While Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s precocious rise stirs wonder, it tests how gently a nation can nurture its next cricketing hope. What does a 15-year-old carry in his kit bag. A bat, a pair of gloves, perhaps a water bottle. Or something heavier: dreams, pressure, and the quiet weight of a nation that never stops searching for its next cricketing marvel. In the case of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the question lingers with unusual urgency. At first glance, he appears like any other teenag

The IPL has turned a summer sport into a global cash machine by reshaping talent and testing the limits of cricket’s soul. Each summer, India stages one of the world’s most dazzling sporting spectacles, the Indian Premier League (IPL). Once, the country’s tropical heat discouraged outdoor tournaments, but the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) transformed this perception by hosting evening T20 matches under floodlights, turning scorching temperatures into an electrifyin

Ah, the IPL 2026 season – where Mumbai Indians, five-time champions and eternal blue-blooded royalty, have decided to cosplay as a mid-table struggler. And leading this glorious downward spiral? None other than Hardik Pandya, the man who swapped Gujarat’s trophy cabinet for Mumbai’s hot seat and somehow turned “five-time winners” into “one-win wonders.” Four losses in a row. Ninth on the points table. Negative NRR that looks like it was calculated by a depressed accountant. I

In the swirling chaos of the 2026 IPL, where established stars chase milestones and franchises hunt for silverware, a 15-year-old from Bihar has stolen the spotlight with the casual swagger of a veteran. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is not merely participating in the world’s richest T20 league—he is dominating it. His blistering 15-ball half-century against Chennai Super Kings in the early days of the season, followed by a 26-ball 78 that powered Rajasthan Royals to a record powerpla

Mohammed Shami, the eternal comeback kid who just won’t quit—except the selectors seem determined to make him. As of April 2026, India’s once-reliable seam spearhead hasn’t worn the blue jersey since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025. That’s over a year of watching from the sidelines while racking up 67 wickets in domestic cricket for Bengal across Ranji, Vijay Hazare, and Syed Mushtaq Ali. Impressive? Sure. Enough for a recall? Apparently not. Bravo, selectors. Nothin

Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh Mumbai: As squash prepares to make its long-awaited debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, India’s position on the global map of the sport received a significant boost with the successful staging of the JSW Indian Open 2026 in Mumbai. The tournament, held on the Professional Squash Association World Tour circuit, not only showcased elite talent but also underlined the growing importance of corporate partnerships in nurturing emerging sports.

Mumbai: The IPL 2026 opening match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium wasn’t a cricket contest. It was a full-scale six-hitting festival, complete with bowlers serving as reluctant ball boys and the leather sphere treating the boundary ropes like an optional suggestion rather than a hard limit. SRH, batting first after being inserted, scraped together 201 for 9 in their full 20 overs. Stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan led the

Mumbai: For decades, One-Day International (ODI) cricket occupied a unique space in the sport. Positioned between the endurance and tradition of Test cricket and the high-intensity spectacle of T20s, the 50-over format once represented the ideal balance of strategy, skill and entertainment. It produced some of the game’s most memorable moments, from India’s historic triumphs in the 1983 Cricket World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup to countless dramatic run chases and reco

In the glitzy, high-scoring arena of the Indian Premier League, where power-hitters and express pacers often steal the headlines, a quieter revolution has been brewing. Spinners – those deceptive practitioners of flight, turn and guile – have quietly become the league’s most potent force. The numbers from IPL 2025 tell a story of dominance: after 50 matches, spinners claimed 220 wickets at an average of 30.02, bowling 41 per cent of all overs and accounting for 39 per cent of

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes.

In the high-stakes world of T20 cricket, where every ball can swing fortunes, India’s opening conundrum has intensified following Abhishek Sharma’s unceremonious drop due to a string of dismal performances in the lead-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Sharma, once hailed for his explosive starts, faltered with low scores and a strike rate dipping below 130 in recent domestic outings and warm-up games, prompting selectors to pivot. This leaves a pivotal decision: who par

Mumbai: At just 23, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal has already established herself as a regular in the senior Indian Women’s Hockey Team, emerging as an influential presence in the midfield and has been included in the squad for the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Hyderabad, Telangana, scheduled from March 8 to 14.   Hailing from Phaltan, a small village in the Satara district in Maharashtra, Rutuja’s journey into hockey began somewhat unexpectedly. “Before hockey, we used

The victorious strategist wins first and then goes to battle Mumbai: Two years ago in Barbados, the scars of India’s crushing ODI World Cup final defeat still lingered and the drought of ICC titles weighed heavily. India had seized control in the middle overs, only to see it slip under Heinrich Klaasen’s fierce assault. With South Africa needing 30 off 30 balls and their in-form batter at the crease, momentum appeared lost. That was when he stepped in to halt the Proteas’ su

Sikandar Raza In the often unforgiving world of international cricket, where associate nations like Zimbabwe grapple with financial woes, administrative chaos, and sporadic glimpses of glory, few players embody resilience quite like Sikandar Raza. Born in Sialkot, Pakistan, in 1986, Raza’s journey to becoming Zimbabwe’s cricketing talisman is a tale of migration, adaptation, and unyielding determination. Moving to Harare at age 16 in 2002, he traded a potential career in the

Jammu & Kashmir’s march into the Ranji Trophy final sends a larger message beyond sport. It says that after decades, the state is finally aligning with India’s political and civic mainstream. History has a habit of announcing itself in strange ways. In Jammu & Kashmir, it now announces itself by wearing cricket whites. As the once-turbulent state plays its first Ranji Trophy final in 67 years against Karnataka in Hubballi, the moment matters far more than a mere sporting mira

In every ICC tournament cycle, India walks in branded as a batting superpower. The aura is built around depth, firepower and the assumption that any total is chaseable and any platform can be converted into a match-winning score. Yet in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup, a troubling pattern has resurfaced: when the batters fail, India appears to have no safety net. The question is no longer whether India possesses talent with the bat, they undeniably do, but whether an exce

Oh, the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry – that age-old spectacle where borders blur, families feud over flat screens, and street vendors hawk flags like they’re going out of style. Remember when it was the stuff of legends? Tense chases, nail-biting finishes, and enough drama to make Bollywood blush. But let’s be honest, folks: at the World Cup stage, this so-called “epic clash” is starting to feel less like a thriller and more like a predictable rom-com where one side always

In late January 2026, KL Rahul sat down with Kevin Pietersen and spoke with rare honesty about retirement. At 33, the elegant Karnataka batsman admitted the thought had crossed his mind. “I don’t think it’s gonna be that difficult,” he said. “If you’re honest with yourself, when it’s time, it’s time. And there’s no point dragging it. Obviously, I’m some time away.” Those words landed like a quiet full stop on a career that has been anything but quiet. Rahul has not retired ye

In the high-octane world of T20 cricket, where every ball can swing fortunes and aggression reigns supreme, India faces a perennial wicketkeeper-batter conundrum: Ishan Kishan or Sanju Samson? Both are prodigiously talented, capable of dismantling bowling attacks on their day, and have donned the gloves for the national side. Yet, as we approach the T20 World Cup 2026, the scales tip decisively toward Ishan Kishan as the better choice. His explosive form, tactical fit, and re

Pakistan’s decision to avoid playing India at the T20 World Cup signals a shrinking space for even symbolic engagement between two hostile neighbours. Cricket has long been described as the last remaining civil language between India and Pakistan, a rare arena where dialogue, however competitive, was still possible. The Pakistan Cricket Board’s reported decision to not allow its national team to play against India in the T20 World Cup is therefore not just a sporting withdraw