Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Admiration oozed, as Ravichandran Ashwin responded to an online poll that pitted former greats against modern-day masters. India-Pakistan cricket was the theme and the match-up was between Ashwin and Javed Miandad. The former gracefully accepted defeat in the hypothetical battle, posting on his Instagram handle: “Miandad will win the battle against me. What a fabulous player. I wish there was a time machine.” On a nippy January evening, when Miandad was informed about this via a WhatsApp call, the ex-Pakistan captain refused to read too much into the poll result. “Tell Ashwin that the respect is mutual. Social media is…

Tajikistan came away with a goalless draw from their first-ever AFC Asian Cup game, but they would be disappointed not to have secured a win. Petar Segrt’s side had China on the ropes, especially in the first half, in their Group A opener at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on Saturday. Tajikistan had 12 shots to China’s three, enjoyed more possession, but the goal remained elusive. Hosts Qatar are expected to top Group A and they started their campaign with 3-0 win over Lebanon. The race for the second spot is basically between Tajikistan and China, and from that perspective, the…

The India squad for the first two Tests of the five-match series against England announced on Friday, threw up a couple of minor surprises. First, a 16-member squad has been announced instead of 15, which is usually the custom for a home series. Also, the squad has three wicket-keepers – KL Rahul, KS Bharat and the newcomer Dhruv Jurel. Without a press conference, there’s room for conjecture and it feels like the squad has been bloated to accommodate an extra ‘keeper. Ishan Kishan wasn’t considered, as he hasn’t yet made himself available to play for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy.…

Is Shreyas Iyer on a slippery slope? The question has to be asked. There doesn’t seem to be imminent danger with regard to losing his place in the Test squad. But it is learnt that the message has been conveyed to him in no uncertain terms by the people concerned – read, selectors and team management – that he needs to do better in red-ball cricket. Over the last one year, Iyer’s Test form has headed south. In five Tests during this period – three against Australia at home and two in South Africa – he has scored 83 runs…

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday that the pitch for the second Test between South Africa and India at Newlands has been rated as “unsatisfactory”. Accordingly, the venue has received one demerit point. The game in Cape Town lasted just 642 legal deliveries — the shortest in the history of Test cricket — and was over in a day-and-a-half. Twenty-three wickets fell on Day One, with Mohammed Siraj taking a career-best 6/15 and the hosts getting bundled out for 55 in their first innings. From that perspective, an “unsatisfactory” rating, which amounts to ‘below average’, is dubious enough…