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It is not just the BJP and its cadres that celebrated PM Modi’s 75th birthday. Even NDA’s ally and TDP Minister Nara Lokesh, currently on an official visit to the UK made it a point to pray for PM Modi’s health and longevity at ISKCON Temple in London, asserting confidence in Modi’s Leadership to build Viksit Bharat. Sharing his birthday wish for PM Modi, Andhra Pradesh IT, HRD, and RTGS Minister Nara Lokesh offered prayers at ISKCON London. He tweeted, “Started the day with prayers at @iskconlondon on the 75th birthday of our Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji. I sought blessings for his long life and his visionary leadership of our great country. I am confident we will achieve Viksit bharat under his guidance.” Interestingly, a day earlier the Andhra Pradesh government had hosted a high-profile Investor Roadshow in London at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, as part of its global outreach to attract investments ahead of the CII Partnership Summit 2025, scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on November 14–15. The event brought together more than 150 senior executives and global leaders representing sectors such as advanced manufacturing, finance, energy, and technology. In his remarks during the conversation with global leaders, Lokesh positioned Andhra Pradesh as India’s fastest-growing state. “Our message in London is clear: the sunrise state of Andhra Pradesh is the best place to do business in India. In just 15 months, we have facilitated investments worth over Rs 10 lakh crore and are now engaging global partners to be part of our journey towards becoming a $ 2.4 trillion economy by 2047″
There was much media hype about the revelation that Rahul Gandhi was to make in his press conference. He had hinted it would be a “hydrogen bomb” on ‘vote chori’. However, by afternoon Rahul was found diluting his own utterances via a post on X. The Congress leader who was raging about deletion of votes in Aland assembly seat in Karnataka in 2023 polls at a press conference at the AICC headquarters and had given the Election Commission a week’s time to reply to Karnataka CID’s letters and notices, was found looking for cover. He rushed to correct his mistakes after realising that the Aland seat was won by the Congress. This was pointed out by the BJP. Rahul Gandhi had “held an entire press conference” claiming that 6,018 votes were fraudulently deleted in Aland assembly seat and that the EC was blocking the CID investigation. “Until we pointed out that BR Patil, the incumbent MLA, is a Congress candidate. He even paraded people who claimed that their names were misused to delete votes, without the knowledge of the very individuals whose names were allegedly deleted. Now he makes a U-turn, saying their candidate could have lost if the votes were deleted! What a waste of public time,” said BJP’s Amit Malviya on X. The EC was quick to rebut all the charges. In a strongly worded response, the EC made it clear that no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as “misconceived” by Rahul Gandhi. A FIR was filed by the EC itself to ensure the matter was investigated. One interesting giveaway from Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the CEC, was his claim that he had some Trojan horses within the EC who were leaking him info about EC’s working. No prizes for guessing…possibly officials brought in during the Congress time.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s response to the Supreme Court’s clean chit to Vantara has apparently not gone down well with the Ambanis. The Congress leader who takes a lot of pride in his earlier avatar as an environment minister in the UPA government tweeted on X questioning the speed at which an expert panel headed by Justice J Chelameswar probed alleged goings on in Vantara and submitted its report to the apex court, clearing the animal care centre of any wrongdoing. Party sources said sensitivities about Vantara were conveyed to Jairam by party bosses. The party leadership were equally shocked about the tone and tenor of Jairam’s post. In his post, Jairam even took pot shots at the judiciary for acting expressly. “When it chooses to, the Indian judicial system, which is defined by long delays, moves with the greatest of speed.” On August 25, 2025, the SC ordered an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the affairs of Vantara, the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre established by the Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The SIT, comprising four distinguished members, was directed to submit its report by September 12, 2025. The SIT submitted its report in a “sealed cover” meeting the deadline. The SC accepted its recommendations and closed the case which had been triggered by a PIL filed on August 7, 2025. If only all cases were dealt with and settled so expeditiously and categorically — of course without this mysterious “sealed cover” business! Incidentally, while Jairam has taken a contrarian view on Vantara order, animal activists like Maneka Gandhi came out extending her strong support to Vantara. She said “We have visited Vantara…It is here that animals get life.” Vantara is a project closely monitored and managed by Anant Ambani, the younger son of Mukesh Ambani.
The BJP leadership is all geared up to putting its Tamil Nadu house in order. With AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) meeting Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday (Sep 16) evening to firm up alliance in the state, ground was laid in TN to ensure smooth working within various groups and leaders. For a start, a coordination meeting of various state-level leaders within the state BJP was held in Chennai. The meeting was held in the presence of senior BJP functionary BL Santosh. The effect of the meeting was such that former TN BJP chief K Annamalai who was so far playing truant appeared mellowed down. For the first time, Annamalai conceded that EPS was drawing crowds in the state. Party sources said he had praised EPS in the party’s internal meeting too. This means Annamalai has come a long way; from initially opposing BJP’s alliance with the AIADMK to now agreeing to campaign with EPS. This would not only consolidate Gounder community votes in favour of the alliance but also consolidate victory. With Santosh in the chair along with TN BJP chief Nainar Nagendran it was decided that Nainar, Annamalai and EPS would now jointly campaign from Oct 1. It is not clear if Annanmalai had toned down his anti- AIADMK position because of a personal compulsion He is now compelled to answer queries over purchase of around six acres agricultural land in Coimbatore worth several crores of rupees. Annamalai said he had purchased it using a loan, his personal savings and that of his wife Akila. He had paid Rs 40 lakh in stamp duty and registration charges. Of course, no one in the BJP believes it.
Is he in or is he out? This question keeps popping up time and again. But none is willing to clarify. If he is like any normal employee, none will venture to speculate. But he is MS Dhoni, the Captain Cool. Not surprisingly, everyone is letting his/her imagination run amok. After Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the IPL franchise was born in 2008, Dhoni was appointed as Vice-President (Marketing) of N Srinivasan-headed The India Cements Ltd (ICL) in 2013. CSK was initially a division of ICL, which was the original franchisee owner of CSK. If grapevine is to go by, Srinivasan had reportedly given Dhoni a blank cheque to write his remuneration! In the past, Dhoni used to visit ICL plants across the country and address employees and dealers alike. In fact, in 2022, he unveiled the new premium cement brand, Conkrete Super King. Much water has flown under the bridge since then. Birla-owned UltraTech bought out N Srinivasan and his family in ICL. With ICL sold to UltraTech, Srinivasan has become the Chairman of CSK, which was hived off into a separate entity when the conflict of interest issue was raging. His daughter, Rupa Gurunath, too, has now become a Wholetime-Director of CSK. Given this backdrop, intense speculation is on whether Dhoni is still associated with ICL? There has been no official communication thus far either from UltraTech or MSD. The iconic Coromandel Towers, the corporate office of India Cements, in the meanwhile, is sporting the UltraTech brand along with ICL’s Sankar Cement, Coromandel King and Conkrete Super King. EWS, the holding company of N Srinivasan and family, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. and other firms have since moved to their new address in Adyar in the heart of the city. Season or no season, one thing is clear Dhoni remains a hot topic!
The Singur movement not only altered Bengal’s industrial trajectory but also marked one of the biggest power shifts in the state’s history — from the Left Front to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. Yet, the Nano car exit in 2008 left an enduring scar, branding Didi as “anti-industry” despite her repeated efforts to change that perception. Seventeen years later, the narrative seems to be coming full circle, with electric vehicle manufacturer Cynosure announced plans to launch a four-wheeler priced below Rs 1 lakh from Sugandha in Hooghly district — just 17 km away from Singur, where Ratan Tata’s dream project had collapsed in 2008. Cynosure revealed its plan at the launch of its electric three-wheeler in Kolkata and the prototype of the car would be unveiled after Diwali, with a commercial rollout targeted for January 2026. According to co-founder Sampurna Ghosh, the fully battery-operated vehicle will seat four passengers, including the driver with an aim to make personal cars affordable for the middle and lower-middle-class families. Sources said that the car’s final name would be decided by the chief minister. Political observers have pointed out that the announcement carries political undertones just ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, as it can be recalled that in 2008, Tata Motors withdrew from Singur after completing 80% of the factory, blaming Mamata then opposition leader. The project later shifted to Gujarat. Didi has since maintained that her fight was against the Left’s forcible land acquisition policy, not against Tata.
A look at the representatives of the 35 members for the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for September 28 – published by the Electoral Officer in the documents section of the BCCI website – will tell one straightaway that none of them even thought of nominating a woman to attend the meeting. This year’s AGM will elect five office-bearers and one member representative to the nine-member Apex Council for a three year term. It is regrettable that the Indian Railways, Armed Forces/ Services and Association of Indian Universities (AIU) have not been able to find ways to nominate its representatives. While the three government departments have not explored ways, former India cricketers Sourav Ganguly (ex- BCCI president), Harbhajan Singh, Raghuram Bhat will attend the AGM representing Bengal, Punjab and Karnataka. The National Sports Governance Bill 2025 mandates the presence of four women at least in a 15 member executive committee of a national sports federation, and this will happen once the National Sports Board is put in place and the sports federations seek its membership. But as of now, none of the BCCI members have deemed it fit to nominate a woman, be it a former India or State cricketer or otherwise, to attend the AGM when many of them could have taken the step to empower women at a meeting like the AGM when policy decisions are taken. The BCCI, under Jay Shah took a number of initiatives to provide an impetus to women’s cricket. The young ICC chair, Shah, has increased the prize money manifold for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup, but the BCCI members are still reluctant to be game-changers by nominating a woman for a meeting that is convened once in a year.
