Sledging Room

The anticipation was finally over as the BCCI released the Indian squad for the first Test against Bangladesh on a lazy and uneventful Sunday night on September 8. As expected, the regulars were all picked in the 16-member squad, which welcomed Rishabh Pant back into all-whites. While Pant had a great return in the Duleep Trophy, could the BCCI have given him more game time before making the call...

Hold onto your hats, Indian cricket fans! After a six-month hiatus, Team India is dusting off their white gear and gearing up for action under the guidance of the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir. The stage is set for an electrifying two-match Test series against Bangladesh, kicking off September 19 in Chennai. This series is India’s chance to rev up its engine and fortify its spot at the summit of...

It's time for another Indian to take over as the new ICC chairman. BCCI secretary Jay Shah was elected as the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Upon his election, Shah affirmed his commitment to making Test cricket the "bedrock" of the game during his tenure. Meanwhile, Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies (CWI), has raised concerns about the ICC’s revenue-sharing model,...

It’s time for the last leg of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. The race for the spots in the final is heating up. India and Australia are in the pole position. South Africa and Pakistan are in with an outside chance. Bazballing England need a perfect run from here on. India are set for their stiffest test when they are set to tour Australia later this year. Yes, Australia have not beaten...

The BCCI and IPL franchise owners sat down on 31 July to hold discussions about the future of the league. According to media reports circulating at the time, things got heated between few of the franchise owners when the topic of mega auction was raised. The mega auction, where teams are only allowed to retain a maximum of 4-5 players has always been a point of contention for not only the franchis...

India white-washed Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20I series under the watchful eyes of Gautam Gambhir. One of the most prominent features in the series was that batters chipped in with the ball when necessary. Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh rolled their arms in a crunch situation and helped India win the final match of the series. This was reminiscent of the pre-2011 era of Indian cricket, where the tea...

How good was head coach Gautam Gambhir in his first press meet? First things first, full marks for his punctuality. He sat down to address several questions with the selection committee chairman, Ajit Agarkar before India departed for the tour of Sri Lanka. One of the most interesting things to emerge from the press conference was the reasoning behind India appointing Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Har...

Just when Hardik Pandya was poised to take over as captain of the Indian team, reports from the Indian media suggested that the BCCI was rethinking and re-evaluating its options. Suryakumar Yadav was floated as a strong option because of his consistency in fitness and his record with the Indian team in the Australia and South Africa series. The discussion continued the selection panel's tradition...

The Gautam Gambhir era as India's head coach has begun. Gambhir's tenure runs until 2027, during which India will compete in three ICC white-ball tournaments and possibly the World Test Championship Finals in 2025 and 2027. Gambhir is expected to secure more ICC titles, but the last 11 years have shown how challenging it is to win world trophies, with only Australia consistently succeeding. Gambhi...

Saturday, June 29, will be remembered for ages in Indian cricket history. It was an emotional moment for many who had witnessed heartbreak after heartbreak over the last decade. Rohit Sharma’s India ended an 11-year wait for the International Cricket Council (ICC title) title, beating South Africa in one of the most thrilling finals in the history of the men’s T20 World Cup. Rohit led fro...

Adelaide 2022 has been avenged. India's pursuit of an ICC title appears on track after a 68-run mauling of England in Guyana. England were handed a proper drubbing and this victory will feel a lot sweeter for India as they have made light work of the reigning champions. After the defending champions crashed out in Guyana, English media started crying foul, questioning ICC's decision to allot the s...

Rohit Sharma certainly did not have Monday morning blues. The India captain tore into the Australian bowling attack, ensuring Australia got their payback for the ODI World Cup heartbreak. Rohit batted like a man possessed and decimated Australia, ensuring India's unbeaten run to the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals. How much credit should Rohit Sharma get for showing the way with a fearless approach...

Jasprit Bumrah has looked a million dollar in the T20 World Cup 2024. He has 15 overs so far and conceded just four boundaries. He has 8 wickets at an economy rate of less than four runs per over. Yes, India is certainly blessed to have him in their team. The legendary West Indies pacer Ian Bishop calls him a ‘generational’ fast bowler. Brian Lara said he is India’s greatest cricketer of this era....

