Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Imam-ul-Haq is likely to open for Pakistan in the marquee Champions Trophy fixture against India on Sunday. According to sources in the know, the southpaw, a replacement for the injured Fakhar Zaman, is being considered by the team management to partner Babar Azam at the top, notwithstanding that Usman Khan is the designated reserve opener in the side. If indeed Imam is preferred, that would be harsh on Usman, who played all his early cricket in the UAE before switching his allegiance to Pakistan, the country of his birth. All said and done, team selections in…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai The left continues to be right for the Indian team. In their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, the ploy didn’t work. But make no mistake, the team management isn’t going to shun it going ahead. Yet again, Axar Patel was sent ahead of KL Rahul at No. 5. Shreyas Iyer got out to Mustafizur Rahman in the 28th over, but it was far from panic stations for India. They had lost only their third wicket and the asking rate was still a very comfortable 4.30. Rishad Hossain, a leg-spinner, was operating from one end for Bangladesh…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai On Thursday, Mohammed Shami reached the milestone of 200 ODI wickets. It was his 104th match in this format and in terms of number of balls, it was the fewest for any bowler. At the end, India’s six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy opener in Dubai was comprehensive. Shubman Gill revelled in his sublimity, but he has been batting like a prince in 50-over cricket of late. From India’s point of view, Shami returning figures of 5/53 was even more heartening. In Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, Shami is the leader of the pace attack. But…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Rishad Hossain drew Virat Kohli forward by bowling a leg-break that turned sharply and went past the outside edge. The batter was comprehensively beaten. It was a good ball, but this is what the majority of the leg-spinners and left-arm spinners have been doing to Kohli of late. If the fast bowlers are luring him to play deliveries in the corridor, the spinners are aiming to make him stab at the away-goers. Hossain bowled the sucker ball next up — another leg-break, full and not wide enough to attempt a late cut. He was caught square…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai A road in Kasaragod, Kerala, will be named after Sunil Gavaskar on Friday. The legendary former India captain, who is here in Dubai for commentary duty in the Championship Trophy, would be attending the ceremony, organised by the Kasaragod municipality. “I’m leaving tonight (after the game against Bangladesh). Will be back here on Saturday,” Gavaskar told RevSportz. About the road being named after him, he said: “It’s a great honour. Wish I could drive on that road.” The big game in the Champions Trophy, the India versus Pakistan match, is on Sunday. Kasaragod is actually a…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Axar Patel was brought into the attack in the ninth over. That was the first sight of India’s spin pack in the Champions Trophy. It took two balls for the left-armer to dismiss Tanzid Hasan, who until then had looked good. The opener played for the turn when there was none. A thin edge went to KL Rahul behind the stumps. Axar wasn’t sure, but the ’keeper was convinced, and umpire Paul Reiffel was so sanguine that he gave the batter a chance to walk before raising his finger. Tanzid thought about taking a review, but…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Towards the end of India’s nets session at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh went full-tilt. Did that drop a hint about the team’s pace attack in their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh on Thursday? Very likely. India trained for about an-hour-and-a-half on the match eve. Before that, Rohit Sharma attended the pre-match press conference. Here are the three key points from the presser… Shami’s rhythm Shami’s rhythm has been in focus since his return to the international fold after a long injury hiatus. Rohit backed his senior fast bowler to…

“Ji na (No),” Najmul Hossain Shanto flat-batted the question on Shakib Al Hasan. There was no chance of a carry-over of the question. The Bangladesh captain was authoritative, as he addressed the media ahead of his team’s Champions Trophy opener against India on Thursday. Shakib, unarguably Bangladesh’s finest-ever cricketer, wasn’t picked for the Champions Trophy. The cricketing logic behind it has enough solidity. The all-rounder is suspended from bowling in top-flight cricket due to an illegal action. He failed a second assessment too. That said, Shakib has 7,570 runs from 247 ODIs. He is good enough to play…

Kuldeep Yadav is an excellent cricketer in his own right and a very likeable person. Even after almost a decade in international cricket, there are no airs about him. He always has time to exchange pleasantries with his journalist friends. On Monday, after an intense nets session at the ICC Academy ground here in Dubai, Kuldeep bumped into a group of hacks who were covering India’s practice. Handshakes done, this correspondent complained to him about his football tweets going AWOL of late. “Aare Dada, gaali pada hai (I get a lot of flak from rival fans),” he replied in mock…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai It is raining in the desert. The skies are grey. A cool breeze is blowing. Welcome to Dubai that has borrowed a slice of the English weather. Rain could be a good omen for India. They have won the Champions Trophy twice and on both occasions, rain played a significant part. In 2002, under Sourav Ganguly, the trophy was shared with Sri Lanka after the final was washed out on both scheduled days. In 2013, under MS Dhoni, India pulled off a heist in a rain-affected final. England were dumbstruck. India’s tournament opener against Bangladesh is…