The last Chennai Super Kings captain, MS Dhoni, had such a strong connection with this team that he has broken down while talking about them and wants to end his career at their home ground. The new CSK captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, seems to be cut from the same cloth. His connection to this team is

Virat Kohli is scoring at a strike rate of 146 in this year’s IPL. Only once has he ever scored quicker and that was in 2016 when he was the kind of form where he was threatening the 1000-run mark. Is this a conscious effort? Is he trying to bat differently, more aggressively? “Look I’m

The Cricket Association of Bengal [CAB] has announced the launch of the Bengal Pro T20 tournament, with a men’s event and a women’s event, in June this year. If and when it gets off the ground, the women’s event will be the first full-fledged women’s franchise T20 tournament in India to be run by an

India’s batting still revoles around Rohit Sharma, who will be captain, and Virat Kohli, who in this IPL, has shown that he has expanded his game and is willing to hit boundaries from the get-go. Pathan insists that Kohli is absolutely vital in a big tournament and debunks a few myths about his strike rate.

Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been ruled out of Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2024 campaign due to injury and will be replaced in the squad by his countryman, the 16-year-old Allah Ghazanfar. Rajasthan Royals signed South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj as a replacement for fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who is currently recovering

India batter Hanuma Vihari has refuted Andhra Cricket Association’s (ACA’s) claims that he hadn’t responded to a show-cause notice issued to him. Vihari had lashed out during the 2023-24 Ranji season about political interference costing him his captaincy and that “he would never play for Andhra again”. On March 25, the ACA had sent a

Perth Stadium has dethroned the Gabba as Australia’s preferred first Test venue with the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy to begin in Perth on November 22 this year before the series moves to Adelaide for the day-night Test, Brisbane, Melbourne for Boxing Day and Sydney for the New Year’s Test. Cricket Australia unveiled their international schedule for

In a move that could potentially pave way for the others to follow suit, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has agreed to incentivise its senior men’s team with a 100% pay raise from the 2024-25 season. A recommendation for the state association to match players’ BCCI earnings from the domestic circuit has been approved at

It was MS Dhoni‘s call to hand over the Chennai Super Kings captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, ahead of IPL 2024, their head coach Stephen Fleming has revealed on the eve of the tournament opener in Chennai. “It was MS [Dhoni’s decision] with a lot of consideration and one view to the future on the back

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been unveiled as the new captain of Chennai Super Kings a day before the opening game of IPL 2024, where defending champions CSK take on the visiting Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk. This brings to an end MS Dhoni‘s long stint as captain of CSK – which began in the tournament’s first

Mumbai Indians will be without Dilshan Madushanka for IPL 2024. The Sri Lanka fast bowler picked up a hamstring injury during a tour of Bangladesh earlier this month and has been ruled out of the entire T20 tournament. Seventeen-year-old South Africa fast bowler Kwena Maphaka has been named as his replacement. Mumbai had invested a

Hardik Pandya has declared himself fit to bowl as he returns to captain Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. The allrounder said he has been fit since the start of this year, after suffering an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup that ruled him out of all cricket since October. “Yes, I will be

Jaydev Unadkat, the India left-arm seamer, will return to Sussex for the final five games of their 2024 County Championship campaign. Unadkat played the most recent of his three Tests against West Indies in Trinidad in July last year, whereupon he joined Sussex for the final portion of their first-class season. He featured in three

Exactly a week ago, Richa Ghosh sat motionless on the turf after being run out off the last ball as Royal Challengers Bangalore were pipped by one run by Delhi Capitals in a thriller. Shreyanka Patil, who was batting with Ghosh, sobbed inconsolably at the other end. RCB’s playoffs had been hanging by a thread.

