Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

The backstory, as India faced Australia at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, was a column written by Greg Chappell. By then, Travis Head had once again become India’s nemesis, and he was the only batsman in the Australian team to neutralise Jasprit Bumrah. “Head’s performances against Jasprit Bumrah in this series exemplify his fearless approach,” Chappell, the former Australia captain whose stint as India coach was pretty eventful, wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald. “While most batsmen struggle to survive Bumrah’s unorthodox action, sharp pace, and relentless accuracy, Head has treated him like any other bowler,” Chappell observed. It’s…

Andre Russell was almost on his knees, completely crestfallen. Around him, Punjab Kings players celebrated wildly. Shreyas Iyer, the PBKS captain, had a point to prove. He was dismissed for a two-ball duck. Shreyas, the title-winning Kolkata Knight Riders skipper in 2024 whom the franchise didn’t retain, lost the battle. But he won the war at Mullanpur on Tuesday. Russell has been a pale shadow of his former self this season. But KKR’s failure to chase down 111 was not on him. He briefly raised hopes for his team, hitting a couple of sixes and a four against the excellent…

Have Chennai Super Kings roped in Ayush Mhatre as the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement? When asked, a CSK official answered in the negative. “We don’t go by what’s appearing on social media. If it is official, we will inform via our official outlets,” he said. Mhatre, the 17-year-old talented Mumbai batsman, had earlier been called by CSK for a trial and he might well replace Gaikwad if the latter is eventually ruled out of the tournament due to a fracture in his elbow. “I don’t take such calls. This is to be decided by the team management,” said the official.…

The BCCI and its English and Australian counterparts have joined hands to support Afghan women cricketers. It’s an International Cricket Council initiative, as the global body under the leadership of its chair Jay Shah has announced the formation of a dedicated task force to help the cricketers who are living in exile. The decision was taken at the ICC Board meeting in Zimbabwe. The ICC in association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) will “assist these talented athletes in both their cricketing and personal development journeys”.…

The BCCI and its English and Australian counterparts have joined hands to support Afghan women cricketers. It’s an International Cricket Council initiative, as the global body under the leadership of its chair Jay Shah, has announced the formation of a dedicated task force to help the cricketers living in exile. The decision was taken at the ICC Board meeting in Zimbabwe. The ICC, in association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA), will “assist these talented athletes in both their cricketing and personal development journeys”. The ICC…

Mohun Bagan Super Giant finished the 2024-25 Indian Super League with 52 goals to their credit. They conceded just 19. What is the identity of this Bagan side that did the double at Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday? Are they an attacking behemoth, or a solid defensive unit where the centre-halves axis of Tom Aldred and Alberto Roriguez formed the bedrock? How can a side have a clear identity that doesn’t follow a specific tactical pattern? Throughout the league, they remained fluid, even formation-wise. In the final against Bengaluru FC, coach Jose Molina started with 4-2-3-1. But he has used…

Things were looking gloomy for Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the ISL final against Bengaluru FC, when they were handed a lifeline by referee Senthil Nathan S. On 72 minutes, a shot from Jamie Maclaren off Jason Cummings’s cross hit the arm of diving BFC defender Chinglensana Singh. The latter was falling to the floor and his right arm was outstretched. The referee deemed it to be in an unnatural position. BFC players protested, but the referee was not going to change his decision. On the face of it, the decision looked harsh, but Senthil Nathan went by the letter…

Five defeats on the spin, three consecutive losses at Chepauk and the team’s heaviest defeat in terms of balls (59) to spare… Welcome back to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captaincy, MS Dhoni. GTU (gir gaye phir bhi tange upar) is commonly used in the Mumbai maidans to describe intransigence. About 1,300 kilometres away at Chepauk, Dhoni channelled his inner khadoos after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) humiliated his team via an eight-wicket victory. An outdated T20 side was outclassed by a far superior opponent. Dhoni apparently refused to accept it. Or maybe, he didn’t want to throw his teammates under the…

Is there a new captain bounce in cricket, a la the new manager bounce in football? People around Chennai Super Kings, fans in particular, have almost a psychopathic obsession about MS Dhoni the captain. And there’s a reason. Over the years, Dhoni has built this franchise in his own image, leading the team to five IPL titles. He is the reason why CSK have the highest brand value among all the franchises – $122 million, as per Brand Finance’s IPL 2024 assessment report. On the cricket side, a departure from the norm hasn’t worked for the ‘yellow army’. In 2022,…

Stephen Fleming proposed and MS Dhoni said “yes”. There was never any quizzical look, once Chennai Super Kings management came to know about the severity of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s elbow injury. In crisis, they needed their ‘captain’ to steady the ship. Cometh the need, cometh Dhoni. “Ruturaj would be out of action at least for three-four weeks,” a CSK insider told RevSportz. “Fleming went to Dhoni and asked him to take charge and he said ‘yes’. The team hasn’t been doing well and Dhoni is the only man in that dressing room to lead the side at this moment in time.…