Author: Divyansh Mishra

Keshav Maharaj is out of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Sunday as he’s got a left groin strain. In the first Test at the same venue on Tuesday, South Africa won by 328 runs. They had only four players from their World Test Championship winning team against Australia at Lord’s last month. That number will now be three as Senuran Muthusamy replaces Maharaj. Wiaan Mulder will captain the team as they try to win the series 2-0. Cricket South Africa said Maharaj hurt himself while batting on day three of the first Test on Monday so he’s…

It seemed like Ravichandran Ashwin’s exit from the Indian team would have given Kuldeep Yadav a chance to get into the Test squad. But Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill have other plans. Although they thought of playing a second spinner in the second Test against England at Edgbaston, Gill and Gambhir chose Washington Sundar over Kuldeep. When asked why Kuldeep, who is a better spinner, was ignored, Gill said it was to strengthen the batting lineup. We thought of playing Kuldeep but we added some batting depth, he said. Earlier, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif had…

According to the ICC website, Rishabh Pant has achieved his career best rating in the latest ICC Men’s Test Rankings. This after he scored two centuries in the first Test against England. The 27-year-old scored 134 and 118 as India lost by 5 wickets. He moved up one place to 6th in the Test batting rankings. This is one place below his career best ranking of 5 in 2022. Pant has 801 rating points, his highest ever. He is now just 88 points behind Joe Root, the top ranked batter. Root remains at the top with scores of 28 and…

Do you remember July 2, 2022, at Edgbaston when India’s fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah surprised everyone with the bat, not the ball. In a rare moment, Bumrah scored 35 runs in one over against England’s Stuart Broad in a Test match. That over became the most expensive in Test cricket history. Bumrah, known for his bowling, showed he could also bat. Broad bowled short balls, thinking Bumrah would struggle. The plan failed as Bumrah pulled and hooked, scoring easily. Bumrah started with a boundary on the first ball. The second ball was a wide that went for four, adding five…

After India’s loss to England in the first Test at Headingley, there’s a debate about Jasprit Bumrah playing in the next game at Birmingham. Before the series, it was decided that Bumrah would only play three of the five matches due to his back. India lost the first game by 5 wickets despite scoring over 800 runs and Bumrah taking 5 wickets in the first innings. If India struggled with Bumrah, his absence would be a big problem. After a week’s break, Bumrah should be ready depending on his back. He’s been practicing and both captain Shubman Gill and assistant…

With so many franchise T20 leagues around the world, the Champions League T20 is likely to make a comeback thanks to International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Jay Shah. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are also in favour of this. According to The Cricketer, the new World Cup Championship, renamed the World Club Championship, will be in 2026. This will be similar to the Champions League T20 with champions from top T20 leagues around the world. Number of teams and leagues involved is yet to be decided but reports…

India face England in the 2nd Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bowl first against Shubman Gill’s India. England remains the same team as in the 1st Test. India has made two changes: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Akash Deep are in, replacing Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur. In the 1st Test at Headingley, Leeds, England also won the toss and sent India in to bat. India scored 471 with centuries from Gill and Rishabh Pant. Stokes and Josh Tongue took 4 wickets each. England replied with 465 in their…

After losing the first Test to England at Leeds where they couldn’t defend 371, India needs to relook at their bowling strategy for the second Test. Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav are being considered for the second Test but there are hints that Yadav might be left out. Mohammad Kaif, a former Indian player, disagrees with this idea. This decision on Kuldeep Yadav has sparked a debate. Though seen as a great spinner, Kuldeep has played only 13 Tests in 8 years, often sitting out because of Ravichandran Ashwin. Now that Ashwin has retired, there is an opening for a…

Sanjay Bangar, the former Indian batting coach, said that catching is key and missed chances make life tougher for the bowlers. India dropped several catches in the first Test against England and it cost them the game at Headingley. Bangar, now a JioHotstar expert, said on Follow The Blues that dropping catches makes bowling much harder. He sees this as a fresh start for India. He also said that the gully position in cricket is very specialized. India dropped 8 catches which shifted the advantage to England. Those missed chances cost India around 250 runs which could have changed the…

West Indies coach Daren Sammy said officials admitted to making mistakes in the first Test in Barbados, ESPNcricinfo reports. This is before the second Test against Australia. Sammy was fined 15% of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second day of the first Test. Australia won that match by 159 runs thanks to Josh Hazlewood’s 5-43. The fine was for comments Sammy made in the media session at the end of Day 2 where he spoke about one of the match officials, referencing several incidents that happened during the day. Daren Sammy said, We…