Kerala’s Chief Secretary, A Jayathilak is facing flak for his high-handed behaviour from his IAS colleagues and state’s IPS officers. Jayathilak has come in the way of the career progression of at least three officers. Senior IAS officer, B Ashok, also principal secretary has alleged that Jayathilak refused to give him a vigilance clearance in June 2025 when he applied for deputation to the post of chief controller, VSSC, Department of Space. In his petition before the CAT, Ashok has contended that “the refusal to provide clearance despite the fact that there had not been any vigilance cases or disciplinary action against him, speaks volumes of the malice harboured by the chief secretary.” Jayathilak flagged a vigilance case regarding irregularities in the sanction of pay and allowance in the Ayush Department under Ashok. Following this, Ashok was forced to submit that the inquiry was completed and the government recommended no further action. This led to Ashok submitting a representation to the Chief Secretary to rectify his earlier statement. Interestingly, the correction was made only after the last day prescribed for submission of the application for the post in VSSC. Likewise, DGP, Yogesh Gupta who currently heads Fire and Rescue Services Department has initiated legal action against the State government for withholding a vigilance status report on him sought by Union Home Ministry for clearance for securing a post in the central service. Yogesh too has approached CAT. He has accused the government of using vigilance reports as a tool to control bureaucrats. And if this is not enough, Jayathilak has a running match with junior IAS officer, Prasanth N, who is under suspension for nearly one year, without giving proper reasons, which is against service rules. Sources say a fierce power struggle is brewing in the state’s IAS hierarchy with the tide slowly turning against Jayathilak.
Recent box‑office disappointments from Baaghi 4 and War 2 to the latest Housefull 5 instalment, all underline a fundamental shift: the star cast no longer guarantees good openings. In past decades marquee names could single‑handedly generate massive opening weekends; today even established superstars such as Tiger Shroff, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Jr NTR struggle to ignite the immediate surge that once defined success. High‑profile casts with weak concepts are faltering, while content‑led films and global formats are finding passionate, sustainable audiences. Younger viewers, particularly Gen Z, now prioritise authenticity, narrative innovation and experiential value over celebrity worship. They binge Korean dramas, embrace Japanese anime like Demon Slayer, attend immersive live experiences and discover diverse global content on OTT platforms. The enthusiastic reception for Demon Slayer’s theatrical release and the success of content‑driven films such as Saiyaara demonstrate that strong storytelling, memorable music and convincing world‑building can outdraw even big‑name star vehicles. Conversely, titles that leaned primarily on star power including some recent franchise entries like Baaghi 4 and Housefull 5 have failed to translate celebrity into sustained box‑office momentum. For filmmakers, producers and studios the implications are clear. First, invest in content development: prioritise script refinement, richer character arcs and tonal clarity before locking in headline casting. Second, align casting to story needs rather than assuming star wattage will compensate for weak material. Third, embrace mid‑budget, high‑concept projects that allow creative risk and targeted marketing rather than relying solely on costly tentpoles.
Mumbai has registered a drastic 72% dip in tree plantations thanks to rapid urbanization and lack of spaces for tree plantations. The number of tree plantations in Mumbai have slid from 72,212 trees in 2023-24 to 20,044 in 2024-2025 as per the latest Environment Status Report released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). This includes about 9234 saplings planted in the city by Maharashtra’s forest department as part of its target to undertake plantations of over 10 crore saplings this year to increase the state’s green cover from 21.25% to 33 %. The state has already achieved 50% of its target by undertaking plantations of over 5.32 crore saplings this year. Deterioration of Mumbai’s air quality has been attributed to its depleting tree cover. No tree census has been conducted since 2018. This means the actual number of trees remains unknown and we are stuck at 29,75,283 trees. Conservation activist and founder of Waghoba Foundation Sanjiv Valsan questions the validity of the figures released by the government pointing to the glaring absence of figures of trees that are officially cut to make way for various urban megaprojects in the city like Metro, Bullet Trains etc. The actual number of trees lost to rapid urbanization and redevelopment of old buildings, which is not revealed, could be quite high. Reportedly, an estimated 40 trees are lost daily to make way for various projects. “Miyawaki plantations can never compensate for the loss of tree cover since they are essentially vertical stalks lacking canopy and unable to provide equivalent benefits like oxygen generation or carbon sequestration,” observes Valsan. A small relief is the BMC policy now to earmark spaces for planting trees alongside cement concrete roads.
A look at the representatives of the 35 members for the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for September 28 – published by the Electoral Officer in the documents section of the BCCI website – will tell one straightaway that none of them even thought of nominating a woman to attend the meeting. This year’s AGM will elect five office-bearers and one member representative to the nine-member Apex Council for a three year term. It is regrettable that the Indian Railways, Armed Forces/ Services and Association of Indian Universities (AIU) have not been able to find ways to nominate its representatives. While the three government departments have not explored ways, former India cricketers Sourav Ganguly (ex- BCCI president), Harbhajan Singh, Raghuram Bhat will attend the AGM representing Bengal, Punjab and Karnataka. The National Sports Governance Bill 2025 mandates the presence of four women at least in a 15 member executive committee of a national sports federation, and this will happen once the National Sports Board is put in place and the sports federations seek its membership. But as of now, none of the BCCI members have deemed it fit to nominate a woman, be it a former India or State cricketer or otherwise, to attend the AGM when many of them could have taken the step to empower women at a meeting like the AGM when policy decisions are taken. The BCCI, under Jay Shah took a number of initiatives to provide an impetus to women’s cricket. The young ICC chair, Shah, has increased the prize money manifold for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup, but the BCCI members are still reluctant to be game-changers by nominating a woman for a meeting that is convened once in a year.
After brushing off the modicum challenge from United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the DP World Asia Cup 2025, the men in blue Twenty20 is girding up its loins to compete against Pakistan — always a marquee match that keeps the turnstiles busy. India is used to playing Pakistan at the Middle-East venue and the local fans — Indians and Pakistanis settled there for their bread and butter — have thronged the Dubai International Stadium to root for their team and rejoice or regret at the outcome. Dubai is assured of at least two high-octane matches between the Asian arch rivals — one in the group stage and one in the Super4 round robin — and the price of tickets for these matches are invariably on the steeper side, especially the high-end hospitality boxes. A few months ago, the fans supporting the men in blue had a gala time with Rohit Sharma’s team winning all matches, including against Pakistan, to win the ICC Champions Trophy. The privately-owned stadium has a capacity to hold around 35,000 spectators and squeeze in a couple of thousands more, and the tournament organisers would hope for a full house on Sunday (Sep 14) and create a high decibel sound befitting the occasion. The Twenty20 game would move with lighting speed and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav himself would go through the emotions of sporting the Captaincy cap for the first time against Pakistan whose captain is Salman Ali Agha. With stalwarts Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan dropped for the tournament, Pakistan would look to be depleted, but as Agha said at the Captains’ presser, in Twenty20 anyone can win a game! But nerves can still play havoc on both teams.
If it’s September, action in the BCCI cannot be far away. Once in three years the 37 members of Cricket’s governing body elect a new set of office bearers and one from among themselves to the Apex Council for a term of three years. Six years ago they elected former India captain Sourav Ganguly as President, and then in 2022, they chose the 1983 World Cup star Roger Binny. These were trailblazing moves, and with the BCCI AGM scheduled for September 28, rumours are rife about those calling the shots being inclined to favour a former cricketer for the top post. The name of Sachin Tendulkar has been going around for some time, but most of the BCCI members are clueless. Once the Committee of Administrators paved way for an elected body in 2019, the BCCI has been run by the Secretary’s office of which Jay Shah was at the helm; till late last year when he became the independent chair of the International Cricket Council. Until 2013 the BCCI was run by seasoned administrators like Jagmohan Dalmiya, Madhavrao Scindia, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, Inderjit Singh Bindra, Sharad Pawar, Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan. Where are such people, one may ask! Ganguly and Binny became the trend setters and there is every possibility of a cricketer — Tendulkar or anyone else — being anointed as the President. Ganguly represented the Cricket Association of Bengal and Binny, the Karnataka State Cricket Association at the BCCI AGM. A cricketer turned administrator Brijesh Patel missed the bus in 2019, with the BJP backing Ganguly to the hilt. The absence of a dynamic administrator may compel the BCCI to complete a hat-trick of famous cricketer-Presidents!
It’s not the case of “now or never” for the women in blue team as it targets the ICC 50-over World Cup yet another time, but another opportunity to shine for possibly the near-perfect team chosen for the September – November event to be held in India and Sri Lanka. India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur has played 26 matches over four World Cups from 2009 in Australia and Smriti Mandhana has played 16 over two World Cups from 2017 and they will be in the vanguard of over a month-long campaign. They along with all-rounder Deepti Sharma would be keen and eager to win the title. The likes of Anjum Chopra, Neetu David, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami had memorable careers, but the big prize eluded them; Mithali, Jhulan, Harmanpreet, Deepti and Smriti almost got it in 2017 in England. This World Cup will also keep the likes of Richa Ghosh, Jemima Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Renuka Singh Thakur, Sheh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Radha Yadav in the centre stage along with newcomers Pratika Rawal, Kranti Gaud, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy and Sree Charani. The big miss in this talented list is the flamboyant Shafali Verma who has hit 7x6s and 81x4s in 28 matches. Australia, the 6-time title winner and which enjoys a 20-4 H2H record against India can turn out to be a stumbling block. The other two winners England and New Zealand and South Africa will compete hard for a place in the knockout with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but India which has played 29 matches since January 2024 will fancy its chances. The preparatory three match series at home against Australia can be seen as a dry run.
