Author: Divyansh Mishra

With the present IPL season inexorably entering into its final phases, at least three teams have so far lost the opportunity to enter the playoffs. KKR suffered a defeat at the hands of CSK by two wickets in a nail-biting finish, which practically hurt their chances of playing the playoffs. Following this defeat, KKR is currently sitting in 6th position, with 12 games and 11 points accumulated. The captain Ajinkya Rahane has also faced criticism for not effectively using Andre Russell. While some ardent spectators believe he should be sacked, let us look at three other captains who could be…

Under Axar Patel’s leadership, the Delhi Capitals have brought Sediqullah Atal into the fold, replacing Harry Brook. Brook had withdrawn before the 2025 IPL season began due to personal reasons, and it took a fair while for a replacement to be named. With playoffs still up for grabs, the team finally decided to add the young Afghan player to their batting squad. Sediqullah Atal is a 23-year-old left-handed opening batsman. He has gained fairly decent experience in playing for Afghanistan and has been reasonably consistent in T20s, managing to score 1,507 runs at an average of 34.25 and with a…

The Punjab Kings (PBKS) occupies the dais to clash with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2025 on Thursday, May 8. At PBKS’ home, the match will be held in the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala. Both teams, with Shreyas Iyer leading PBKS and Axar Patel heading DC, are after a win to get those vital points and edge closer to the playoff places. Pitch Report The pitch generally favors the batsmen and should help in putting up a big total, with the fast bowlers perhaps getting some early assistance during the powerplay. Rain is forecasted on match day;…

Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Nitish Rana is ruled out for the remainder of IPL 2025 due to an injury. In his stead, the team has recruited South African batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius. This was relayed to the public by the IPL on X (formerly known as Twitter).  Rana had his moments in the season with two brilliant fifties to his name. He amassed 217 runs at an average of 21.70, with his strike rate being 161.94. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 4.2 Crores in last year’s auction. Rana started well with a knock of 81 against CSK but…

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has paid homage to Rohit Sharma after the 38-year-old had declared his retirement from Test cricket. The former Mumbai Indians captain posted the news on an Instagram story on May 7, right around the time rumors were floating around of his potential involvement in the squad selection for the tour to England. He had expressed enthusiasm for the tour but made up his mind to step away from Test cricket just a few weeks ahead of the selection. The former Indian batsman conjectured in an interview with Cricbuzz that selectors might have conveyed their feelings…

The BCCI selection committee, headed by former cricketer Ajit Agarkar, was taken unawares by Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket. The announcement came out just after a meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, which, surprisingly, was not attended by Rohit or Gautam Gambhir. But the opening did see the presence of the big guns-the President Roger Binny, the Secretary Devajit Saikia, and GM Abey Kuruvilla-when the Sachin Tendulkar Room and Sunil Gavaskar Room were inaugurated. The excuse for Rohit’s absence was a Mumbai Indians match scheduled for that evening.  It was reported that the evening of Wednesday would see…

The loss against CSK has further strained KKR’s chances to get into the 2025 IPL playoffs. Rahane asserted that there is still a chance for the team to make it into the playoffs if they can manage to win their last two games, both of which are away.  “Yeah, I think if we get to 15 points, we have a shot at qualifying. We need to stay positive. We’ve got two games left – one against Sunrisers Hyderabad and then Bangalore,” Rahane stated after the match. He added, “We need to focus on how to win those games. Overall, I…

The IPL 2025 season is gradually winding down, and with Punjab Kings (PBKS) opposing Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 58 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, the action truly heats up. PBKS is sitting comfortably at third place with 15 points, and a win today could catapult them upwards towards the first position. On the flip side, DC’s season has gone a bit downhill. After winning their first four matches, they lost the last three. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, they totally collapsed with 62/6 in the powerplay. Of all the moments of this anticlimax, Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma tried to…

On Wednesday, 7 May, the Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma announced via social media that he is retiring from Test cricket. This came as a huge shock for fans, particularly when India is gearing up to tour England for a Test series. The team is now without a regular captain.  Recently, reports have stated that Shubman Gill could be stepping up to the new Test captaincy. IndianExpress first broke the news on Rohit’s retirement and has further reported that Gill shall be taking over the captaincy.  Before Rohit’s announcement, there were discussions that the BCCI was considering naming Shubman Gill…

The news is a bitter pill for Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Devdutt Padikkal is out for the rest of IPL 2025 due to a right hamstring injury. Mayank Agarwal is coming in as his replacement; RCB therefore signed him for 1 crore.  Padikkal had a decent season, scoring 247 runs in two half-centuries and helping get RCB to a decent position, currently 2nd on points with 14 from 11 matches. He was praised by Kohli for those performances. As for Agarwal, he had been Punjab Kings’ captain before he spent the last two seasons with Sunrisers Hyderabad. The last year, though,…