraj in Indian cricket. Kapil Dev and Jasprit Bumrah are all-time greats. Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami, too, trump Siraj in terms of skill-set and achievements. But when it comes to fighting spirit and rising to occasions, the 31-year-old from Hyderabad concedes very little to those illustrious names. Siraj has an impeccable fitness record. Since making his Test debut in Melbourne in December 2020, he has played 39 matches and bowled 5,960 balls. Compare this with Bumrah, who made his Test debut at Cape Town in January 2018.…

It has turned out to be a blame game, with the Karnataka government holding Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) responsible for the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 that claimed 11 lives and badly injured more than 50 people. The state government’s status report, which was made public on Thursday, stated the franchise showed complete disregard to the norms and procedures and unilaterally decided to hold the victory celebrations following their IPL triumph, without obtaining the necessary permissions from the administration. The question remains, how could a mere IPL franchise defy the might of a state government? Where did…

Shamik Chakrabarty Jasprit Bumrah is set to play at Old Trafford, the fourth Test between England and India that commences on July 23, RevSportz understands. The fast bowler skipped the second Test at Edgbaston to manage his workload, notwithstanding that there was a week’s gap between the first Test and the second. The Lord’s Test ended on July 14 and it is learnt that Bumrah would be available for the next game. The 31-year-old bagged a five-for in the first innings at Headingley but went wicketless in the second, as England chased down 373 to win by five wickets. Mohammed…

Dear Jaddu, First up, a thousand apologies. On June 30, this correspondent had written a piece on RevSportz, titled – ‘An all-round problem in the form of Jadeja compounds India’s woes’. It was done on the heels of India losing an unlosable Test at Headingley. Simmering anger clouded the judgment. It shouldn’t have happened. A few fallow performances were the trigger, forgetting the fact that even the very best sometimes go through a lean period. The downside of being so good is that only failures get noticed. India lost another unlosable Test at Lord’s. But your defiance won hearts. There…

Shamik Chakrabarty A couple of days ago, Shubman Gill, while channelling his inner Sunny Deol, had asked Zak Crawley to grow a pair. The boot is on the other foot now. The England opener proved to be a violet that didn’t shrink. He was absolutely well within his rights to take his time to ensure his side didn’t face an extra over at the end of the third day. The India captain, on the other hand, turned out to be a shrinking violet in the face of England’s hostility. When Gill came out to bat in India’s second innings, on…

The second morning of the Lord’s Test belonged to Jasprit Bumrah. Bowling from the Nursery End, the fast bowler was breathing fire that burned down England’s batting royalty. Two incoming deliveries accounted for Ben Stokes and Joe Root, while Chris Woakes perished for a golden duck to an away-goer. At 271/7, the hosts were staring at a subpar first innings total, when the ball change happened. Just 46 deliveries into the day, with the second new ball only 10.3 overs old, Mohammed Siraj felt that the red Dukes had lost its shape. A brief chat with Akash Deep ensued before…

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Sanjog Gupta as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the global body informed via a press release. A senior figure in global media and entertainment, and sports ecosystems, Gupta will assume office on July 7, 2025, becoming the seventh CEO of the ICC. The position fell vacant following Geoff Allardice’s resignation in January. Gupta currently serves as CEO – Sports & Live Experiences at JioStar and brings with him over two decades of cross-functional experience and proven expertise in building successful consumer franchises, and is widely regarded as one of the architects of the…

The Indian government has cleared the Pakistan hockey team’s participation in the upcoming Asia Cup and FIH men’s Junior World Cup, Hockey India sources have confirmed to RevSportz. While the Asia Cup will be played in Rajgir, Bihar, from August 27 to September 7, the 14th edition of the Junior World Cup (U-21) will be held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. This follows a letter from Hockey India to the Indian government about a month-and-a-half ago, stating that denial of visas for the Pakistani players for these two tournaments might go against the international norms…

The final day of the Headingley Test offered a throwback to the 1987 World Cup semi-final between India and England at Wankhede. It was a game where Graham Gooch had swept India out of the tournament, scoring a match-winning 115. Maninder Singh and Ravi Shastri were at the receiving end of his ‘broomstick’ aggression that worked wonderfully well for England. Thirty-eight years down the line, Ben Duckett was doing it in reverse — reverse-sweep to be precise — on a Day 5 pitch against Ravindra Jadeja. A stat put out by ESPNcricinfo reveals that England batters played 39 reverse-sweeps against…

Many moons ago, a callow Chetan Sharma on his first tour of Pakistan, was intercepted by his captain, Sunil Gavaskar, at the dressing room entrance after he got out playing a poor shot. Not that it impacted the game much, but Gavaskar was livid. “Young man,” said the great man in a hushed tone. “If you repeat this, rest assured you would never play for India again.” Sharma was a tail-ender and his primary remit was to share the new ball with Kapil Dev. But Gavaskar reminded him in no uncertain terms that when he was going out to bat,…