Author: Kashish Chadha

England fast-bowler Mark Wood is set to be ruled out of the three-match Test series against New Zealand, beginning June 2, after “slow progress” on an elbow injury that he picked up on the tour of West Indies in late March and one that forced him out of a stint in IPL 2022. Livid by the timing of the injury as it came on the heels of a fruitful winter in Tests, Wood, however, is mindful of not forcing the issue with his rehab and isn’t desperate to immediately add to his tally of caps in the format for England. …

India on May 22 handed a Test match comeback to Cheteshwar Pujara for the rescheduled fifth Test of last year’s series in Edgbaston, starting July 1st. The selectors have recalled the veteran right-hander after dropping him in the aftermath of India’s disappointing 2-1 Test series loss earlier in the year in South Africa.  Pujara, axed for the two World Test Championship fixtures in March versus Sri Lanka, returns for the critical encounter in his team’s campaign as the last edition’s runners-up look to go one step further in the summer of 2023.  The right-hander has earned his nod after a…

Head coach Stephen Fleming assessed a disappointing season for Chennai Super Kings, saying the failure to close out critical moments and games eventually came back to haunt the defending champions in IPL 2022.  Fleming cited the inability of his team to finish off a number of games as a major reason behind their tournament failure. The New Zealander felt while last year’s inspirational comeback to own the coveted title was a “catastrophic success”, CSK needed to play a more consistent brand of cricket to replicate their feat. “There was mixed success. We sort of stuttered our way through. We had…

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was encouraged by Virat Kohli’s knock of 73 in the victory over Gujarat Titans on May 19, stating the great batter’s precise footwork during the innings augurs well in his quest to regain his best form.  While certainly not an innings from the top drawer of Kohli’s batting efforts, the knock by the Royal Challengers Bangalore opener would’ve boosted his morale after a difficult IPL 2022.  Heading into RCB’s final league stage encounter at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Kohli had gone as deep as 13 matches into the tournament with only 236 runs, having previously…

Even though dealing with life as a one-format India specialist, Shikhar Dhawan remains quite upbeat about his future at the international level. The experienced left-hander says he continues to work hard over his game and isn’t feeling anxious or unsettled by the rising competition for spots. Dhawan, 36, turned out in his most recent Test for India in August 2018 and in a T20I last July for a second-string Indian side on the tour of Sri Lanka. The southpaw remains an IPL regular but has been pigeonholed as an ODI specialist in the Indian set-up.  At a time when the…

Shimron Hetmyer, who hasn’t played for the West Indies since the T20 World Cup, made himself unavailable for the Netherlands and Pakistan tours due to personal reasons. Shimron Hetmyer last played an international game in the T20 World Cup and since then hasn’t been part of the West Indies team due to either personal reasons or fitness issues. West Indies remain hopeful that the left hander will be available for the future tours. Hetmyer returned to India for the final stages of the Indian Premier League following a short leave to be present for the birth of his child. But…

Virat Kohli says a break from the game is definitely up for consideration from his end as he looks to mentally recharge amidst a challenging phase in his career with the bat. The India great said he wouldn’t mind some space in the busy calendar to “rejuvenate” himself and come back to his best. Undoubtedly one of the modern-day greats, Kohli has undergone an extended phase of struggling at the top-level game, with his returns dipping drastically across formats for India. He last made a hundred in international cricket in November 2019 and has gone through three successive seasons of…

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop, an express speedster of his times, says Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) quick Umran Malik is “nowhere near” a finished article. Bishop, however, recognises Malik as a “quick learner” who is on the right track as far as marrying consistency with pace is concerned. Malik, retained by SRH despite being a raw uncapped Indian fast-bowler from Jammu and Kashmir, has built on his strengths and developed greater control as the IPL 2022 has gone deeper. The pacer has caught everyone’s attention by consistently clocking above the 150 kmph mark. But it is the added discipline to…

Katey Martin, the experienced New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter, has announced her retirement from competitive cricket. Martin put an end to her 21-year-old career on Wednesday (May 18), with the home World Cup in March-April proving to be her last assignment for the White Ferns and the Fairbreak Invitational T20 in Dubai being her farewell ground domestically. Making her top-level debut in 2003 with a standalone Test against India – which will remain her only Test outing – Martin also went on to feature for New Zealand in 103 ODIs and 195 T20Is. Establishing herself as an integral member of the Kiwi…

Angelo Mathews wasn’t overly disheartened after getting out on 199 in the first-innings of the ongoing Chattogram Test against Bangladesh, with the Sri Lankan veteran using humour to try and overcome the disappointment of missing out on a double hundred. With Sri Lanka nine down at the time, Mathews was aiming for the single, which would’ve not only enabled his 200 but also allowed him to retain strike for the next over and protect the No.11 Asitha Fernando. Gauging the batter’s intentions early, home team skipper Mominul Haque brought in all the deep fielders, placing an extra man down the leg side. To Matthews’ dismay, he…