Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

News from the Indian side is that the BCCI has communicated to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that the team won’t be travelling to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy and India’s matches should be allocated to Dubai instead. The response from across the border is that the PCB is yet to receive any letter/email from its Indian counterpart in this regard and Pakistan is not considering a hybrid model for the ICC event. Between the lines, the possibility of India going to Pakistan for the showpiece event, which the PCB will host, appears bleak and a hybrid model could…

Kolkata Knight Riders are set to play all their home matches in next year’s IPL at Eden Gardens, RevSportz understands. It is learnt that the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has sent a letter to the KKR management, confirming that the state association would be able to host the home fixtures of the defending IPL champions next season. Eden Gardens is set to undergo renovation ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup that would be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. As regards the commencement of the stadium’s makeover, the CAB hasn’t decided the date yet. But it is…

This is the onset of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and there’s no ‘thunda’ Down Under. The heat is on. Are India game? The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has made the right call by sending KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel to Australia early, to be part of the India A squad. The former played just one Test against New Zealand, while Jurel had to sit out in all three matches. Rahul is expected to play a crucial role in the upcoming five-Test series and his arrival in Australia has coincided with Scott Boland starting the mind games. “I was…

As India chased 147 for victory in the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai, Rohit Sharma decided to take on Matt Henry. He looked uncomfortable against the seam movement and opted for a release shot – a term that has become fashionable these days. The India captain charged at the fast bowler and flat-batted a shortish delivery over mid-on for a four. It never looked convincing. In Henry’s second over, Rohit was gone, attempting to pull a delivery that wasn’t short enough. One of the finest pullers in the game, he was late on the shot. In the first…

Make no mistake, the 3-0 home series whitewash against New Zealand was more humiliating than the ‘summer of 42’ under Ajit Wadekar in 1974, and the back-to-back whitewashes in England and Australia under MS Dhoni in 2011-12. As Mihir Bose, the BBC’s former sports editor, put it over an interaction: “Let me assure you ‘the summer of 42’, my first as a cricket reporter, was dreadful. India was just not bad in the second innings at Lord’s but gave up in the final Test. They gave the impression they wanted to go home. But this series (against New Zealand), they…

The ball landed around off stump. It drew Tom Latham forward, as he looked to defend it. The New Zealand captain played for the angle, but the ball straightened after pitching. It went past the outside edge and hit the off stump. It was a jaffa, a delivery that probably would have gotten any left-hand batter out. Washington Sundar, supposedly a part-time offie, had every reason to rejoice at the dismissal. Rachin Ravindra’s scalp came via another beauty. Washington delivered from wide of the crease, drew the batsman forward, and the ball turned just enough to go past the outside…

They are the two most successful franchises in the IPL. Both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have won the title five times each, and as regards the retentions ahead of the 2025 mega auction, the tournament’s two biggest teams had clear-cut strategies. Unlike some other franchises, there was no late drama over certain players. Both CSK and MI management knew what they were doing. Chennai Super Kings Players retained: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Rs 18 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 13 crore), Shivam Dube (Rs 12 crore) and MS Dhoni (Rs 4 crore) What the retained players…

The overload of left-arm spinners at the Indian team nets at the Wankhede Stadium two days before the start of the third Test against New Zealand was a compliment to Mitchell Santner. As Indian batsmen did their sessions, sweeps – conventional and reverse – were in vogue, from Virat Kohli to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Washington Sundar. An overseas spinner, who didn’t have a four-for in Tests before this series, out-bowling his more fancied Indian counterparts in Pune was a rarity. Externally, the Indian team management has kept a stiff upper lip even after the series defeat, but deep…

“What is Morne Morkel’s qualification to be India’s bowling coach,” a Mumbai cricket old-hand remarked with some asperity. “Just that he served as Lucknow Super Giants’ bowling coach in the IPL when Gautam Gambhir was the team mentor? If he is that good, why did no one in South Africa go for him? The former Mumbai Cricket Association functionary pointed out Mohammed Siraj’s downturn in form and how the fast bowler is missing someone like Bharat Arun to guide him. The conversation happened after India’s home Test series loss against New Zealand and the gentleman probably let his emotion cloud…

Rohit Sharma was in denial at the post-match press conference, after India’s humiliating home series loss against New Zealand. The Ravichandran Ashwin-Ravindra Jadeja question was duly asked, and the India captain stonewalled on the spin duo. “There’s too much expectation on those two guys,” said Rohit. “Every game they play, they are expected to take wickets, they are expected to run through the opponents and they are expected to win Test matches for us. I don’t think that’s fair. It’s the responsibility of all of us to make sure we get the Test match wins, not just the two guys.”…