Sunil Gavaskar was known as a man of “centuries” — with the willow in hands and dispersing the most fearsome fast bowlers of his time. There are a number of centuries to his credit; but a day after his statue was unveiled outside the Mumbai Cricket Association’s brand new Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum that’s located in between the Cricket Centre where the BCCI is a tenant and the Garware Club House, India’s all-time best batting maestro, must have created another century of sorts at his party, humbly shaking hands with over hundred people, all teammates of his school, college, Dadar Union Club, Mumbai and India teams, other teams and of course his dear friends from different walks of life. It’s a much-awaited SMG annual get-together, nay a convivial party with a strict “no no” to speeches, with the little giant of a man playing a perfect host. This time around he remembered teammates and friends who were full of beans in the previous year dos, but had sadly made their departure to the Elysian Fields. Milind Rege, Padmakar Shivalkar, Dileep Doshi, Vijay ‘Papa’ Karkhanis , Anshuman Gaekwad, Ehsan Hakim and Abdul Ismail’s names were displayed on miniature bat at the Boundary Hall of the MCA Recreation Centre. Only recently the Gavaskars had celebrated the centenary birth anniversary of their mother and soon after, the MCA inaugurated his life size statue that prompted Amul to announce to the world that “Sunny dais are here again.” A famous name in the sporting world, Gavaskar has been part of the cricketing canvas and folklore for around six decades!
So far it has been a one-sided game with the pro-Shreyas Iyer group outnumbering a minuscule going with the senior national selection committee’s call to not pick him for the Asia Cup Twenty20 in Dubai. Iyer has not been part of the Men in Blue Twenty20 team since the first week of December 2023 and the selection committee say that Iyer has to first “settle down’ after being in the bad books of the powers that be after the second Test (Visakhapatnam) of the home series against England in February 2024. He was thrown out of the Central Contract by the BCCI. But the Mumbaikar staged a comeback for the ICC Champions Trophy in the United Arab Emirates and was awarded a Grade B Central Contract. The Iyer-group — Sanjay Manjrekar being the most recent to express surprise at Iyer missing the bus for the Asia Cup — feels that the smart batter who has the wherewithal to force the pace and is strong against spin bowlers should have been an automatic choice in the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup. But the Selection Committee steered by Ajit Agarkar has stuck their neck out retaining Rinku Singh for his quick-witted approach to batting in any given situation. But this column understands that Iyer is very much in the scheme of things for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka. The selection committee announced a 15-member squad for Asia Cup in the Gulf region and five standbys. The committee may have shortlisted the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Iyer and Mohammed Siraj for the home World Twenty20 in India next year. Iyer could be even recalled for the white ball series, including the Twenty20 series, in Australia in two months.
The chatter in the social media as to whether India should play Pakistan — after the Pahalgam terror attack — in the Asia Cup Twenty20 in Dubai in September has subsided a bit; it may gather steam though once the Indian team is announced on Tuesday (Aug 19), but the media has already gone on an overdrive to speculate the likely squad for the eight nation tournament. The Continental tournament is the first of a handful that will help the big boys in Asia to prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in 2026 and so India – the ICC World Twenty20 winner last year – would be keen and eager to put its team through the wringer from now on. India will play Pakistan on September 14, in between its opening campaign against UAE and Oman. The Asia Cup spins around India-Pakistan clashes with a full house assured at the Dubai International Stadium. India is the host of the Asia Cup, but it has chosen to run the competition in Dubai because of Pakistan’s presence in the competition and also that a hybrid model would not work what with India refusing to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy that Rohit Sharma’s team won in Dubai six months ago. With India drawing the Test series (2-2) in England and with skipper Shubman Gill in good nick, the grapevine is rife with speculation of who all will make the cut, in particular Jasprit Bumrah, Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer etc. The selection committee will look at a basket brimming with players, all talented bringing in their explosive dynamics to the 120-ball format.
The National Sports Governance Bill (NSGB) 2025 has not yet set the cat among the pigeons, but it will, once the supreme National Sports Board (NSB) is put in place by the Central government. Seasoned sports administrators fear that the NSB can play hell with the majority of the national sports federations and individuals. Former Olympian and seasoned administrator (Athletics) Adille Sumariwalla though feels that the age (up to 75) and tenure (three terms of four years each for the top three office bearers (president, secretary and treasurer) with a four-year cooling off after 12 years is a step in the right direction as this will help Indians get elected to World bodies and campaign for international events. Time will tell how the NSB functions, but cricket (BCCI) and its members — governed by the Supreme Court-endorsed Constitution as recommended by Justice Lodha — will need clarity on the amendments its AGM can consider. The BCCI and its members’ Apex Council is set at nine, with two nominees from the ICA and one from the CGI. The NSGB has capped a national federation’s Executive Committee to 15 — with a minimum of four women representatives, and this is where the first of teething problems can start because of the structure of the BCCI, its member units and how its Apex Council is elected. Newbie cricket administrators also point to the eligibility criteria to contest for the top three posts at the national and member units. The present bye-laws allow for a first-generation administrator to contest for the office bearers post, the NSGB appears to block it. A lot of clarity is needed for the BCCI and its member units and other federations, too.
With eight scalps at ‘The Oval’ Prasidh Krishna has definitely given a boost to his fledgling Test career. The 191cm tall fast bowler was expected to play a big role in the five-Test series in England especially with uncertainties surrounding the linchpin Jasprit Bumrah. His performance in the three Tests at Leeds, Edgbaston and ‘The Oval’ was like a curate’s egg; he salvaged a lot with 4 for 62 and 4 for 126 in the cliffhanger of final Test and rubber. The important thing was that he took eight of England’s 20 wickets, with the livewire, game-changer and clincher Mohammed Siraj scalping nine! There is no denying that Krishna — who underwent quadriceps related surgery in February 2024 — held his nerves and demonstrated skill control to support Siraj; he beat and bowled Jos Tongue neck and crop to mount pressure on the home team that was forced to send Chris Woakes with his damaged left hand in sling and beneath the sweater with 16 runs separating the two teams. Krishna was hammered for 220 runs at Leeds and 111 runs at Edgbaston and was dropped for the two subsequent Tests at Lords and Old Trafford before the team chose him ahead of Anshul Kamboj once the call was made to rest Bumrah. Quickest in India’s pace pack, Krishna got rid of four batters in the first innings for 62, but was carted by Joe Root and Harry Brook to concede 126 in the second, but timely blows took his tally to eight in the match for 22 wickets in six Tests. Krishna had played out of his skin, indeed.
Is the time upon Indian cricket to take a call on the residual ODI careers of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli? A true giant of cricket across formats, Kohli and Sharma have bid adieu from the Twenty20 and multi-day Test cricket, but have not done so from the one-day limited overs internationals. Their timing to leave the scene from the Twenty20 format was perfect as it came after India’s Twenty20 World Cup triumph in the West Indies. The two chose to quit the Test format a few days leading to the team selection for the five-Test series in England. Now, with India coming out shining in England (2-2 draw) and Shubman Gill weighing in as batter and captain, will the decision-makers (the BCCI, selection committee) and the head coach Gautam Gambhir) brainstorm to overhaul the ODI team for the three-match series in Australia in October; three match series against South Africa at home in November. The ODI series in Bangladesh scheduled for August 2025 has been put off. Sharma would be 40+ and Kohli 38 + when the ICC World Cup arrives in 2027. It would not be prudent to pick them in 2025 and dump them in 2027. Five months ago India won the ICC Champions Trophy under Sharma’s leadership. There has been a cathartic change in Indian cricket with Gill taking charge and delivering results. The onus is on the selection committee, Gambhir and Gill (should he be nominated captain for white ball men in blue teams) to not to delay making it known their idea of India’s ODI team for the immediate future and the next World Cup.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has completed his batting duties on his first tour of England. As an opening batter, the left-hander can be termed a success because he coped well in easy and difficult conditions to make 411 runs in 10 outings, with two centuries and as many half, for a strike rate fractionally lower than 70. Those who saw him play a shot that can be described as “unwarranted, nay, reckless” — as he did in the second innings of the third Test at Lord’s — feel that his response to fast bowler Jofra Archer in the seventh ball he faced was a gift to England. He was dismissed for 0 and India lost the Test by 22 runs. The argument that, India — in spite of the swashbuckler’s don’t care attitude when his team required only 193 to win — should have won the Test and taken a 2-1 lead midway through the series is correct, but his fans and critics as well believe that someone playing his third full series — England in India, Australia in Australia and England in England — lacked common sense on that occasion. After a century plus start, in the first innings of the Leeds Test, Yashasvi finished the series with a second century in the second innings of the Oval Test, but here was a heavy duty left hander who could have gone past 500, just as his captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja did. England would have indeed told Jaiswal that he could have done a bit more with the bat!
One can understand the sadness in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father, Ranganathan Easwaran, who has been waiting patiently for his son to be capped in Test cricket. Abhimanyu has proved his mettle as an opening batter in first class cricket for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, for teams in the Duleep Trophy and for India ‘A’. The right hander has played 103 matches, amassed 7841 runs with 27 x 100s and 31 x 50 plus scores. He has played 89 one-day matches, scored 3857 runs, with 9 x 100s and 23 x 50 plus scores. Abhimanyu has been around for a dozen years, and perhaps one with these numbers would have played for India. The fact, unfortunately though is, he has not, while the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan have marched forward. Abhimanyu has been part of two big five-Test series in Australia and England and the team management have not found it ripe and fit for him to pad up even once. With Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal and KL Rahul, being the opening pair in the last two and a half years, the Sharma-Rahul Dravid team could not find a place for him. Ditto with Sharma and Gautam Gambhir and now Shubman Gill and Gambhir have not looked at him, when on this tour of England, there appeared to be openings. Those who have mattered on this tour — Captain, Coach and the Chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar — did not seem to have the confidence to pick him ahead of the middle order batters Karun Nair — on a comeback– or the left-hander Sudharsan. Abhimanyu’s father is peeved because his son has scored runs, has been picked in the squad, but not capped yet. The big question now is whether Abhimanyu will make the Test cut at all!