India has reached the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup without losing a single game. India has now travelled to the West Indies for the Super 8 stages and will face Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Should India change their playing XI, given the conditions will be much more spin-friendly? If so, who gets dropped from playing XI? Many fans on social media have argued for the exclusion of Ravindr...

How can you not chase 120 when you know the tournament is on the line? The biggest match of the T20 World Cup saw Pakistan do a Pakistan. It was worse. Never has Pakistan been this listless with the bat in a major tournament in the recent past. After a shock defeat to the USA, who are playing a men's T20 World Cup for the first time, Pakistan were humbled by their arch-rivals India in New York on...

India head coach Rahul Dravid took a slight dig at the tournament organisers ahead of their T20 World Cup 2024 opener against Ireland. Speaking in a press conference, Dravid said it was odd to hold training sessions at a park in an ICC tournament. The stadium was built in a very short time. Even three months ago, there was a public park on the premises. The ICC had avidly advertised how quickly th...

The IPL is over, and the biggest T20 carnival is here. The USA and the West Indies will co-host the men’s T20 World Cup from June 1 to June 29. The USA will host a cricket tournament of such magnitude for the first time. 3 venues are hosting the T20 World Cup in the USA, and the big India vs Pakistan clash will be played in New York. The ICC’s move to award the USA the hosting rights is a major st...

Have you seen a more dominant campaign than this? KKR looked like champions and played like champions, winning the IPL 2024 trophy in style. They won 9 out of 14 matches in the league stage and hammered the SunRisers in Qualifier 1 to progress to the final. Let's not talk about the title match! It was one of the most one-sided tournament finals, definitely the most one-sided IPL final. Shreyas Iye...

Pat Cummins has guided SRH to the final of the Indian Premier League 2024. The Hyderabad-based side are going to face KKR in the summit clash of the tournament. Two mentality monsters in the world of cricket - Pat Cummins and Gautam Gambhir are set to go head to head at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, 26 April Cummins has made waves around the world since taking over as captain. Cu...

The top four of IPL 2024 have been finalised. KKR and SRH are all set to face in the Qualifier 1, while RR and RCB will meet in the Eliminator in Ahmedabad on May 21 and 22. Yes, if you hadn’t followed up on the last two weeks of the IPL, you would have been rubbing your eyes after seeing RCB in the fourth spot. Faf du Plessis-led RCB made a miraculous late run to reach the playoffs. They won six...

Even as the IPL is nearing its business end, BCCI has sounded the bugle, inviting applications for the potential successor of Indian team head coach Rahul Dravid. This move comes as Rahul Dravid's tenure ends after the T20 World Cup in 2024. According to sources, India may hire a foreign head coach after nearly a decade. Notable triumphs under prior foreign coaches, such as John Wright and Gary Ki...

Kolkata became the first team to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs. After being a mid-table struggler in the last few seasons, KKR has been the team to beat this season. And it’s no coincidence that Gautam Gambhir returned to the side as their mentor. Under Gambhir, KKR played like champions and won two titles -- in 2012 and 2014. However, a few pundits, including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, hav...

A Virat Kohli-inspired RCB is somehow alive in the playoffs race. From looking destined for an early exit to winning four matches on a trot, RCB has scripted quite a turnaround in IPL 2024. Much of RCB's turnaround has to be credited to Kohli. Shutting down all his critics, he has let his bat do the talking and made a statement with his match-winning contributions to RCB in their last thr...

Sunil Gavaskar shredded Virat Kohli's arguments into pieces. In one of the most straightforward pieces of television commentary, the legendary India batter lashed out at Virat Kohli, who had questioned his critics and the credibility of people who spoke about his strike rate. Kohli has often stressed the importance of not listening to outside noise, but it seems the superstar batter lets criticism...

India has named a 15-man squad with four reserve players under Rohit Sharma's leadership for the T20 World Cup 2024. While the top order is heavily stacked with experienced veterans like Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar, the squad is completed by four spinners, three pacers, and two wicketkeepers. There was a joy for Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal, but despair for Rinku Singh, one of India's...