Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

In Kolkata, before all the noise over the re-appointment of MS Dhoni as the captain of Chennai Super Kings started happening, Sourav Ganguly said he should be the skipper of the franchise. In Chennai, soon after, Stephen Fleming said Dhoni would be the CSK captain for the remainder of IPL 2025. “If MS Dhoni has to play for CSK, he must be captain of CSK. Because MS Dhoni the captain is a different beast,” Ganguly said at a promotional event on Thursday. In Chennai, as CSK head coach Fleming attended the pre-match press conference, with his team playing against Kolkata…

Until the 13th over during Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) chase in their IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Eden Gardens on Tuesday, the game sat in the home team’s dug-out. But Ajinkya Rahane & Co lost their way and suffered a narrow defeat. After the game, Rahane, the KKR captain, came for the press conference and a question on ‘home advantage’ duly arrived. His answer to that was: “There has been enough talk about the wicket. If I say something, it will create a big controversy. Let me just keep it that way. Our curator (Sujan Mukherjee) has…

Pitch No. 4 for Kolkata Knight Riders’ home match No. 3 at Eden Gardens. The franchise’s request to play on a used pitch has been turned down, RevSportz understands. It’s a different pitch that will be similar in nature to the one laid out for the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR won that game by 80 runs. They will play against Lucknow Super Giants in an afternoon fixture on Tuesday. The SRH game was played on the heels of a nation-wide pitch debate, triggered by Eden curator Sujan Mukherjee’s reaction to RevSportz, vis-á-vis KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane’s comment at the…

Jasprit Bumrah received the clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bangalore to play in the IPL on Saturday. Accordingly, he joined the Mumbai Indians squad. On Sunday morning, the franchise put out a video on social media, confirming the return of their most prized possession. Just hours later, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed that the fast bowler would play against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Wankhede on Monday. Things moved quickly, but is this borderline desperation from MI? The question has to be asked. Bumrah hasn’t played since the Sydney Test in January, doing rehab after facing a…

The response was spectacular. Mohammed Siraj made one jag back from outside off and cut Rohit Sharma in half. The ball went through the gate and castled the Mumbai Indians opener. Forget Rohit’s indifferent form, the delivery probably would have accounted for a batter going through a purple patch even. Siraj was under pressure after conceding back-to-back fours in his previous two deliveries. He was expensive (0/54) in the first match he played for Gujarat Titans this season. A strong comeback was exactly what the fast bowler needed. Ryan Rickelton’s dismissal a couple of overs later brought out the Siuu…

Jasprit Bumrah is back. India heaves a sigh of relief. In a huge boost for Indian cricket, the world’s best fast bowler has received the clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bangalore to play in this year’s IPL. Mumbai Indians have confirmed via a post on social media that Bumrah has linked up with the side ahead of their game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday. It remains to be seen whether he will straightaway get into the playing XI. A bowler needs to build his load after returning from a long injury lay-off. Bumrah had been doing…

S Badrinath has a dry-wit humour. The one-liner he posted on X (erstwhile Twitter) was perfectly timed. “Rutu rocked, fans shocked at the toss?” wrote the former India, Tamil Nadu and Chennai Super Kings batter. CSK batting coach Michael Hussey’s cryptic comment at the pre-match press conference had triggered the speculation. “He is (MS Dhoni) behind the stumps. Maybe, he can do a good job. I’m not sure. He has got a bit of experience in the role, so maybe he could do it. But I’m not exactly sure, to be honest,” Hussey told reporters on the eve of the…

Kamindu Mendis bowled just one over for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Thursday. He did something that was never seen before in the IPL. He switched his bowling arm during an over, making his place permanent in the IPL history. The tournament is into its 18th year and nobody did that before him. What Mendis did on his IPL debut was perfectly legal. The Sri Lankan, a Rs 75-lakh buy for SRH, was brought into the attack in the 13th over during KKR’s innings. He bowled left-arm spin to start with and dismissed a dangerous-looking…

Shamik Chakrabarty at Eden Gardens Venkatesh Iyer stood and walloped, serving up a reminder about his ability with the bat in T20 cricket. After a couple of failures, Kolkata Knight Riders’ most expensive buy — Rs 23.75 crore — was under pressure. Just one blazing knock doesn’t a redemption make. But the team’s vice-captain regained his attacking mojo and cleared the clouds that were gathering on the purple sky. Patience is at a premium in modern-day sport, especially in instant cricket. KKR looked like a leaky boat without any oars on the coast of the Arabian Sea only three days…

This time, last year, the vibe was a little different in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp. By April 3, 2024, they had played three matches, winning all of them. Cricket was at the centre stage not the pitch. Circa 2025, and it’s still very early to press the panic button – only after three matches into the new IPL season. KKR have lost two of their first three matches, but they – any team for that matter – don’t have a divine right to win everything. It’s a long tournament and teams will lose matches during the course of it.…