KL Rahul who is on his 25th Test series in 10 years has not been able to stamp his authority in a consistent way though. He was ever a batter with promise and potential. When he scored a 110 in his third Test innings in Sydney in January 2015, he was seen as a gifted opener emerging out of the Karnataka stable and in the mould of a typical opener, showing the full face of the bat in defence and sure shot in stroke making. After 109 innings (109th incomplete) in 62 Tests, it can be said that he belonged to the highest echelons of international cricket, in particular in red-ball cricket. He has evolved over time and the first thing that he would tell even a layman is that of his organised ways of responding to a delivery from a fast bowler or a spinner. He has not figured in 46 Tests after his debut in Australia, but he is the fourth highest run getter for India after his debut. Only three others — Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane — have scored more than him, but in many more Tests. He has scored 3765 runs with ten x 100s, nine of them in Sydney, Colombo, Kingston, The Oval, Lord’s, Centurion Park, and Headingley. Rahul has scored 3311 runs as an opener and for the first time in his career he went past the 500-run mark in the course of his second innings at Manchester. He has gritted it out to score 508 + runs at an average exceeding 72 and become the second highest run-getter on the tour of England contributing almost 18 % of the team score. Underrated all through his career, Rahul is finally getting his due!
For the first time in four Tests India’s pace battery was dispersed with ease and purpose by the England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley who had an average of 45.38 against India with an opening stand aggregate of 726 in eight Tests going into Manchester. On the second day of the fourth Test they added 166 to take the tally to 892, a mere 41 runs adrift of an England record of 933 for the first wicket collection by Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss in 11 Tests at 46.65. It was the eighth highest century-plus first-wicket stand for England against India and Crawley (now 774 runs against India) and Duckett (now 726 runs against India) — after a lacklustre undertaking in the first three Tests at Leeds, Edgbaston and Lord’s — did enough damage, fed around the pads for easy pickings. Duckett scores at around 4.85 runs an over against India which is actually much lower than his career average of 5.17. And Crawley scores at around 3.6 an over against India which is lower than his career average of scoring at 3.9 an over. Duckett has two centuries against India, but Crawley, none. These two have been the most successful opening pair against India in the last decade and second for over four decades. The right-hander Crawley got going at Manchester after being troubled by India’s pace attack in the first three Tests. And after scoring 62 and 149 at Leeds, Duckett has been below par. But their big effort at the top of the order in the Manchester Test has put England in a strong position in the Test and thereby the series itself.
A skirmish between India and England, that’s been fascinating so far, is set to resume at Manchester from July 23. England will strive for a 3-1 lead and a series win before the teams travel to London for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy at The Oval. While England — given an impetus to its attack by the return of fast bowler Jofra Archer — will take the field with its tail up, India will have to do the catching up with no leeway for mistakes in the three departments of the game. The first three Tests have delivered contests that the purists of the sport would have taken delight at; so remarkable have they been. And yet it is India, shepherded by the young captain in Shubman Gill, that appears to be on the precipice before the first ball is sent down at Manchester. Gill has to get his No 3 in Karun Nair to be more productive and tell Yashasvi Jaiswal not to throw away his wicket. Then he has to find a bowling group that has the wherewithal to take 20 wickets. Jasprit Bumrah appears to be a case of “fait accompli” and lead the attack, a perforce situation for India dictated by England’s 2-1 lead in the series and an 8-day gap between the Lord’s and Manchester Tests. Mohammed Siraj, who flared up in the third Test will be his Dukes-ball partner. Seamer Anshul Kamboj has been added as a cover for the injured Arshdeep Singh. Gill has to choose from Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Kamboj as first change. Gill has plenty in his plate — including Rishab Pant’s finger injury — to ponder at in order to keep the series alive.
Kuldeep Yadav has every reason to believe that he has been given the short shrift in the first three Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy played at Leeds, Edgbaston and Lord’s. Clearly head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill did not have the confidence that Yadav, who had played only one Test previously at Lord’s in 2018 (0/44 in 9 overs), could deliver. So, what are the odds of the left-arm wrist spinner figuring in the team sheet at Old Trafford and The Oval. Yadav made his debut eight years ago against England at Dharamsala. Since then, he has played only 13 Tests and taken 56 wickets. Last year he took 22 wickets at 23.09 in 5 Tests, his best in six calendar years when he was given a chance. His important numbers overseas are 4 in an innings at Pallekele, 5 at Sydney, and 5 at Chittagong. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said that he would have played Yadav and that the team should find a way to pick him in the playing XI. Wrist spinners have taken 215 wickets at 34.36 @ Old Trafford and 297 at 39.19 @The Oval. Wrist spinners’ record is 370 wickets at 33.32 @ Lord’s, 184 at 35.48 @ Leeds and 91 at 39.13 @ Edgbaston. Warne, the right-hand leg spinner took 129 wickets in 22 Tests at 21.95 in England and turned out to be a match winner for Australia. Whereas left-arm wrist spinners South Africa’s Paul Adams and Australia’s Fleetwood-Smith took 17 and 14 wickets respectively. With Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar certainties for Old Trafford, will Gill retain Akash Deep or get Yadav in? That’s the big question mark.
KL Rahul, a true blue of Test match cricket, became the second Indian after Dilip Vengsarkar to make the crowd at the fabled Lords cricket ground in London applaud a three-figure knock a second time; Vengsarkar earned the sobriquet “Lord of the Lord’s” for his three centuries at the celebrated venue in the capital city of England. On the third day of the third Test between England and India, the stoical, but stylish opener scored an exact 100 and he must have felt emotions running high. Lord’s is without a doubt the Mecca of cricket. The famous cricket correspondent of the ‘Yorkshire Post’ James Maurice Kilburn referring to the Lord’s, wrote in ‘Overthrows’: I always feel as though I am stepping into history. Top batters regret not getting the magical number at Lord’s, but 10 Indian batsmen have made together 13 centuries at the Marylebone Cricket Club which is the home ground for the Middlesex County. The first Indian to carve a century at Lords was the great all-rounder, Mulvantrai Himmatlal ‘Vinoo’ Mankad in a Test match known as “Mankad’s Test” because he scored 72 and 184 and took 5 for 196 in the first innings of the 1952 series. After Mankad’s stupendous effort with the bat and ball, Gundappa Viswanath, Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid,Ajit Agarkar, Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul have sparkled at the Lord’s. The Honours Board at the venue was embellished with names — 173 batsmen with a total of 252 centuries in all. England’s Joe Root made the count 253 and Rahul 254. Rahul had lorded over Lord’s in August 2021 making 129!
For well over half a century, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (SMG) has fascinated the game’s followers — as a legendary opening batsman, the first in the history of the game to go past the 10000-run aggregate and Don Bradman’s 29 Test centuries, World Cup winner at Lord’s in 1983, captain of the World Championship of Cricket in Australia, media personality, administrator at the BCCI and ICC, Charity and what not! His 1979 teammate in England, Yajurvindra Singh, also with a nickname “Sunny” waxed eloquent about the Indian batting legend on his 76th birthday celebrations by the Legends Club (LC) at the Cricket Club of India (CCI). The President of the LC, Yajurvindra said that SMG was 20 steps ahead of most and that he was systematic in all walks of life, even the way he used the toothpaste! Thanks to the wholehearted support by CCI that chose Madhumati Lele Shrivastava as President for a second term and the Club’s Executive Committee, the activities of the LC were revived after the pandemic-forced break. The LC celebrates the birthdays of Vijay Merchant, Vinod Mankad, Vijay Hazare, Nandu Natekar, SMG, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar. And so, on SMG’s birthday celebrations, Yajurvindra recalled his conversations with the batting great and some bizarre events, including that of the steward at the Lord’s Cricket Ground preventing the India opener from entering the venue during a Test match. For around 20 years the members of the LC have been listening to the SMG stories and in the most recent meeting at the CK Nayudu Hall, there was only pin drop silence with the aficionados lapping up everything that Yajurvindra spoke about.
Mohammed Siraj is an aggressive fast medium bowler and an ambitious cricketer. He thrives on needle contests, and on occasions gives an impression that he doesn’t want to play second fiddle to anyone. In recent times, India’s new ball operators have been the compelling Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, but many a time, Siraj has got the opportunity to share the SG Test, Kookaburra or the Dukes ball with Bumrah. In the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham though, and in the absence of Bumrah, he was the spearhead. He gave a rip-roaring performance taking 6 for 70 in 19.3 overs. It was the 43rd instance of an Indian seamer taking 6 wickets and more, and 27th overseas. On the third day morning he had dispatched Joe Root who nicked an on-side deflection to the keeper and then surprised Ben Stokes with a lifter. And taking the second new ball after 80 overs and after a leather-hunt by Jamie Smith (184 not out) and Harry Brooks (158), Siraj mopped up the tail to hasten England’s first innings to an end. Siraj’s best effort though is a 6 for 15 in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa at Cape Town in the first week of January 2024 and won the Test for India. With 102 wickets before the start of the series in Old Blighty, Siraj who has missed 10 Tests after his debut — he knew that he will have to bear the burden with Bumrah to miss two Tests — rose to the occasion to give his team a sizable first innings lead. Whatever may be the outcome of the Edgbaston, Siraj showed the inclination to bend his back!
After the first Test reverse in Headingley, Leeds, the Indian think tank would have mulled over a lot about the ways to take 20 wickets in order to level the series quickly in the second Test in Edgbaston, Birmingham. It’s not going to be easy at all with Jasprit Bumrah not having taken the call to take the field or not. India’s seasoned campaigner Mohammed Siraj is likely to lead the attack and the support staff led by Head Coach Gautam Gambhir would like the sprightly Hyderabadi to up his display with the ball by a few notches and take wickets. Prasidh Krishna conceded over 200 runs at Leeds and that’s hell of a lot. Allrounder Shardul Thakur was of no use and his place is likely to be taken by the left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. It’s not known if the team management will gamble picking left arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who has the ability to swing the ball, but he doesn’t have to speed to unnerve the batters. It’s a five Test series, and India has to bounce back before the third Test at Lord’s which inspires cricketers the world over. A bowling combination in Bumrah (5 scalps in the first innings of the first Test), Siraj, Krishna, Thakur and left hand spinner Ravindra Jadeja did not click and took only 15 English wickets and lost the Test in the land of Freddie Trueman and Geoffrey Boycott, but a slight tweak in the bowling set and with a bit of luck, Gill’s team would be hoping to turn the tide.
