Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Shamik Chakrabarty in Chennai R Ashwin’s father Ravichandran politely turned down the request of meeting him at his home. He is busy with some family matters and requested for a conversation over the phone. Ashwin is coming to Chennai after winning the Player of the Match award in the Eliminator. He dished out an off-spin masterclass against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to return with 2/19 from his four overs. Ravichandran is proud of his son’s achievement. He wants Ashwin to be Rajasthan Royals’ shining light in the next two matches. “It’s completely his (Ashwin’s) brainwork,” Ravichandran told RevSportz. “He is very,…

An Anil Chaudhary howler gave Dinesh Karthik a lifeline, although the Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper-batsman couldn’t properly capitalise on that. Chaudhary, the TV umpire, overturned the on-field LBW decision, but replays showed Karthik didn’t hit the ball. Avesh Khan had dismissed a well-set Rajat Patidar in the second ball of the 15th over. In the very next delivery, he trapped Karthik in front. It looked out and the on-field umpire raised the finger. Karthik reviewed and the UltraEdge showed a spike as the ball passed the bat. It was actually bat on pad and there was a gap between bat…

Shreyas Iyer had a decision to make. Kolkata Knight Riders were playing their IPL 2024 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens, and the equation came down to 13 runs off the final over. Sunrisers, riding on Heinrich Klassen’s pyrotechnics, looked favourites to pull it off. For Iyer, Andre Russell would have been the safer choice. The senior all-rounder still had two overs left and he was bowling well. Iyer chose the young Harshit Rana instead. Rana’s brilliant final over, in which he got two wickets, secured a four-run victory for KKR. According to team insiders, Iyer later explained his…

It would be preposterous to judge Virat Kohli’s legacy on the basis of his IPL trophy count. It stands at zero at the moment, and if Royal Challengers Bengaluru go on to lift the crown this term, that would be the mother of all comebacks. Kohli hasn’t won an IPL title, and he might finish his career without one. But, who cares? Kohli is a great of the game in his own right and IPL glory would embellish his already decorated career. A few years ago, he had sort of played down the IPL title talk, saying he wasn’t bothered…

Dinesh Karthik gave the team talk after Royal Challengers Bengaluru qualified for the IPL playoffs. He ‘thanked’ MS Dhoni. “MS Dhoni hitting that 110-metre six outside the Chinnaswamy was the best thing that happened. It gave us a new ball which helped us,” Karthik told his RCB teammates. Yes, a dry ball helped Yash Dayal in the final over, as he bowled his slower deliveries with precision to bring about Chennai Super Kings’ downfall. But chasing 201 to qualify, CSK made their job difficult by opting for a wrong batting order. Why did Mitchell Santner walk out to bat ahead…

The subplot is bigger than the main story. On the face of it, the game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings is a virtual knockout. But MS Dhoni versus Virat Kohli overshadows it. Dhoni mother-henned Kohli in the Indian team and facilitated his rise. The latter still calls Dhoni “my captain”. In the IPL, however, they are rivals. Saturday could be the final act of this rivalry. The term ‘team sport’ is an oxymoron in Indian cricket. It has revelled in its star culture, and Dhoni and Kohli, along with Rohit Sharma, have been Indian cricket’s biggest names…

As reported by RevSportz earlier, the BCCI has approached Gautam Gambhir for the job of the Indian team’s head coach to succeed Rahul Dravid. On May 16, this website reported that Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders mentor, is on the cricket board’s radar to take charge of the Indian team from July. The BCCI has also informally sounded out Stephen Fleming and Ricky Ponting. It is learnt that the BCCI has made the initial contact with Gambhir and further discussions are expected after the IPL. Earlier this year, the former opener freed himself from political duties to concentrate fully on…

“It’s time for our country to see the next No. 9,” Sunil Chhetri said towards the end of his farewell message. For 19 years he did the job for his national team. Now, as the 39-year-old says fare-thee-well, the question is who after him? For close to two decades, Chhetri was the Indian football team’s tenuous link to excellence, someone who scored 94 goals in 150 games, playing as a striker. Before him, India had Bhaichung Bhutia in that position and the transition was seamless. Coaches came and went, but from Bob Houghton to Stephen Constantine and now Igor Stimac,…

The position of the Indian team’s head coach is an open race this time. Ravi Shastri’s appointment in 2017 was an open-and-shut case, for the then India captain Virat Kohli had fallen out with Anil Kumble and publicly backed Shastri’s return. In 2021, Rahul Dravid was handpicked by then BCCI president Sourav Ganguly who convinced him to apply despite the former’s initial reluctance. Dravid, it is learnt, is unwilling to continue after his term ends in June. And so far, there is no indication that VVS Laxman, the head coach of the National Cricket Academy, will throw his hat into…

Will Rahul Dravid still be India’s head coach after the T20 World Cup? As cricket board secretary Jay Shah has said, Dravid will have to re-apply if he wants the job again. His current tenure ends in June. On Monday, the BCCI invited applications for the position of head coach of the Indian senior men’s cricket team, with the deadline set at 6 pm on May 27. “The selection process will include a thorough review of applications, followed by personal interviews and assessments of shortlisted candidates,” said the cricket board press release. The applicants must have played at least 30…