Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Cricket commentary has lost a bit of cutting edge these days. It now revels in being politically correct. In this day and age of social media, even legendary former cricketers are hesitant to speak their mind on air. Sai Sudharsan was lucky that Geoffrey Boycott wasn’t a commentator when he got out for a golden duck in the second innings at Old Trafford. The manner of his dismissal would have certainly angered the great Yorkshireman to the extent of bringing out his irritated best of the 2014 vintage. Clippings are still available to confirm how Boycott had refused to mince…

Joe Root batted, almost until the cows came home, and England stamped their authority on the Old Trafford Test and the series. As things stand, India will have to play out of their skins to make England bat again in the fourth Test. At stumps on Day 3, the hosts were 544/7, leading by 186 runs. Weather permitting, they should wrap up the series in the next two days. The only time Root looked a tad vulnerable was when he was on 98 and facing Mohammed Siraj with the second new ball. The fast bowler had settled into a rhythm…

Liam Dawson is not quite the ‘King of Spain’. In fact, Ashley Giles has every right to take offence to the comparison, while Dawson might not take any if one calls his bowling at Test level ‘left-arm nothing’. The 35-year-old is playing this game because Shoaib Bashir is injured. This is his first Test after a gap of eight years and fourth overall, after making his debut in December 2016. The left-arm spinner provided England with arguably the most vital breakthrough of the day. Yashasvi Jaiswal was batting on 58 and he wasn’t looking like getting out. The ball teased…

Shamik Chakrabarty The National Sports Bill previously had faced rejections, at the cabinet level and in parliament. This time, though, there’s a strong belief that the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, will become an Act in due course. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tabled the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with an aim to bring transparency and standardise India’s sports administration. Here are some salient features of the Bill that promises to overhaul India’s sports governance. Age and tenure cap It’s a bit tricky. The Bill puts the age cap at 70 for office-bearers, extending up to…

One key feature of the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 is that any sports organisation that wants to use the word “India” or “Indian” or “National”, or any national insignia in any language will have to obtain a no-objection certificate from the central government. The Bill was introduced in Parliament by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday. It brings the BCCI directly under its purview once it is passed and enacted into law. The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025, too, was introduced in the Lower House. According to the proposed Bill, there should be only one National Olympic Committee…

Shamik Chakrabarty The National Sports Governance Bill is set to be introduced in Parliament on Wednesday, and the BCCI will come under it, RevSportz has learnt. It will mean that the cricket board will be recognised as a National Sports Federation (NSF), making certain recommendations of the Lodha Committee redundant. For example, the current BCCI constitution, drafted on the basis of the Lodha Committee recommendations, makes Roger Binny ineligible as president. The former India all-rounder turned 70 on July 19, the cut-off age for an office bearer. But if the BCCI comes under the National Sports Bill, Binny can continue…

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…