England has picked fast bowler Jofra Archer for the second Test against India at Edgbaston from July 2. The home team has not wasted time to sort of going for the jugular after its seam attack in Chris Woakes, Joshua Tongue, and Brydon Carse were taken apart for five centuries by Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant in the first Test at Headingley. It is not rocket science to decipher England’s quick decision after taking a 1-0 lead; the home team’s coach in Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have seen India collapse twice, nee cave in, after a big partnership and are keen to quick-fix the issue of conceding runs to its rival’s top and middle order pile up runs. England missed express fast bowlers Archer and Mark Wood in the opening Test and have recalled the former who has not played Test cricket for four years and four months; in fact he played his first, first class match in four years for Sussex against Durham last week after a long period of recovery to mend his bowling hand elbow and back. Archer has taken 30 wickets at almost 27 apiece at home, but he has not played a Test at Edgbaston where England has a 7-0 record against India with one Test drawn. Former England captain Michael Atherton feels Archer need not be rushed in for the second Test and can wait till the third Test at Lord’s. But England’s team management doesn’t want to give a respite to India and wants to dominate the series and one way of doing so it feels is to unleash Archer at the Indian top order.
Shubman Gill has settled the No 4 position for himself in the New India batting order in Test cricket. The moment he was named the captain of the Test team for the five Test series in England, the grapevine was rife with pros and cons of his batting at No 4 with the MRF sticker bat. Just like his predecessors Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli who batted at No 4 and the lithe right-hander from Punjab confirmed it after the fall of debutant Sai Sudharsan at the stroke of lunch on the first day of the Headingley Test. Gill batted with a lot of assurance and compiled an elegant 227-ball 147 with 19 hits to the pickets and one six on the onside. For 12 minutes short of six hours, Gill looked the master playing behind and beside the line against the England fast bowlers. It was Gill’s first time undertaking at No 4 and he and those who helped him take that call would be more than satisfied with his effort. Gill may have thrown away a chance to convert his knock into a double and much more had he not taken the chance against the off break bowler Shoaib Bashir and offered a high catch to Joshua Tongue in the deep. When the going was good, Gill could have really cashed it on, but his departure (430/4) triggered an India collapse to 471. The pitch aided the home team seamers who were also able to swing the ball, and Gill stood up to the task after Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a lovely hundred opening the innings after being put into bat. A great knock from Gill, but a rush of blood heave spelt his doom.
Time to keep fingers crossed as an Indian team, trying to juggle with a number of questions in batting and bowling, will get down to the serious business of the first day of the first Test at Headingley, Leeds on Friday. India’s new captain Shubman Gill (three Tests in England) will have a brush with the maverick Ben Stokes who has led England in 33 Tests and won 20 for a 60.61 % win- record and with an 18- led-13-win record at home for a 72.22 positive percentage. Anyway one looks at it, the odds are stacked against India and Gill. But the charm of multi-day Test run-ins is all about outsmarting the rival team with the bat and ball for near about 450 overs if a contest lasts almost five full days and India has the opportunity to play (out of its skin) to baulk the home team which is a touch short without express fast bowlers Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. England will still have a pace bowling apparatus to trouble the inexperienced (in English conditions) top and middle order in Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair (recalled after many years), Dhruv Jurel and Gill. Fortunes could fluctuate in a matter of a few overs, and the likes of Jaiswal & Co have their task cut out. On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have the experience, but on a day when a team has to bowl 90 overs, the Indian team could be hard-pressed. In these circumstances Gill, while batting and Bumrah, while bowling hold the key for India to take control of events.
Cricket fans always look for an English summer to keep them excited for a period around five months. This season, a major event of the English Summer was the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final that South Africa won, bringing down the mighty Australians at the home of cricket, the Lord’s cricket ground. Kudos to skipper Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada and Alden Markram the rainbow nation staged a second innings comeback to trounce the Aussies. While the WTC final riveted attention on both teams, another burning topic the cricket fraternity in India is glued onto is the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decision — after consulting the BCCI — to retire the Pataudi Trophy and rename the England-India Test series after Jimmy Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar, both the nation’s outstanding cricketers who dominated the scene for over two decades. The unveiling of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has been put off because of the Ahmedabad air crash victims. The trophy will be unveiled a few days before the first day of the first Test at Headingley, Leeds on June 20. A cross section of the cricketing fraternity in India is unhappy with the change, but the argument is that the present generation has seen and taken a thrill at the fantastic displays with the bat and ball by Tendulkar and Anderson and the ECB decision was most appropriate in keeping with the times. Perhaps advised by a few legends of Indian cricket the BCCI, without interfering with the ECB call, has asked if it can name one of the individual awards and continue the legacy of Pataudi-Iftikhar Ali Khan and Mansur Ali Khan, both well known in English and Indian cricket.
Sunil Gavaskar has hit the nail on its head saying that performances in the BCCI’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament should count a lot for the IPL franchises’ talent scouts to look at than the Twenty20 Leagues run by the States. The former India batting maestro and commentator for around four decades shared his thoughts in a Sunday Column for Midday on the basis of some players’ performances in the Tata-IPl-18. His visit to the Wankhede Stadium during the T20 Mumbai League (TML) enthused the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) officials, but the Champion association of domestic cricket may do well to energise its multi-day tournament structure. Revived after a long gap of six years, the rain-marred TML may have served its purpose to the extent of keeping the local talent busy and happy too because of the financial compensation they received, but what good hope is there for a 38-year-old replacement medium pacer Rohan Raje who became the first to pinch a 5-ver in the league! The big haul cheered him up; he spoke happily at the press conference sitting by the side of his captain Siddhesh Lad of the Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals that would vie for the title with the Shreyas Iyer led SoBo Mumbai Falcons. The TML lost Mumbai and CSK’s new kid on the block Ayush Mhatre because, as batter and captain, he has to focus on the India under-19 tour to England. Mhatre was a talent that flourished in the Ranji Trophy and so the MCA could mull over a meaningful multi-day league to run parallel with the Ranji Trophy tournament of which it’s the winner 42 times. As an idea, the TML is good, but an MCA multi-day professional league is the need of the hour.
Gautam Gambhir was point blank saying that he was always against road shows to celebrate victories in sporting contests. The head coach of the Indian cricket team and an illustrious former cricketer, Gambhir did not mince words when he was asked to respond to the terrible tragedy in Bengaluru where 11 people died in a stampede around the M Chinnaswamy Stadium within 15 hours of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning its maiden IPL title in Ahmedabad. Gambhir who has led and mentored Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to IPL title wins had some strong words to express his anguish. He said he was against road shows and that the sad happenings in Bengaluru should be an eye-opener for all franchises. Gambhir and Shubman Gill were at the Cricket Centre, Mumbai for an interaction with the media before the Indian team’s departure to London for the five-Test series starting on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds. Gill and Gambhir were asked pointed questions on the challenges that’s likely to come up in England post the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and the potential absence of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah from one or two Tests in order to look after his workload. While his answers were predictable about the cricket part, Gambhir sent a message across to all the stakeholders and the franchises in particular that there has to be a strict ‘No, No’ for road shows and that human life is more important than anything else. RCB — like MI, CSK and KKR — has a humongous fan following and one and all is sad and gutted with what took place in the Garden City, the day after a memorable first IPL victory.
The Tata-IPL-18 is nearing its conclusion with the title match to be played between the United Spirits-owned Royal Challengers Bengaluru that paid $ 111.6 mn to acquire the Bengaluru franchise in 2007 and the winner of the Qualifier 2 between five times winner, the Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul. One among the three will be crowned on Wednesday (June 3) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. But the story of this year’s IPL is the rise of a few fantastic batters, bowlers and all rounders which confirms a belief that India can field two Men in Blue teams in the Twenty20 format at least. The tournament began with known culprits set to dominate, but the cricketing fraternity is already talking about budding stars like the Rajasthan Royal’s 14-year old left-hander Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Punjab Kings’ batters Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh and Nehal Wadhera, and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar, Chennai Super Kings’ batter Ayush Mhatre and fast bowler Anshul Kamboj, Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Aniket Verma, Delhi Capitals’ allrounder Vipraj Nigam and wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel, RCB leg spinner Suyash Sharma and seamer Yash Dayal, Gujarat Titans’ left arm spinner Sai Kishore, Mumbai Indians’ lower order batter Naman Dhir are the new faces who have excelled in their roles. The ongoing season has thrown fresh talents and the national selection committee will have plenty to look at the basket when the time comes to pick the squad for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka. The IPL has truly turned out to be a talent feeder for the national team.
Did Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer get a raw deal for the five-Test series in England? Both have been given the short shrift. The set-up of Head Coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill and the Selectors have sent across a message that in the present circumstances, both do not fit into the scheme of things for a challenging seven weeks tour of England. The gifted Sarfaraz scored 150 in the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand last year after his team was skittled out for 46 in the first innings. He has scores of 62, 68 not out and 56 against England at home for a tally of 371 runs in six Tests. On the turning tracks at Pune and Mumbai, he, like the full Indian batting line up, came a cropper against the Kiwi spinners. He was made to cool his heels in the five-Test series in Australia. Iyer began his Test career with 105 against New Zealand and he has played 14 Tests, his last two being against England in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam in January-February 2024. Iyer has had serious issues with the BCCI, as a consequence of which he was taken off the central contract. Times have changed and he has returned to the big stage and given the central contract. He played a big part in India’s Champions Trophy win. But the selectors have gone back to Karun Nair who played his last Test in March 2017. Nair, now 33, had scored an unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai in December 2016. Khan has been unlucky, and Iyer has “no room” in the team according to Ajit Agarkar, the selection committee chair.
