Author: Soorya G

After days of back and forth negotiations between Barcelona and Al-Sadd over Barca’s recruitment of former club legend Xavi Hernandez as manager, president Juan Laporta presented Xavi with a Barcelona jersey at Camp Nou, amidst cheering and excitement amongst the many fans in attendance. Barca have been in financial and footballing turmoil over the past 12 months, as a woefully mismanaged financial situation forced them to sell a host of players, including their greatest ever player, Lionel Messi among others. Many players were also coaxed to renegotiate their contracts in order to comply with La Liga regulations, as president Javier Tebas made it clear…

Former India opener Virender Sehwag lavished praise on Afghanistan batsman Najibullah Zadran, following the left-hander’s excellent innings of 73 in just 48 deliveries as he fought a lone battle against the Kiwis in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. A regular pundit on Cricbuzz Live, Sehwag said that he was waiting in expectation of such a knock from the Afghan youngster, who had played with him in the T10 League a few years ago. Sehwag also suggested that Zadran could handle pace and spin with equal ease and that it would hardly be a surprise to see him pick up an IPL contract in…

The big question: Have we seen the last of Chris Gayle in West Indies colours? The 42-year-old has not clarified it yet, but expressed his desire to play his final game in front of his home crowd in Jamaica. Gayle was very much a part of West Indies’ last league stage game against Australia, where an eight-wicket loss saw the two-time champs bow out. It was truly the end of an era, with Dwayne Bravo having already confirmed his decision to hang up his boots at the end of the tournament. Both Bravo and Gayle were given a guard of honour by…

Ravichandran Ashwin, who delivered a fabulous performance against Afghanistan in India’s latest T20 World Cup game, had a lot to say about his approach to cricket, in what could be the final few years of an extraordinary career so far. The 35-year-old featured for India after more than four years, making an appearance against Afghanistan, bowling a marvellous spell of off-spin, and picking up two wickets while conceding just 14 runs. He provided the depth in the Indian bowling setup which was missing for the first two games of the T20 World Cup, both of which India lost. https://twitter.com/SunRisers/status/1455944912134803458 Ashwin added that…

West Indies’ disappointing T20 World Cup campaign continued as they were thoroughly outclassed by a strong, young Sri Lankan team on Wednesday, as the two teams clashed in a Group 1 encounter in Abu Dhabi. West Indies captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and decided to field first, something that has worked extremely well for most teams in this edition of the T20 World Cup. However, it wasn’t to be for the Calypso Kings as they were defeated by a promising Sri Lankan side by 20 runs, despite having won the toss. Sri Lanka’s batting looked good from the very outset. Openers Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka gave…

The entire nation of India were behind Scotland as they took on New Zealand in a Group 2 encounter in Dubai on Wednesday. Indian fans were hoping for a Scotland win, which would then put India in serious contention for qualification into the semi-final stages of the T20 World Cup. For a brief period of time, it looked like that could well happen. However, the Black Caps fended off the Scottish attack, and scored a convincing win in the end. Scotland won the toss and decided to put the Kiwis in to bat. New Zealand opener Martin Guptill struck a few boundaries…

India outclassed the Afghanistan side in all departments as they delivered a battering to their neighbours in Abu Dhabi in a Group 2 encounter at the T20 World Cup on Wednesday. After two defeats in two games, India looked like a changed side, producing the sort of performance we have come to expect from the Indian side over the years. Batting first, the Men in Blue put on a huge total of 210/2, which ultimately proved to be too much for the Afghans. The Indians had made two changes in their line-up, with Suryakumar Yadav coming back into the squad in place of Ishan…

Afghanistan notched up a comfortable victory against minnows Namibia by 62 runs on Sunday, as former skipper and veteran batsman Asghar Afghan bid farewell to the game after announcing his retirement earlier in the day. Naveen-ul-Haq starred with the ball, setting up a huge Afghanistan victory. Afghan captain Mohammed Nabi won the coin toss and decided to bat first, following which Hazratullah Zazai got them off to a very good start, while Mohammed Shahzad played second fiddle. Zazai played expansive shots on his way to a 27-ball 33, as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on a strong 50/0. Credit: ACB Zazai was dismissed in the seventh over…

Rassie van der Dussen has confirmed that the has revealed that the entire South African team will welcome Quinton de Kock with open arms, and would not hold anything against his previous actions. After SA batsman and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock decided to withdraw himself from the Proteas’ match, controversially refusing to take the knee, he has since apologised and pledged his unequivocal backing to the cause of anti-racism.  De Kock even issued a statement through CSA stating that he didn’t intend to hurt the sentiments of anyone as a result of his actions. https://twitter.com/man4_cricket/status/1453897411827408902 ”If he is selected, which I am…

There were few positives for Australia to take home from Thursday’s T20 World Cup encounter against Sri Lanka, the biggest of which is opening batsman David Warner’s return to form after a torrid time in the IPL. A disciplined bowling effort from the Aussie bowlers kept Sri Lanka’s total down to 154. The openers did a fantastic job of taking the game away from the Lankans in the powerplay, guiding Australia to a convincing win. https://twitter.com/Cricketracker/status/1453781079039508484 Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to field first, perhaps keeping the dew factor in mind. Sri Lanka didn’t have the best of…