Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has shunned the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir from the Champions Trophy 2025 trophy tour. This comes in the wake of the BCCI secretary Jay Shah’s strong objection to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) proposal to take the trophy to Gilgit-Baltistan and other regions in PoK. On Saturday, the ICC confirmed the dates and places of the trophy tour on its website, confirming that it will start in Islamabad. “After Islamabad, the tour will head to iconic cities and venues in Pakistan such as Karachi, Abbottabad, and Taxila before leaving the land of defending champions to embark on…

Outside the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium, a large crowd gathered, eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of Magnus Carlsen. Inside, the great man had just finished his press conference after winning the Rapid event at the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz Tournament. Questions were asked about the upcoming FIDE World Championship, where D Gukesh will challenge defending champion Ding Liren for the title. Carlsen tilted slightly towards the Indian teenager. “On current form, Gukesh has the edge,” said the five-time world champion. “As for the quality of chess and skill levels, it’s fifty-fifty. But if I have to make…

The ICC is yet to finalise the Champions Trophy trophy tour, RevSportz understands. This is notwithstanding the list of the places the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced with regards to the trophy tour. Sources confirmed that the ICC is still in discussions on the final plan of the trophy tour. Once confirmed, the tour schedule will be announced via the ICC channels. The PCB, however, is seemingly in the process of getting ahead of itself. On Friday, it put out a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “Get ready, Pakistan!” It added: “The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 trophy tour…

As Magnus Carlsen beat Vidit Gujarathi, the audience at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium broke into a big round of applause. A little later, at the auditorium entrance, a young girl, accompanied by her mother, gingerly walked up to a tournament official, with a request for a Carlsen autograph. “Maybe, on Friday, when the Rapid round ends,” she was told. The young girl looked crestfallen. She bunked school to be present at the event to catch a glimpse of the Norwegian superstar. The Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz tournament commenced on Wednesday and obviously, the five-time world champion was the…

“The Bangalore bloodbath has taken another volatile twist, with revelations Indian coach Anil Kumble stormed into the umpires room to lodge a mid-innings please explain.” This was an article on the Australian Daily Telegraph after the India versus Australia Test in Bangalore in 2017. It went on: “As Virat Kohli left a tornado of destruction behind him in the Indian dressing room, fuming he had been given out lbw, it’s understood Kumble went to seek immediate clarification from match officials as to why his irate skipper was given out at a key moment of the second Test.” The report also…

Mohammed Shami will play for Bengal in their Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh, starting on Wednesday, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has confirmed. The fast bowler has received fitness clearance from the NCA, where he was doing rehab. If things go to plan, there’s even a possibility of Shami joining the Indian team towards the latter half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, from the Boxing Day Test onwards. “In a major boost to Indian cricket and the Bengal Ranji Trophy team, star pacer Mohammed Shami will make a comeback into competitive cricket for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in…

Who will be Yashasvi Jaiswal’s opening partner in the first Test against Australia in Perth? At the pre-departure press conference, Gautam Gambhir refused to budge. He is still hopeful that Rohit Sharma might be available. The Indian squad is going to Australia in two batches. Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep and Jaiswal left on Sunday. The rest will leave on Monday. The India captain is not part of the pack. There’s an uncertainty over when he will leave for Australia due to personal reasons. There’s a serious question mark over his availability in the Perth Test. Without…

“In good teams, coaches hold players accountable. In great teams, players hold players accountable.” This is what Roy Keane had posted a few days ago on his Instagram handle. Apologies for drawing a football analogy in a cricket piece, but the legendary former Manchester United captain’s words ring true in every sport. At the moment, there’s a lot of anger among the fans after India’s 3-0 home series whitewash against New Zealand. And a lot of it has been directed at the Indian team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir. Social media at its worst can be a cesspit and a big chunk…

In 1989, during India’s tour of Pakistan, a distraught Mohammad Azharuddin had turned to Zaheer Abbas for advice. He was going through an elongated lean patch and was on the verge of losing his place in the Indian team. Zaheer told Azhar to change his grip and it changed the course of the latter’s career. After failing in the first Test in Karachi, Azhar bounced back with a match-saving 109 in the second Test in Faisalabad. He returned from the series with 312 runs in four Tests, including a hundred and two half-centuries. Cut to 2024, and from a distance…

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…