Shubman Gill will have to endure the baptism by fire ordeal on his first stint as captain of the Indian team during the five-Test series in England. The first Test starts at Headingley (Leeds) from June 20, and this will be followed by severe examinations at Birmingham (Edgbaston), Lord’s (London), Old Trafford (Manchester) and The Oval (London), the series ending in the first week of August. The selection committee with Ajit Agarkar in Chair has placed faith on the 25-year-old Punjabi — with 32 Tests and 1893 runs under his belt — to deliver the goods in a country where weather conditions change by the day, and even the hour, and the local brand of Dukes ball triggers confusion in the batsmen from the Asian region. Gill has been earmarked as captain for the 2025-2027 ICC World Test Championship cycle, and points accrued from the England tour will throw first hints as to whether India will have a chance to finish among the two to play the final in June 2027. Gill’s first aim will be to get runs, which will boost his confidence as he learns the captaincy trade in the tough English summer. In the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma he will be expected to lead by example and show the way. The elegant right-hander has so far scored 874 as an opener at 32.37 and 1019 at No 3 at 37.73 in 32 Tests. In England, he is likely to bat at No 3. Gill follows 18 previous India captains (in England) who have led in 69 Tests and won 9 and so Gill has his task cut out!
Last week Neeraj Chopra threw the javelin past the 90m mark – 90.33 metre in Doha – for the first time in his already spectacular career and got the monkey off his back. The 27-year old 6 footer from Haryana, Chopra will be better placed now onwards to achieve more such 90 metre plus results. A niggle had seen him come up short at the Paris Olympics last year; the muscular Pakistani Arshad Nadeem killed the field in Paris for the gold medal with a supreme effort of 92.97 metres. Chopra ‘s 89.45m won him the silver. But 10 months afterwards, Chopra accomplished the 90m + feat at the Doha Diamond League. Chopra is now working with Jan Zelezny – the Czech Republic legend who threw the equipment to 90m plus distances 33 times from 1992 to 2001 with a world record best of 98.48m in 1996. Chopra has won gold medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Championships. His best before the Doha 90m + was the 89.94m at Stockholm, Sweden in 2022. It was 13 years ago that he showed promise with a 68.46m in the national junior Championships in Lucknow. Two years later he entered the 70+ mark. He breached the 80 + mark (82.23) for the first time at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. His 86.48 metre at the IAAF World U20 projected him as a champion thrower of the javelin. Chopra has taken part in 72 events since 2012, has won 39 and finished among the top three in 57 events. The 90+ metre mark has been breached 125 times. Chopra’s Doha feat of May 16, 2025 is the 23rd all-time best.
In 90 plus years — from June 1932 — India has won only 13.43% of the 67 Test matches in England. This stark fact exemplifies India’s woes in seaming conditions in England — 36 lost and nine won. In all 17 Indian players have captained in England and Ajit Wadekar was the first one to win a series there in 1971. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has led nine times and lost seven, Virat Kohli nine times, won three and lost five. Rohit Sharma has never led India in England. And Kapil Dev led India to a 2-0 win in 1986. In exactly a month from now, India will start a five-Test series in England, with the first one at Leeds where the record is 4 for England and 2 for India. In August 2021 England won by an innings and 76 runs. Whoever may be the captain, India will find many challenging situations, especially with the weather and the Dukes ball. It’s speculated that the selection committee — with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from Test cricket — is all set to name Shubman Gill the captain and that’s because Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness for the full series is in doubt. Gill has played three Tests in England — two in the WTC final against New Zealand and Australia and one against England and he has scored 88 runs off 158 balls. Gill’s average is 10.50 in England, 18 in New Zealand,18.50 in South Africa and 22.50 in the West Indies. He averaged 51.80 in Australia four years ago, but it whittled down to 18.60 in the 2024-25 series. Hence, Gill will look for a good English Summer, for him and the team.
Indian cricket will be hard-pressed to find replacements for the retired-from-Test-cricket stalwarts, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both began their careers when first class cricket (three-day cricket to five-day Tests) had primacy in the ecosystem. Kohli and Sharma were raised in the tough world of Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup. There were other tournaments like the Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Challenger tournaments, but there is no denying the fact that the Ranji Trophy shaped their international careers that they made distinguished by keeping the cricket fan in mind and entertaining them, integrating all with their overall competitive streak. For 18 seasons they have plied their trade in the trailblazing Indian Premier League and have become legends amassing runs in the Twenty20 razzmatazz. Kohli was a product of Delhi’s hot-weather and other limited over tournaments. For Sharma Mumbai’s excellent club level cricket worked for him. After the exit of the “Fab-4” in Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, Indian cricket advertised itself on the fantastic accomplishments of its batters and captains in MS Dhoni, Kohli and Sharma. There has been some fine achievements by the bowlers too. For the cricket fans etched in their memory would by the deeds they achieved in white ball competitions (50 overs and Twenty20) at Kingsmead, Wankhede, Bridgetown and Dubai, but ultimately in Test cricket. India has been lucky to unearth talent out of its domestic system and build a brand to appeal to budding talents, and to the corporate and media world; the likes of Kohli and Sharma made India a “Super Brand” and have fascinated the purists and others alike.
With India’s armed forces engaged in the battle front against Pakistan, no way the Tata-IPL-18 could have continued, and the BCCI has rightly stopped all action (entertainment) for a week. It’s a matter of conjecture, even though a ceasefire has been called, as to when play will resume to complete season-18. Until the call was taken to bring the league to a halt, the interest and focus — apart from the performances of the 10 teams — was on the homegrown talents leading the teams like Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Rajat Patidar, Shubman Gill, Rituraj Gaikwad (replaced by MS Dhoni), Sanju Samson (replaced by Riyan Parag) and Ajinkya Rahane. It was great to see so many Indians trying to show their leadership qualities, but only two or three could be said to be in contention for the leadership role for the five-Test series in England, even after Rohit Sharma called it “quits” from Test cricket. The notable absentee from this group was Jasprit Bumrah who was not a starter for Mumbai Indians this IPL, but he breathed fire soon after joining the MI ranks. Gill, Iyer and Patidar earned some brownie points and the Gujarat Titans captain Gill will get a role in England. But can the selectors ignore the claim of Bumrah who stunned one and all with his captaincy in Australia, in the first Test in Perth that India won with consummate ease. With the experience of playing nine Tests in England and bowling 357 overs there, Bumrah ought to be the captain for the tour of England. Gill can only be Bumrah’s sidekick. The selection committee has plenty to mull over.
Rohit Sharma deserves kudos for calling time on his Test career that has been far from spectacular, but nonetheless personally satisfying because he got to play so many Tests and led the country as well. He may have taken the call of his own volition, or may have been nudged by someone in the authority. But his expression upon his driving uppishly to mid-off in the MI v GT match at the Wankhede Stadium told its own dismal story. The fact of the matter is Sharma did not have a good run with the bat against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia (in all 8 Tests) and he even went to the extent of sitting out in the fifth and final Test in Sydney. The selection committee could not have turned a blind eye to the numbers delivered by Sharma — such a “Bindhas batter” — in the three preceding series. With an average of 10.50 against Bangladesh, 15.17 against New Zealand and 6.20 against Australia the selection committee would have been embarrassed to pick him for the five-Test series in England that would have demanded 25 days of challenging cricket. With a 50% success rate in Tests, Sharma could have continued but the last seven months showed him in poor light in the long form of the game. It’s never easy to quit, but Sharma has done it and he has to be told “Shabhash”. Sharma’s record in England Is good with 10 Tests, 402 runs for an average of 44.67 with his last inning at The Oval getting him a first and only century –127. He scored some runs against England when he was 27 and 34 years old. Now, running 38, it would have been tough on him, and so it was a right call for himself and Indian cricket.
The cricket world in Asia could be altogether disrupted should India (BCCI) mull over not to take part in this year’s men’s Asia Cup. No one is even talking of the host venue yet, not even a hybrid model to facilitate the participation of India and Pakistan. Pundits have gone to the extent of saying that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) of which Pakistan’s Mohsin Naqvi is the Chair may plunge itself into a crisis for there is not even a remote chance of a solution. Naqvi’s predecessor was the BCCI’s Jay Shah, now the ICC Chair. The consequences of the Pahalgam terror attack on Indians will throw a monkey wrench into the works and observers seem to have seen hints of India boycotting the Asia Cup. The ACC was formed in 1983 by Jagmohan Dalmiya to keep the Asian bloc (read votes) together at the ICC meetings. India has won the Asia Cup eight times — with the tournament format alternating from 50 overs or Twenty20 depending upon the next format of the ICC World Cup — but taking part and winning the title will not be a paramountcy for the BCCI which will just go by what the Union government tells it to do. India and Pakistan have boycotted Asia Cup competitions in the past and India did not go to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy recently. But questions are being asked whether India will agree to be part of an ACC under the leadership of Naqvi who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister; he did not attend a recent ICC meeting chaired by Shah in Dubai, and the BCCI’s Rajeev Shukla and Ashish Shelar may just do the same leading to a Domino Effect.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi is likely to go places in the world of cricket. Once, one gives credence to his date of birth registered with the BCCI, then he is just 14, his DOB being March 27,2011. He has played four matches for Rajasthan Royals in the Tata-IPL-18 and the sixes he has smashed off the LSG, RCB and GT bowlers has given rise to the Doubting Thomas tribe who refuse to believe that the Samastipur (Bihar) left-hander is in his mid-teens. There are people who are asking why this hue and cry over his age when he appears like the proverbial new kid on the block. Suryavanshi has been the newsmaker of his gifts in the last two years, and talent scouts of the Jaipur franchise were convinced the chubby-faced has the potential to enter the big boys league sooner than later. A few days ago he lit up the Pink City venue with an astounding 38-ball 101 with 7x4s and 11x 6s against the Gujarat Titans, but in the next match, he was dismissed for a blob by the Mumbai Indians. Suryavanshi, bought at Rs1.1 crore has already seen the two ends of the spectrum; he will endure the hits and misses in his fledgling years in cricket, but the experts have seen the spark in him to say that he is one for the long race. The IPL created the big flash for Paul Valthaty who while playing for Kings XI Punjab, ripped apart the CSK bowling for a 63-ball unbeaten 120 at Mohali in 2011 with 19x4s and 2x6s. He was never a force thereafter, but Suryavanshi looks the part!
