Author: Kashish Chadha

Following a fantastic performance in the Asia Cup 2023 final on September 17 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, cricket veteran Wasim Akram has praised Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, calling him as India’s “main weapon” for the next ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023. India won the continental championship for the seventh time with a convincing victory against Sri Lanka in the final match. Pandya, who is only 28 years old, put on a stunning exhibition of talent, taking three key wickets. His wickets of Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, and Matheesha Pathirana destroyed Sri Lanka’s batting order, restricting them to 50 runs when…

Virat Kohli’s Instagram post published on Thursday with his yo-yo test passing score has ruffled the feathers within the office of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. According to Indian Express, the board’s top brass is understood to have taken offence to the modern-day stalwart making “confidential” information public. The board considers Kohli’s post a leak of important information and knowledge of the fitness assertion process not meant to be known by the fans or the media on the outside and has therefore issued a warning to the entire senior team squad currently part of a six-day camp…

England’s modern-day great Joe Root brought his understated humour to the fore to confirm he had no role to play behind Ben Stokes’ decision to withdraw his One-Day International retirement in time for the upcoming 2023 World Cup. Stokes had announced a shocking premature retirement from the One-Day game last summer and triggered a major debate on the future livelihood of the ODI game amidst an “unsustainable” schedule. The mental and physical wear out on cricketers that an inhumane playing calendar takes weighed up above the attraction of participating in another World Cup at the time for him.  https://twitter.com/CricCrazyJohns/status/1691735272827043930 But…

India welcomed middle-order incumbents KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer back with open arms in their squad for the Asia Cup 2023 while handing young Tilak Varma a maiden call-up and giving a surprise exit to experienced inner Yuzvendra Chahal. The 17-member squad for the subcontinental tournament, starting August 30, also features the return to the 50-overs outfit for pace duo Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna. The tall seam combination recently recovered from their sustained rehab for back injuries surgery and proved their match fitness in the first two T20I of the ongoing series in Ireland. The moment Prasidh and Bumrah were approved for the…

Ben Stokes’ much celebrated return in time for the 2023 World Cup after shockingly calling it quits in the 50-overs game last summer hasn’t gone down well with former Australia skipper Tim Paine. The premier allrounder and England’s 2019 Lord’s hero, Paine believes, is being unfair to the rest of the three lions’ World Cup hopefuls.  Paine feels other English cricketers making way for Stokes after putting in the hard yards in the last 12 months are being discouraged and handed rough deals by the selectors and the team management. The Ashes rival also indirectly insisted it is a case…

Australian skipper Pat Cummins considers the three-match ODI series against India late next month to be the more realistic point of return in time for the 2023 World Cup in October-November. The pace spearhead is currently undergoing a six-week rehabilitation programme for a wrist fracture he picked up playing the final Ashes Test at The Oval. Cummins got injured on the opening day of the critical contest for the urn and played with it over the next five days, mindful of the occasion, which aggravated matters for his left wrist and forced him into a month and a half of…

Caribbean Premier League will be following football’s ‘red card’ equivalent regulation this summer with an ambition to counter the slow over rates experienced in the men’s and the women’s iteration of the tournament over the years. In a first in cricket, CPL 2023 could force oppositions guilty of erring on the over-rate to take the field with one fielder less – yes, not the 30-yard, but the field as a whole – if they fail to start the 20th over on the stipulated time. The umpires will have the power to impose harsh in-game penalties on the teams they find…

Former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Brian Lara came up with a warning for young speedster Umran Malik: learn and execute a greater array of skills to be more relevant at the international stage. The unabashed J&K speedster may have been fast tracked due to his speed and hostility, but Lara says that alone wouldn’t take him far. Lara, who was Malik’s head coach during IPL 2023, where the youngster really struggled to hold his spot, feels there is scope for massive improvement and skill upliftment with the 23-year-old raw quick from the valleys. The word from the batting maestro being…

Pat Cummins, who is undergoing a six-week layoff in recovery from a left wrist injury picked up at the fag end of the Ashes 2023 in the UK, will be travelling to South Africa and India for Australia’s World Cup prep ODIs and the ultimate showpiece event from September to November. The player had carried doubts over his participation in the preceding 50-overs games prior to the quadrennial event following playing the entire fifth Test at The Oval with a wrist issue after diving and hurting his hand on Day 1. However, the selectors have deemed the skipper fit enough…

Pakistan Cricket Board prioritises keeping the best playing talent within the national circuit amidst the lure of foreign white-ball leagues. The focus is even sharper on retaining the big-name picks, with the likes of skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi potentially earning an equivalent of $16,000 from their annual retainers alone, stated a report in the ESPNcricinfo. The three contemporary giants of Pakistan cricket could be part of category A of the PCB annual contracts as the board looks set to bring back the traditional four-part hierarchy and division after trialling the red and white-ball filter of cricketers…