Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

The Champions Trophy match between India and New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday is effectively a dead rubber. Both teams have qualified for the semi-finals and the outcome of the game will only determine the group champions and runner-up. Last time when India played a global event in this part of the world—the 2021 T20 World Cup—they were all but out of the tournament after losing their first two games. Now, they have a happy problem to live with. Usually, teams don’t skip training on match eve. But the first semi-final, on February 4, comes on the heels of Sunday’s…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai KL Rahul was frank and honest. There was no beating around the bush, no artificial attempt to hide his feelings. He admitted pressure. The question to him at the press conference on Saturday — for a change, India’s presser started 10 minutes earlier than the schedule — was about whether a player of Rishabh Pant’s talent breathing down his neck has been added pressure? Rahul replied: “It is, I won’t lie.” Rahul is a more well-rounded batter, technically sound. But what Pant can do with a piece of willow, he can’t. Very few in world cricket…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Over the years, scoring hundreds has sort of become a batting staple for Virat Kohli in the 50-over format. He has 51 of them, the latest coming against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. It was his 299th game. On Sunday against New Zealand, the ODI GOAT would play his 300th. Two players in the current Indian team transcend geographic boundaries and their sporting circles. Apologies to Rohit Sharma fans, but when Kohli posts moments from India’s T20 World Cup triumph on social media, Real Madrid footballer Vinicius Junior likes them. Chris Martin of the Coldplay fame…

Boris Spassky was a ‘child’ of the ‘Iron Curtain’. Maybe, that was the reason he was known more for his defeat to Bobby Fischer than his achievements. In a polarised world, it was easier for the West, with the advantage of liberalism and language, to set the narrative. And beyond the Eastern Bloc, it was widely accepted. Spassky, a world chess champion (1969-1972) from the erstwhile Soviet Union, lost his crown to Fischer, an American, in that epic 1972 title clash in Reykjavik. It was the height of the Cold War, and the rivalry assumed a clear political overtone after…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Dubai is the favourite to host the Asia Cup this year, with the BCCI being the tournament host, it is learnt. The eight-team event, to be played in a T20 format, was supposed to be played in India. But with Pakistan’s participation, a neutral venue has to be chosen for the matches between the arch-rivals. The BCCI is rather OK with moving the entire tournament to a neutral venue. A formal decision in this regard is expected to be taken in the next Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meetings. “The BCCI might not be interested in holding…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Spring is proving to be confusing in Dubai. The winter veil is yet to be lifted, while the summer is trying to make occasional inroads. The weather is good enough to keep one in high spirits. And after back-to-back wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan, and a place in the Champions Trophy semi-finals, the Indian players looked chirpy at the nets. Where has the excitement gone? Around 6 pm local time on Wednesday, the Indian team bus reached the ICC Academy. A full training session was on the cards and everyone, bar Shubman Gill, was present. Only…

Mohammed Shami could be rested for India’s group league game against New Zealand on March 2, RevSportz understands. To make it clear, the fast bowler is not injured. It’s about his workload management, which the team management did during the home white-ball series against England that preceded the ongoing Champions Trophy. It’s not final, but resting Shami and replacing him with Arshdeep Singh is an option that the think-tank is mulling. The helmet-catching drill is a relatively new addition in India’s training. One of the team members uses a tennis ball and hits it high in the air. Another one…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai Kuldeep Yadav tossed it up in the air and lured Salman Agha out of his crease. It was a conventional left-arm wrist-spin delivery, but Kuldeep had bowled it slower through the air. And then, the ball dipped, catching the batsman in no-man’s land. By that time, Agha’s attempted flick over square leg had become the wrong option. As the ball turned after pitching and took the leading edge, he was a dead man walking. By Ravindra Jadeja’s standards, the catch at cover-point was a dolly. Jadeja himself was at the centre of action before Agha’s dismissal,…

Shamik Chakrabarty in DubaiThe decision had to be taken on specious presumption. The Indian cricket team was enjoying a day off, making things a bit difficult for the group of hacks who have assembled here in Dubai to cover the Champions Trophy. As a journalist, words are your currency, but you need a subject to put those words in order. On the days when the team is training or playing matches, filing stories is relatively easy. Once again, as a reporter, you don’t take sides. You write what you see. But what do you do on a day when there’s no…

On Monday, a day after Pakistan fell to their kryptonite, Osman Samiuddin, the country’s most accomplished cricket writer, made a post on X (formerly Twitter). It said: “It says much about how broken/toxic Pak cricket ecosystem is that a number of PCB mentors (on 50 lakh PKR monthly) are also on air, lucrative media gigs, criticising the team (which they had an informal ok on, for selecting), system (which they work in).” Osman, who now lives in London, is the author of The Unquiet Ones: A History of Pakistan Cricket. He knows his stuff inside out. As he pointed out,…