The Pahalgam terror-attack that resulted in deaths of innocent Indians and a foreign tourist holidaying in the Kashmir Valley may cause a deeper deterioration in India-Pakistan cricket ties. Hitherto the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), adhering to a long-standing government guideline, does not engage Pakistan in bilateral series across formats. An Indian cricket team — men, women and under-19 — has not played on Pakistan soil for more than one and a half decades (since 2008), but Pakistan played the ICC World Cup 2023 matches in India — at Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai. The BCCI though maintained its position of not sending the men in blue team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy in February-March this year. India played all its matches in Dubai. The Indian government has always maintained that Pakistan is a State-sponsor of terror strikes in the Northern Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir and hence there is no place for bilateral cricketing relationship with Pakistan. The BCCI was quick to condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam and used the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad to pay homage to the victims. A hybrid model was worked out for the ICC Champions Trophy and the same is the formula worked out for future ICC events ending in 2027. Pakistan has qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup to be hosted by India this September-October and it will not travel to India. Will the BCCI take the extreme step of not playing against Pakistan or request the ICC and ACC that India should not be placed in the same group as Pakistan. Only time will tell.
Opening partnerships matter much at any level of cricket, more so in the shortest format of the game. The opening pair shows the intent to maximise the potential to score in the first 6-over power play in a Twenty20 game when only two fielders are positioned outside the inner 30-yard circle. In this regard the most consistent pair in the Tata-IPL-18 has been the Gujarat Titans opening pair in India opener Shubman Gill and the promising left hander in Sai Sudharsan. The right-left combination has worked like a well-oiled machine scoring 448 runs in eight matches; this high aggregate works out to 28.90% of the team’s runs scored off the bat. The Gill-Sudharsan pair has put on, so far, two century plus and two half century partnerships, a significant reason for the title winner on debut to notch six wins and approach the home stretch of the league phase with confidence for a place in the playoffs. The new co-owners of the Ahmedabad franchise, Torrent Power, could not have asked for anything more with Gill’s team almost certain to feature in the business end of the league. Sudharsan has scored 417 runs to own the Orange Cap and Gill, 305. The Titans which won the title under the stewardship of Hardik Pandya in 2022 — he is the Mumbai Indians captain having returned to his first IPL team last year — and reached the final in 2023- did not make the playoffs last year, but Gill has made amends this season demonstrating leadership qualities. Playing 14 league matches is tough as it comes; the playoffs will be a different ball game altogether. But Gill and Sudarsan have shown the way for the Titans!
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not uttered a word about the status of the Indian team’s Assistant Coach Abhishek Nayar who was part of the Gautam Gambhir-steered support staff. But the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has announced that Abhishek Nayar has returned to the franchise — which has confirmed that Nayar extolled by none other than India’s star batter KL Rahul and a few more — has lost his job with the Indian team. Nayar was with KKR from 2018 to 2024, and so returning to the Shah Rukh Khan owned franchise team indicates that KKR was happy with the work done by him. Reports, citing “one or many of BCCI’s million sources” say that Nayar’s position became untenable after India’s 0-3 rout by New Zealand in the home series and 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. It can be surmised that Nayar was not able to help skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and the others score runs off the Australia pace pack in Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. Josh Hazlewood did not play the full series after he suffered a calf injury in the second Test in Brisbane. The BCCI believes that Sitanshu Kotak, appointed batting coach of the men in blue teams for the home series against England and continued for the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai, can deliver wonders for the national team. Kotak’s appointment from Centre of Excellence duties to the Indian team was a cue that Nayar was on the way out. A regional broadsheet even went to the extent of suggesting that Nayar was divulging dressing room happenings to the outside world and hence, was asked to go! What a reason!
Of late Rohit Sharma has been in the news for many reasons – notable being not in good nick in the IPL matches for Mumbai Indians, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) naming Level 3 in the Vithal Divecha Pavilion at the Wankhede Stadium in his honour and naming him the Ambassador of the Mumbai Premier League Season 3. Clearly the five- time IPL winner MI would like him to contribute with weighty performances in order to improve the team’s chances of making the playoffs, but everyone at the MCA was delighted with his presence at the launch of the MPLT20 league. In the course of a fireside chat Sharma — appearing down to earth — talked about the encouragement received from the MCA, breaking window panes in his neighbourhood, not intentionally but while playing cricket for fun, offered Rs 5 or 10 to play for different buildings in his colony, waiting at the Wankhede in the early years of the New Millennium to catch sight of players like Amol Muzumdar, Wasim Jaffer, Nilesh Kulkarni and others. One of the most elegant batters to emerge from the Mumbai Maidans, Sharma impressed upon Mumbai’s legacy and history citing its 42 Ranji Trophy title wins and pointed out the importance of the MPLT20 in shaping the careers of the budding talents in the city. He was touched by the MCA’s call to name a section of the guest stand after him. “It will be a very emotional moment when I see my name on the stand. When you start playing, you don’t think about such things to happen,” said the India captain who won the Twenty20 World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM), a much-awaited street race held in the third week of January every year, has delivered over Rs 53.62 crore for charity from its 20th anniversary race. On most occasions the ebony hued men and women athletes from Africa dominate the running spectacle over a distance of 42.195 km; they take home $s aplenty and tell great human stories. But the TMM, so diligently and passionately promoted by Procam International and in particular, sports aficionados Anil Singh and Vivek Singh, is just not about achieving success in a little over two hours of human potential demonstrated by thousands of runners; it’s also about people’s involvement in alleviating the lives of the have nots and those suffering from life-threatening diseases and illness. As a doctor treating people with neurological ailments said at the TMM2025 Philanthropy Awards “it’s not easy to raise money” and hence the effort made by over a thousand people, NGOs and the corporate world has warmed the cockles of many a heart. Among NGOs, the Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care raised a whopping Rs 13.67 cr, Light of Life Trust Rs 5.12 cr, United Way Mumbai Rs 4.74 cr, ADHAR Rs 2.36 cr and Isha Education Rs 1.88 cr. The highest fund fundraising Corporate Team were Me-Hin Tech Edge Solutions, Godrej & Boyce and Panasonic Life Solutions. A number of individuals — from young collegians, top executives and professionals — raised money in several lakhs and crores that will go for many causes, but most importantly for people suffering from cancer, dementia, Alzheimer, epilepsy and other health issues. The TMM has raised, over a period of 20 years, Rs 483.20 crore — all for the ultimate aim of caregiving.
Twenty20 has always been a “high-risk, high-reward” game, in particular for the batters, and Abhishek Sharma’s go-for-broke knock of 141 when the Sunrisers Hyderabad was seemingly looking down the barrel — chasing Punjab Kings’ 245 at a venue in Uppal in Charminar City — is a case in point. Sharma who plays for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy went through a 5-match poor run, making a mere 51 at 10.20 an innings, but his bellicose-like pounding of the PKS bowlers took his average to 32.08. It was the Sunrisers’ second win in six outings of the Tata-IPL-18, and once again the southpaw opening pair in Travis Head and Sharma took a heavy-duty risk to pave the way for their side to surpass a big target. Teams aim to achieve the maximum potential in the first six over power play and in doing so risk the peril of gifting their wickets. Among the opening pairs, Gujarat Titans’ Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have made 320 which is a high 27.87% of the team score in six matches; next is the Sunrisers’ Head-Sharma pair which has made 255, followed by the Lucknow Super Giants’ Aiden Markram and Mitchell Narsh pair that has collected 226 and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s opening pair in Phil Salt and Virat Kohli who have contributed 217 to their team aggregate. But the highest run-production has come from the GT’s second wicket pair in Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler who have made 292 which is equivalent to nearly 30% of the team score. The second best here is 274 by LSG’s Marsh and Nicholas Pooran.
After three months of suspense Jasprit Bumrah — laid low by back spasms from the second innings of the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney — offered glimpses of his fitness in the Tata-IPL-18 turning up for MI against the RCB at the Wankhede. He bowled four overs in three spells — 4th, 11th, and 18th and 20th, described as death overs. Virat Kohli and Jitesh Sharma smashed him for a 6 each, even then Bumrah finished with a creditable 0/29. While Bumrah will be monitored in MI’s future matches — the other fast and seam bowlers who did duty in Australia, mainly Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna — both of whom bowled their heart out in the Sydney Test in January this year and Harshit Rana have impressed in a format the best in business are torn to shreds. Akash Deep too has returned to action and Mohammed Shami, who was absent in Australia, has looked the champion since his return from the Champions Trophy after a long forced injury lay off. They will have some solid work in the five Test matches in the English summer from June 20 to August 4 at Leeds, Birmingham, London, Manchester and The Oval. Who will be the backup seamer with batting skills the selection committee and the team management will look at? Among the top wicket takers are Hardik Pandya who has a collection of 10 wickets and is among the joint top-3 in the IPL-18 with Siraj and left arm seamer, Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur with nine wickets in five matches. But the “Big Q” is will Pandya make himself available for Test match cricket?
The annual retainership announced for the national women’s team by the BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia in a way reflects the national governing body’s unhappiness with the team’s performance in multi-nation tournaments. The Indian team lost to New Zealand and Australia in the Twenty20 World Cup held in the UAE last year and these two outcomes eliminated the women in blue team from semi-finals. India had also lost to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final in July 2024. In fact, the Indian team has not figured in the final of an ICC Twenty20 World Cup after it lost to Australia by 85 runs in the 2019-20 final played in Melbourne. India had reached the 50-over World Cup final in 2017 when it lost to England by nine runs. Clearly, the BCCI which has been governing women’s cricket for around two decades and has taken steps to bring parity in match fee, allowances and other facilities, wants the team that has experienced players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemima Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Shafali Verma, Pooja Vastrakar; Renuka Singh Thakur, Radha Yadav to win a big ICC title. The retainership announced for October 2024-September 2025 has three players in Group A (Rs 50 lakh), four in Group B (Rs 30 lakh) and nine players in Group C (Rs 10 lakh). That the team doesn’t play a reasonable number of Tests in comparison with the men’s team is also a reason for a big gap in the annual retainership. Meanwhile the annual retainership for the senior men is keenly awaited. The team has already been given Rs 183 crore for winning the ICC World Twenty 20 and the Champions Trophy.
