Author: Trisha Ghosal

The WPL 2026 Mega Auction had its share of headline-making buys, but some of the biggest surprises came not from blockbuster names, but from solid World Cup performers who were widely expected to be picked. Their unsold status raised eyebrows across the cricketing community. Here’s a deep dive into five such players and why their names ended up with no takers. Alyssa Healy (Australia) Alyssa Healy may no longer command the long-standing aura she once carried, but even then, many expected her to be snapped up, if not for star power, then for leadership and experience. Instead, her recent stretch…

Trisha Ghosal The much-anticipated WPL auction is finally done and dusted. After a six-hour marathon, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru exhausted their purses and completed squads of 16 each, while UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants rebuilt with 18 players apiece. Here, we break down the top five Indian buys of the day. Deepti Sharma (UPW) – RTM – ?3.20 crore The bidding for Deepti Sharma didn’t initially follow the expected script, with teams hovering around ?50 lakh for far too long. Delhi Capitals showed intent, but UP Warriorz, armed with the largest purse and the powerful RTM…

The countdown has begun. Exactly a day from now, New Delhi will once again turn into women’s cricket’s most intense marketplace, buzzing with tension, loaded with strategy, and electrified by the promise of franchise-defining buys. With 73 slots to fill, 277 players entering the pool, and only 23 overseas spots available, tomorrow’s WPL auction is set to be a tactical minefield. Franchises have six overseas slots each, and the scramble for the right mix of firepower, leadership and versatility will be fascinating to watch. Here are the overseas names most likely to spark full-blown bidding wars. Phoebe Litchfield (Australia) Gujarat…

By Trisha Ghosal India finally ended their ICC trophy drought earlier this month, lifting their maiden ICC Women’s ODI World Cup. Among the champions, Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh have been retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru; Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma stay with Delhi Capitals; and Harmanpreet Kaur and Amanjot Kaur remain at Mumbai Indians. The rest of India’s World Cup heroes will go under the hammer at the WPL 2026 mega auction. Here’s a closer look at the players and an analysis of which teams are best placed to secure them. Deepti Sharma (?50 lakh): Expect a bidding war…

By Trisha Ghosal In just six sessions, Australia have surged ahead in the Ashes 2026. Travis Head’s brilliant century lifted the hosts to a stirring win in a match that felt more like a highlights reel than a Test. England won the toss and boldly chose to bat first, only for Mitchell Starc to continue his old Perth tradition, a wicket in the opening over, before tearing through England’s line-up with a seven-wicket burst on a pitch bristling with pace and bite. Harry Brook was the lone beacon, counter-attacking his way to a typically fearless fifty. A Test that barely…

Danni_Wyatt-Hodge (PC: X) Danni Wyatt-Hodge isn’t just having a great WBBL season, she’s having the WBBL season. After being left out of England’s ODI World Cup XI in favour of Emma Lamb and Sophia Dunkley, despite their repeated failures, Wyatt-Hodge has responded in the only way elite athletes know: by letting the bat make the noise selectors refused to hear. In four innings, she has piled up 251 runs at an extraordinary average of 83.61 and a strike-rate of 155.90, with two half-centuries. She is the tournament’s highest run-scorer, owns the highest strike-rate, and sits atop the charts for both…

India’s 30-run defeat to South Africa at Eden Gardens reignited a familiar debate: why does a team with such extraordinary batting depth keep stumbling on tricky pitches, be it spin in Ahmedabad against New Zealand, reverse swing in Delhi, or seam in Chennai during England’s 2021 tour? Every time India lose at home, the easy narrative is that our batters “struggle on tough wickets”. But that argument ignores a more uncomfortable truth: the modern selection and development ecosystem has tilted so dramatically towards T20 batting that India’s supply line of pure Test specialists has been unintentionally squeezed. And yet, paradoxically,…

Trisha Ghosal at Eden Gardens On the second day of the opening Test against South Africa, the Indian dressing room carried an unexpected ripple: Shubman Gill would not take the field. For a team defending a slender lead of just 30, this was far from ideal. The responsibility of shepherding India through South Africa’s second innings, on a pitch that had clearly woken up cranky, fell squarely on the shoulders of vice-captain Rishabh Pant. And what followed was a masterclass in proactive, unfazed, deeply instinctive leadership. Pant’s cricketing mind has always been engrossing, a blend of audacity, clarity, and a…

When India’s women cricketers lifted the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup trophy on home soil, it wasn’t just the culmination of a tournament, it was the rewriting of history. The team’s emphatic triumph symbolised resilience and redemption. At the centre of it all stood Deepti Sharma, the all-rounder who has quietly become the heartbeat of Indian cricket. Named Player of the Tournament, Deepti’s performances with both bat and ball reflected not just skill, but leadership, maturity, and years of unrelenting belief. From being the teenager who couldn’t handle the pressure in the 2017 final to becoming the face of…

The dust has barely settled on India’s historic World Cup triumph, and yet, the women’s game barely pauses for breath. Just two days after Harmanpreet Kaur and her team lifted the coveted trophy, the cricketing spotlight has swiftly shifted to the domestic front — the Women’s Premier League. The WPL retention list for the upcoming season is out, and with it, a fresh wave of anticipation, strategy, and speculation has begun. Which franchises have chosen stability, and who have opted for bold change? Let’s start by breaking down the moves from the defending champions, Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians’ Retentions: Stability,…