Gujarat Titans are under new management with Shubman Gill succeeding Hardik Pandya as captain of the franchise that made the final in each of the two years they’ve been involved in the tournament. Although he is one of the best batters in the world in limited-overs cricket at present, and is coming into the IPL

Ending a wait that lasted eight years, Mumbai lifted their 42nd Ranji Trophy title in front of a jubilant home crowd at the Wankhede. Up against a stubborn Vidarbha team that refused to give in, Mumbai were eventually comfortable in defending 538 to win the final. Captain Ajinkya Rahane credited the triumph to the vision

Mumbai 224 (Shardul Thakur 75, Yash Thakur 3-54, Dubey 3-62) and 418 (Musheer 136, Iyer 95, Dubey 5-144) beat Vidarbha 105 (Rathod 27, Kotian 3-7, Kulkarni 3-15) and 368 (Wadkar 102, Nair 74, Kotian 4-95, Musheer 2-48) by 169 runs Mumbai broke Vidarbha’s resistance on the fifth afternoon and secured their 42nd Ranji Trophy title

The fact that he had opted against playing Ranji Trophy games despite not busy with international cricket didn’t go down well with the bosses, and BCCI secretary Jay Shah sent a letter to top players in the country warning them of “severe implications” if they prioritise the IPL over domestic cricket. Iyer went on to

England batter Harry Brook has withdrawn from IPL 2024 because his grandmother died in February and he wants to be around his family while they are grieving. “I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL,” Brook said in a statement. “I was so excited to

Vidarbha 105 and 248 for 5 (Nair 74, Wadkar 56*, Musheer 2-38, Kotian 2-56) need another 290 runs to beat Mumbai 224 and 418 Mumbai remained favourites to lift their 42nd Ranji Trophy title, but Vidarbha’s batters resisted on a slow-moving fourth day. Karun Nair and Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar were the two main obstructions

An emotional R Ashwin has expressed his immense gratitude towards India’s “outstanding” captain Rohit Sharma for his leadership and “heart of gold” during last month’s Rajkot Test against England. Ashwin, who took his 500th wicket and played his 100th Test during the series against England, had to temporarily withdraw from the third Test in Rajkot

Mumbai batter Musheer Khan has said that the presence of Sachin Tendulkar at the Wankhede Stadium during the third day of the Ranji Trophy final inspired him to “bat with motivation”. Musheer, 19, scored a patient 136 that all but batted Vidarbha out of the game. He had earlier made 203 not out in the

Rishabh Pant has been cleared to keep wickets for Delhi Capitals at IPL 2024 by the BCCI’s fitness and medical teams. Fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Prasidh Krishna, though, have both been ruled out of the tournament. There is, however, no update on KL Rahul, the designated Lucknow Super Giants captain. He hasn’t played since

Rishabh Pant, who is set to make his long-awaited comeback in the IPL later this month, can play the T20 World Cup for India “if he can keep [wicket],” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah. Pant has been out of action since a horrific car accident in December 2022. “He is batting well, he is keeping

Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer might have failed to snap their lean runs with the bat in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy final for Mumbai, but Shardul Thakur has placed his trust in them to return to form. Rahane and Iyer scored 7 apiece as Mumbai scored 224 at Wankhede Stadium, with Thakur

The 4-1 series win also helped India overtake Australia at the top of the ICC’s Test rankings and they will remain No. 1 even if Australia beat New Zealand in Christchurch. India are also the top-ranked ODI and T20I side at present. India had slipped to fifth place in the WTC points table after losing

Big picture – Vidarbha vs Mumbai is domestic workhorses vs domestic superstars Is the Ranji Trophy really the finishing school for those aspiring to wear the India cap? This question has been raised several times recently, at least in the aftermath of most big selection meetings for the Test team. Then again, look at those

India, led by five-wicket hauls from Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin in the two innings, and an all-star batting display led by centuries from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, crushed England by an innings and 64 runs to win the series 4-1 in Dharamsala. Here is what Ashwin, who was playing his 100th Test, and

Rahul Dravid is hoping for an “all-round review involving coaches and players” to address key issues relating to the Ranji Trophy specifically and domestic cricket in general. Dravid was responding to a query on what the board can do to address concerns, like the one raised by Shardul Thakur about just three-day gaps between Ranji

Play domestic cricket, score runs and force the selectors to pick you again. This is India head coach Rahul Dravid‘s simple message to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, on whom there has been much spotlight over the past two months for their decision to skip domestic cricket. Both Kishan and Iyer were not considered for