After sporting the famous Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Lion crest for seven seasons, left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal has chosen to leave a champion side and join a non-achiever in domestic cricket like Goa from the next season (2025-26). A cricketer raised in the tough world of Mumbai maidan cricket has rarely taken such a move; even Sarfaraz Khan went to UP, but returned to sort of his moorings. Mumbai has a history of encouraging cricketers, and quickly too, at the first sight of gifts in a budding cricketer. Yashasvi was given the opportunity by the MCA. Over a period of seven seasons, he has played 10 Ranji Trophy matches for Mumbai, but never a full season and he has not been on the title winning Ranji Trophy team. Once he started piling up runs for Mumbai, West Zone, India ‘A’ and for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, he was capped in Test cricket and he has played 19 Tests and accumulated runs. As a professional cricketer he availed a BCCI provision and has opted to play for a State, a popular tourist destination known for fish, feni and football. The MCA will not fret over a departure of a talented cricketer; its ecosystem throws up talent aplenty to cater its first-class and white ball competition teams. But why did Yashasvi quit Mumbai? As a professional he has made a move for personal reasons which can be interpreted in many ways. And insiders in MCA are privy to certain unpleasant happenings during the backend of the Ranji Trophy season. Well, Yashasvi has the right to make a career-choice and he has made it.
If the IPL, had among a number of awards along with the Orange Cap to the leading run-getter and Purple Cap to the leading wicket-taker, founded the best talent scout award over multiple seasons, it would have been won by John Wright hands down. The former New Zealand opener and a former coach of the Indian team should get the credit for recommending Jasprit Bumrah to Mumbai Indians for the 2013 season after seeing him bowl for Gujarat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament. Bumrah has to be deemed the find of the IPL and India in the last decade having taken 443 wickets across formats and 165 wickets for the MI. The Ambani family owned MI has a pool of talent scouts — and so do the other nine teams — and this season, the five-time winner introduced three raw talents in left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur, seamer PVSN Raju, batter Robin Minz for a trial by fire start in the unforgiving world of IPL competition. While Puthur created a buzz in Kerala and across the country, it’s the Punjab left-arm seamer Ashwani Kumar, a tyro in Indian cricket’s domestic tournaments, who demanded compelling attention with his 4 for 24 in the team’s first home match; it was a peach of an effort that won MI its first match of the Tata-IPL-18 against Kolkata Knight Riders. The talent scouts of the 10 franchisees spot talent, travelling to the nook and corners of the country. These are early days for the likes of Puthur and Ashwani, and only a good run in the hectic IPL season can enable them to crash open the doors of the national team.
After 15 seasons in the IPL as Chennai Super Kings’ talismanic personality, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has drawn attention for all the wrong reasons. He evoked encomiums for his lightning stumping of Suryakunar Yadav of Mumbai Indians and Phil Salt of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the ongoing Tata-IPL-18, but after a 50 run defeat i against the RCB, Dhoni aka “Thala” is under flak for coming to bat at No 9 (with CSK at 99 for 7) against RCB which had set a formidable target of 197. Dhoni scored a quick 30 not out off 16 balls with 3x4s and 2x6s, but his blitzkrieg has far from convinced the CSK fans of his value to the team. While the majority of them go to the extent of hero-worshipping him, there were voices of dissent about him batting at No 9. One cricket lover said that a genuine CSK fan like him cannot be fooled anymore. “He should have come ahead when the target was 197,” he said. Dhoni will turn 44 coming July and once again the grapevine is rife with the news that he will hang his boots at the conclusion of this season. Australian Brad Hogg was 45 when he played his last IPL match in 2016 for KKR and Pravin Tambe was 44 when he played his last match for Gujarat Lions in 2016; this makes Dhoni the third oldest player in the league. He has featured in 138 winning matches for the CSK, averaging a little under 45 in these matches and scoring 1000-plus runs at No 4 and 5. He has batted at No 9 only twice and the CSK fans are, naturally, angry!
The Tata-IPL blast has truly begun with the batters going after the bowlers with a lot of innovative stroke-making and boundary (4 and 6) hitting. There has been an exception though in the low-scoring ‘El Clasico’ skirmish between CSK and MI. This was expected with the slow and turn-affording surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. The opening pairs have been trying hard to blast their way to make the most of the first 6-over powerplay when only two fielders are allowed outside the inner 30-yard circle. The middle order, lower order has lashed out and even the tail has struck a few lusty blows. It all began with the Sunil Narine-Ajinkya Rahane power hitting in the IPL-18 inaugural match between KKR and RCB at the Eden Gardens. But it was left-hander Ishan Kishan who set the IPL on fire, turning out for the Pat Cummins led Sunrisers Hyderabad against Rajasthan Royals on a featherbed of a pitch at Uppal, Hyderabad. Kishan dropped like a hot potato from the Indian team and from the annual contract, pummelled the Royals bowlers including Jofra Archer to make a power-packed unconquered 106 of a mere 47 balls with 11x4s and 6x6s touching a strike rate of 225.53. The Ishan Kishan explosive batting happened after his team’s opening pair in Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head went berserk raising 45 with both crossing the 215% strike rate. So far seven batters have scored at 12-run plus an over, including Delhi Capitals’ Ashutosh Sharma demolishing the Lucknow SuperGiants’ bowling to make a 31-ball unbeaten 66. LSG’s Nicholas Pooran joined the gang of hitters. In seven matches 156x6s and 233x4s have been hit. It’s been leather hunting, IPL style!
The BCCI took some time to announce Rs 58 crore as cash bonus to the Indian team that ruled the roost and won the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai. The players and the head coach Gautam Gambhir will receive Rs 3 crore each and the others — depending on their position in the support squad — a specific sum. The BCCI had announced a cash award of Rs 125 crore to Rohit Sharma’s team that won the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados in June 2024. This is in addition to the prize money of $ 2.45 million from the ICC for winning the Cup and $31,154 for every match won. It’s $2.24 million for winning the Champions Trophy and an additional $34,000 for every match won. What the BCCI says is win ICC tournaments and we are ready to open the purse strings. Two years ago, India received $ 40,000 for each of the 10 matches it won in the ICC World Cup and $ 2 million for finishing runner-up to Australia. The prize money received from ICC is fully disbursed to the players. Even 14 years ago the Indian team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni received from the BCCI a cash bonus of around Rs 35 crore for winning the World Cup. Well, to think of it, the BCCI was not flush with funds to award the 1983 World Cup winning Indian team; that was 41 years ago. These days even the Ranji Trophy winning team receives Rs 5 crore as prize money. The Women’s Premier League winner Mumbai Indians received Rs 6 crore and the IPL winner will get Rs 20 crore was the prize money for the 2022-2024 cycle. Well, BCCI means money!
Hardik Pandya is back as captain; it has come one year after the last season’s Tata-IPL in which his team — the 5-time winner Mumbai Indians — finished at the bottom of the 10-team leader board. But he will not lead the Ambani owned team for its first match of Season-18 at the Chepauk on March 23. As captain of MI last year, he is paying a heavy price for not getting his team’s overs in time — not in one match, but three times. The third slow-over rate happened against Lucknow and he was docked a Rs 30 lakh fine, a one-match suspension; and the rest of the playing XI, a fine of Rs 12 lakh each. And so MI will miss Pandya against CSK and also the recuperating Jasprit Bumrah. All this means the stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav will have to get the job done by two other bowlers to bowl eight overs. Pandya appeared a cool cat at MI’s pre-season presser, being matter of fact, fielding questions along with Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene and bringing in a touch of humour. He made the 40-minute presser light, just like he probably wears the captaincy cap too. For some strange reason, Pandya has been eased out as Twenty20 format captain of the Indian team. He doesn’t seem perturbed about it. He led Gujarat Titans to two finals with a title on debut, a reason for getting the MI captaincy. His message to the MI paltan at the Wankhede; chillao (shout) when I am at the toss, chillao when I go to bat, chillao when I hit 6s, chillao when I take a wicket and chillao for Mumbai Indians.
The good old Brabourne Stadium at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) was abuzz and a Saturday day night fever like atmosphere prevailed at the South Mumbai venue during the third Tata-WPL final. Close to 15000 spectators showed up to cheer the blazing Sudarshan Chakra sporting Mumbai Indians (MI). It was a typical home crowd rooting for the Ambanis owned MI, but applauding the good work of the Delhi Capitals too. The women power was in full force with Harmanpreet Kaur, the India captain stealing the thunder with an admirable show of not exposing her nerves, battling hard with a stunning rescue knock of 66 with England’s Natalie Sciver-Brunt showing that she is a professional to the core — all in the presence of Nita Ambani, Chairperson of the Reliance Foundation and Madhumati Lele Shrivastava, President, CCI and WPL’s Executive Committee and few more from the Upper Crust. But after the closing ceremony show by Jasmine Sandlas, French Montana, and Mohamed Ramadan, the teams led by the legendary Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet took the centre stage and after a three-hour scrap in the middle, the MI captain had outwitted her rival with the bat and leadership. Delhi Capitals owned by the GMR Group and JSW Sports was disappointed with a runner-up finish for the third time in a row, and MI was cock-a-hoop after failing to get going when the DC’s South African Marizanne Kapp was flaunting her talent with the new ball. The BCCI ought to be pleased as punch that the WPL is truly bringing women power to the fore.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.