Author: Soorya G

Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour felt that captain Kohli should persist with the cover drive while opting for a more cautious approach while pulling the trigger. Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s quest for the elusive 71st ton continued as he was dismissed after bright starts in both innings of the First Test against South Africa at Centurion. Apart from the dismissal in itself, the manner of the dismissal was the subject of concern. Kohli was lured into playing the booming drive outside of the off-stump, resulting in an edge through to either the keeper or the slip cordons. This form of dismissal, fishing…

Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa saw the visitors take firm control over the game, as the Indian batsmen did an excellent job against a South African attack that was noticeably not at its best, barring a spirited spell from pacer Lungi Ngidi. With rains pouring on the previous day of the match, many wondered as to the condition of the pitch at the SuperSport Park at Centurion. Amidst some speculation over the behaviour of the pitch as the day progressed, Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first. The Indian…

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has made a shocking prediction with regard to the Indian Test team, as he remarked that the captain could lose his spot in the side. Virat Kohli’s struggles to make a century over the past two years have been well documented, and it is no secret that it is his Test match form that has taken the brunt of his patchy run. His last century came against Bangladesh in the day/night Test at Kolkata in late 2019. Although there are currently no threats to Kohli’s place in the side, Panesar felt that another poor run…

Captain Cummins returns as Hazlewood continues his recovery from a side strain. Scott Boland officially added to Aussie squad going into the MCG Test. Aussie speedster Mitchell Starc is set to feature in the Boxing Day Test despite sustaining an injury to his ribs in the second Ashes Test, whereas fellow pacer Josh Hazlewood’s availability remains in doubt. Hazlewood, who suffered a side strain at Brisbane and missed the ensuing Test match will most probably miss the MCG Test as well, with Cricket Australia confirming that Hazlewood did not bowl in the team’s practice session on Friday. Pat Cummins will almost certainly make his return to the…

Three Lions have announced their squad to face the West Indies, where they are scheduled to play a bilateral series, shortly after the Ashes. The Englishmen could see as many as three debutants in their side, as George Garton, David Payne and Phil Salt have been handed maiden call-ups. However, the squad has retained the core set of players who were part of their successful World Cup campaign, where they reached the semi-finals. The five-game T20I series is scheduled to start in Barbados just four days after the last Ashes Test, which meant that the members of the Ashes squad…

Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has revealed that there is uncertainty regarding his future in Test cricket, and also made it clear that it would be “close to impossible” to be able to continue in all three formats, especially after the pandemic, given the advent of the bio-bubble culture that has become the norm in modern-day cricket. Shakib also said that he would like to pick and choose the ODIs that he plays, and that he would like to entirely forgo those games that aren’t a part of the ODI Super League. As it stands, Shakib has already opted…

Patrick Assoumou Eyi – known as “Capello” allegedly raped, groomed and exploited several young players during his time as coach of the Gabon U17 side, and in his current position as technical director of the La Ligue de l’Estuaire, Gabon’s first-division league. On Monday, Gabon Police arrested Eyi, a week after he was provisionally suspended by the Gabonese Football federation Fegafoot, pending an investigation, after accusations by the alleged victims came to light following multiple reports. Eyi initially refused to respond to any of the accusations, following which he unequivocally denied any wrongdoing. He remarked that he was “a victim of…

A supposed agreement between European giants Barcelona and Ajax have left Chelsea and Arsenal’s transfer wishlist unfulfilled. The Gunners were assumed to be interested in Ajax full-back Noussair Mazraoui, while Barcelona right-back Sergino Dest was on Chelsea’s watchlist. With Arsenal in the middle of a rebuild, manager Mikel Arteta was believed to have shown a particular interest in bringing the Moroccan right-back to the Emirates. As for Chelsea, they are looking towards Dest as an injury replacement for their left-back Ben Chilwell. However, it looks as if both clubs will be left hanging, as Ajax and Barca have reached an agreement, with each…

Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva, who joined the club in August 2020, has reportedly received a lucrative offer to leave Chelsea at the end of the 2021/22 season. The veteran centre-back played a key role in the London club’s Champions League victory last season. Naturally, at 37, the Brazillian is not able to feature in all of the Blues’ games this season. However, he has still played a part in 15 games this season, including five appearances in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. The Brazilian is still a valuable member of the squad, having done extremely well in most games…

To make things worse for an England side who are already struggling in the WTC points table, as well as the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, the ICC deducted a further three points from their tally owing to their slow over rate in Brisbane. The ICC revised their ruling a few days after announcing a deduction of five points while also docking England the entirety of their match fees as the English maintained a poor over rate at the Gabba. The ICC announced that the total deduction would be eight points, three more than what was first revealed. In their…