Author: Kashish Chadha

KL Rahul, who has been appointed India captain for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, suffered a groin injury, while Kuldeep Yadav injured his hand. As a result, Rishabh Pant will lead the side, with Hardik Pandya announced as the vice-captain. The Men in Blue have been hit with injuries ahead of the five-match T20I series against South Africa. Rahul, who was appointed as the captain of the side in Rohit Sharma’s absence, would feel unfortunate with yet another untimely injury. Credit: BCCI The Lucknow Super Giants captain picked up a right groin injury, and Kuldeep Yadav was struck on his right hand while batting…

Replacing Nitin Patel, experienced physio Kamlesh Jain has joined the Indian team support staff on a full-time basis ahead of the home T20I series against the Proteas, starting on June 9 in Delhi. Jain has been recruited by the BCCI for the head physio’s position in place of Patel, who will now be playing the same role at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Reports had been doing the rounds about the Jain-Patel switch since the middle of last month and now the BCCI has put a stamp of approval on the appointment of a new member of the Rahul Dravid led…

India head coach Rahul Dravid said he is excited to have premier allrounder Hardik Pandya back in full fitness, including on the bowling front, for the five-match T20I series against South Africa. However, Dravid gave a hint, it is unlikely Pandya would not have a return to his usual end-overs aggressor duties in T20Is after batting higher up as skipper of Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. Opting to play a more wholesome role with the bat for Titans, Pandya batted No.3-4 for the new franchise and had one of his best Indian Premier League seasons. He topped the runs chart…

The organisers of the UAE T20 League have unveiled a January-February window for their longstanding project’s inaugural edition next year. The window sets the tournament up for major clashes with Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League as well as South Africa’s newly-launched CSA T20 Challenge. All the three rival leagues will be running in a parallel window to UAE’s T20 competition, backed up by multiple corporate giants, including ownership entities of three Indian Premier League franchises – Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.  Credit: IPL It would mean a tussle to get the best players from around the world, especially with the…

India stalwart Rishabh Pant grins as he speaks of his father’s influence in him taking up the demanding job of wicketkeeping from a young age. The Delhi Capitals skipper says it is Rajendra Pant, a wicketkeeper himself, who inspired him to don the gloves and take up the physically challenging duties behind the stumps. Speaking on the SG Podcast, Pant unveiled his father’s touch behind his journey as a wicketkeeper. He stated how seeing his father go about his trade behind the three sticks was a huge trigger point in him becoming a keeper as well. “I have no idea…

Tamim Iqbal claims the BCB hasn’t yet given him a proper stage to explain views on his future in T20Is for the national side. The veteran left-hander said no discussion has taken place between him and the board authorities, including the selectors, to finalise a way forward for him in the shortest format. Tamim hasn’t played a T20I for Bangladesh in more than two years now, with his last match dating back to March 2020 in Dhaka against Zimbabwe. The stalwart also pulled out of the last year’s T20 World Cup in UAE, citing a lack of preparations for the tournament…

Ben Stokes was jubilant after England’s magnificent Test win in a low-scoring affair at Lord’s against New Zealand to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. However, the newly appointed England skipper didn’t lose a sense of pragmatism in the moment, calling it only the beginning a “long road”. The 31-year-old recognised his task being an England skipper of reviving a Test team that went through a phase of 17 previous Tests with a solitary win is certainly “not an overnight thing”. At the same time, he said a lot of what the three lions did at Lord’s is “what me and Brendon are trying to…

Fine hundreds from Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks followed by a collective bowling performance on a flat deck helped West Indies overhaul the Netherlands again and come out of the series with a critical 3-0 whitewash on June 4. The Calypso Kings claimed a 20-run victory over the Netherlands in a high-scoring bout in Amstelveen to bag 30 points from the tour in the ICC Super League qualification set-up and rejuvenate their chances of direct World Cup 2023 entry.  Mayers and Brooks played handsome roles in ensuring West Indies avoided the last-game hiccup, which would’ve dented their hopes in the…

Former Australia wristspinner Brad Hogg lauded Indian selectors for leaving two veteran cricketers – Ishant Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane – out of the squad ahead of the Edgbaston Test in England. Both Ishant and Rahane were dropped by the Chetan Sharma led selection panel in the aftermath of the country’s disappointing 2-1 series loss to a beatable South African side last winter.  https://twitter.com/mipaltan/status/1528362117908164608 The duo didn’t feature in the pair of home Tests against Sri Lanka in March and now have been looked past for the rescheduled fifth Test of last year’s Pataudi Trophy in Birmingham, starting July 1. For Hogg, it reflects a…

The iconic Lord’s cricket ground is all set to host the showpiece final of the ongoing cycle of the WTC in the summer of 2023. The International Cricket Council is expected to officially formalise the venue as the designated host for the final in its next month’s AGM. “I think it is scheduled for Lord’s, that was always the intention. It’s June so that rules out a number of other venues and we’ve got to get certainty around where it’s hosted. We’re out of Covid now so subject to arrangements being made and being able to be hosted out of…