Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Shamik Chakrabarty in Sri Lanka “What is the meaning of samaganda? Shreyas Iyer jovially asked the local security staffer as he walked out of the Colombo airport, along with Rohit Sharma, late on Sunday. “Comfort,” he was told. As the two entered the car, Rohit didn’t lose the opportunity to berate his teammate: “Why are you after samaganda?” Everything was cheerful and light-hearted. The three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka will be Iyer’s reintegration into the Indian team. In February, he lost his place in the Test side. In May, he lifted the IPL trophy as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Pallekele For Sanju Samson, the opportunity to play the second T20I against Sri Lanka at Pallekele came by chance. Shubman Gill had a neck spasm and an opening position fell vacant. Sanju was fitted into that slot. India restricted Sri Lanka to 161/9, with the hosts suffering another middle-order crash. Then, when the tourists batted, a stoppage for rain altered the equation to 78 off eight overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal chalked off 12 of those runs in the first over and Sanju faced his first ball under no scoreboard pressure. He perished for a golden duck. Maheesh Theekshana…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Pallekele The first ball that Mohammed Siraj bowled in the second T20I against Sri Lanka at Pallekele was a wide down the leg side. His next ball was short and wide, and went for a four. He conceded 10 runs in his first over. His third over was more expensive — 14 runs — with Kusal Perera taking a six and a four off the fast bowler. After three overs, his figures read, 0/27. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for this series. Mohammed Shami is still recovering from an Achilles tendon surgery. Also, it’s not known how…

Axar Patel in the T20 WC 2024 (PC: BCCI/X) Shamik Chakrabarty in Pallekele After 14 overs, Sri Lanka were 140/1, chasing 214 for victory. They were going at 10 runs per over and the asking rate was just a shade over 12. To make matters worse, Ravi Bishnoi had dropped a marauding Pathum Nissanka off Hardik Pandya’s bowling at deep mid-wicket. In fact, when Bishnoi spilled the chance, it felt like the game was done and dusted. The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka saw a near full house at Pallekele and the fans magnified the noise level. Then…

Shamik Chakrabarty at Pallekele The template remains the same — going gung-ho from the outset — but apparently it has been ‘embellished’ with a couple of modifications. Gautam Gambhir spoke about inheriting a successful team from Rahul Dravid. But the new India coach is his own man and on his first assignment, he gave a peek into his thought process. India chose to play the specialists in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, at the expense of bits and pieces players. Riyan Parag and Rinku Singh were preferred over Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar. And with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman…

Shamik Chakrabarty in Pallekele Wanindu Hasaranga overlooks the Colombo-Kandy highway from a billboard. That was a three-and-a-half-hour journey’s only brush with cricket and cricketers. Once upon a time, Sri Lanka used to produce stars – from Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya to Lasith Malinga via Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. They are at a premium these days. Hasaranga quit captaincy after Sri Lanka’s early exit from the T20 World Cup. Chairth Asalanka has replaced him. Jayasuriya is the new head coach, albeit in an interim capacity. Like India, it’s a new beginning for Sri Lanka…

In 2014-15, Suryakumar Yadav was a callow 24-year-old, whose Mumbai captaincy stint ended in acrimonious circumstances. Some of his teammates complained against him for being abrasive and Surya was reprimanded by the Mumbai Cricket Association. And with Mumbai on the brink of the Ranji Trophy elimination, he stepped down. Cut to 2024, and after appointing him as Rohit Sharma’s successor in the Indian T20I team, chief selector Ajit Agarkar spoke about getting his teammates’ feedback. Over the years, Surya has evolved as a cricketer and as an individual. He is one of the most popular players in the dressing room.…

As the Hyderabad-Colombo flight started its descent, the mind raced back to 2005. About two decades ago, Sri Lanka was the place for Greg Chappell’s opening act as India coach. Sourav Ganguly, India’s regular captain then, missed the ODI series, as he was serving an over-rate ban, and Rahul Dravid was the skipper. The next two years turned out to be a period of ferment for Indian cricket. Circa 2024, and Gautam Gambhir is starting his India coaching stint with a white-ball series in Sri Lanka. Once again, it is the monsoon, although not quite wet. And it is very…

Last year, in a hard-hitting column, Sunil Gavaskar had called out the Indian players who skipped international matches under the pretext of workload management. He called the term “workload” as an excuse that the players were using to be available for the entire duration of the IPL. “The new word is workload and for a generation that has beach bodies and a pampered mindset, it’s the perfect excuse not to play for their country,” the legendary former India captain wrote in his Mid-Day column. Gavaskar would be pleased to know that Gautam Gambhir, the new India coach, has taken the…

Many moons ago, when Gautam Gambhir was an active international player, this correspondent had an interaction with him. He was dropped from the Indian team and demoted to Grade B in the list of the BCCI’s centrally-contracted players. Gambhir put things in perspective. He spoke about how the demotion was not the end of the world and that he was still in the BCCI’s scheme of things. That was Gambhir, always looking at the positives. In a star-studded Indian dressing room, he was a commoner. In personality-obsessed Indian cricket, he was someone who thought about the collective. Leave aside the…