All posts tagged: t20 world cup

Former India head coach backs Sanju Samson as India T20I captain

Former India head coach backs Sanju Samson as India T20I captain

Published by Webster

3 min readMay 15, 2026 08:55 AM IST Sanju Samson’s stocks have been on a steady rise in the T20 format after his stunning revival in the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup earlier this year. So much so that the 31-year-old is now being considered as the potential successor to Suryakumar Yadav as India’s next T20I skipper in the forthcoming cycle. Samson, who entered the World Cup in February on the back of wretched form, turned the script around for India, starting with a must-win Super 8 match against West Indies in Kolkata with an unbeaten 97 in a tall chase. The Kerala batter then smashed back-to-back scores of 89 against England and New Zealand in the high-pressure setting of the semi-final and final in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, respectively, as India became the first team to defend the title. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has now backed Samson to take over the reins of the T20I side should India veer away from Suryakumar in the road to the 2028 World Cup, slated …

‘Dream to see the talent on the world stage’: Dublin Guardians co-owner Rahul Dravid excited for inaugural ETPL

‘Dream to see the talent on the world stage’: Dublin Guardians co-owner Rahul Dravid excited for inaugural ETPL

Published by Parlour News

Indian cricket legend Rahul Dravid has high expectations of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) to be held later this year in The Hague and Dublin. An exciting project by all means! (ETPL) Dravid co-owns one of the six franchises in the league, Dublin Guardians. He is part of an Indian consortium that is the financial force behind the Guardians. “It’s absolutely brilliant to be involved. When I first heard about this, it was really exciting,” Dravid said. Also Read: Jammu and Kashmir pride Auqib Nabi impresses on return but he should follow Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Anshul Kamboj example “I’ve always loved the passion and energy of cricket in Europe. The passion with which the players play the game. “I’ve seen the passion of grassroots, and also the T20 World Cup has shown the talent, too. “That’s something we can grow and build. It would be a dream to see the talent on the world stage,” he added. Ashwin in the picture too! Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will captain the Guardians during the league’s …

Players insecure under ‘bully’ Gautam Gambhir, claims ex-India pacer

Players insecure under ‘bully’ Gautam Gambhir, claims ex-India pacer

Published by Webster

Former India bowler Atul Wassan has slammed Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as head coach of the senior men’s side, claiming that several players are uncertain about their position across formats. Wassan, a former Delhi selector, alleged that players were unhappy with the aggressive nature of Gambhir’s leadership. Wassan and Gambhir have had their share of tiffs in the past during the latter’s playing career. Gambhir had slammed the selection committee headed by Wassan after he was sacked as Delhi captain in the 2017-18 domestic season. The two-time World Cup winner later said that he was not made aware of the decision by the selectors. Speaking on the Vickey Lalwani show on YouTube, Wassan, who appeared in four Tests and nine ODIs for India, detailed Gambhir’s aggressive nature from his formative days. ‘He will try to harm you’ “I have known him personally since he was a child. I have had my issues with him. With him, it’s about my way or the highway. He is like that, and he would bully a lot, even in Delhi …

Ex-India batter suggests CSK opener to follow Virat Kohli’s footsteps

Ex-India batter suggests CSK opener to follow Virat Kohli’s footsteps

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: May 6, 2026 09:37 AM IST Sanju Samson has been the toast of Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 season, with the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter emerging as the engine room chief behind four of the five wins thus far this season. With two centuries already in his first stint with the CSK, following a high-profile trade from the Rajasthan Royals last December, Samson cracked an unbeaten 87 in a match-winning effort against the Delhi Capitals on Tuesday night. While Samson has built from strength to strength since a miraculous comeback at the T20 World Cup. However, Samson has not silenced all doubts yet with former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar urging the 31-year-old to stress on his fitness. Manjrekar insisted that Samson must take a cue from former India captain Virat Kohli and improve on the fitness aspect to extend the purple patch that he is currently enjoying in the shortest format. Manjrekar extended the advice to India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav whose woes with the bat have sustained for an extended period now. ALSO …

India Women’s T20 World Cup squad announced: Nandini Sharma named in 15-member squad; Harleen Deol, Amanjot Kaur miss out | Cricket News

India Women’s T20 World Cup squad announced: Nandini Sharma named in 15-member squad; Harleen Deol, Amanjot Kaur miss out | Cricket News

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: May 2, 2026 05:33 PM IST India T20 World Cup squad announced: Nandini Sharma has been named in the Indian women’s squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup later this year while Anushka Sharma, Uma Chetry and Kashvee Gautam have been left out. Also missing from the India squad are Harleen Deol and Amanjot Kaur. Wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia and all-rounder Radha Yadav are back in the side for the T20 World Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur will be leading India for the fifth time at the tournament, while Smriti Mandhana is her deputy. Here’s the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandini Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundahti Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav The Women’s T20 World Cup, to be held in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5 later this year, is an expanded tournament that will feature 12 teams, which makes it the largest field ever in …

‘I feel it’s at a standstill…’ IPL record wicket-taker on role of spinners in IPL

‘I feel it’s at a standstill…’ IPL record wicket-taker on role of spinners in IPL

Published by Webster

4 min readMay 2, 2026 01:39 PM IST In the first half of this year’s IPL, spinners have bowled a total of 419.1 overs as compared to 553.4 overs bowled at the same stage in IPL 2025 edition. With spinners at the halfway stage of IPL having an average of 31.01 as compared to 29.15 last IPL and an economy of 9.11 as compared to 8.68 last season, this IPL has seen the impact of spinners in the league being not that impressive. 2007 T20 World Cup winner and two-time PL winner Piyush Chawla has weighed his views on the role of spinners in IPL this season and believes that the spinners are at a standstill in IPL. “I feel it’s at a standstill. And there is not much of an improvement from the spinner’s point of view. The spinners who have just come in there and bowled those good lengths and just didn’t try to do too many extra things, they have been doing well,” Chawla, who is the fourth highest wicket-taker with his …

Jasprit Bumrah’s IPL slump triggered by T20 World Cup hangover: ‘He has gone over the top’

Jasprit Bumrah’s IPL slump triggered by T20 World Cup hangover: ‘He has gone over the top’

Published by Parlour News

Jasprit Bumrah’s struggles have unexpectedly become one of the major talking points of IPL 2026, something few would have predicted before the tournament began. Coming off a stellar T20 World Cup where he played a key role in India’s title defence, Bumrah entered the season with high expectations. Over the years, he has been a proven match-winner for both India and Mumbai Indians, consistently delivering in pressure situations. His reputation as a bowler who unsettles batters with pace, precision, and control has rarely been questioned. Jasprit Bumrah has been struggling in the ongoing IPL. (AP) However, this season has told a different story. Bumrah has found it difficult to maintain his usual standards, conceding runs at an uncharacteristic rate while picking up just two wickets in nine matches. His dip in form has mirrored MI’s struggles, with the team currently languishing in ninth place on the points table and facing an uphill battle to stay in contention for the playoffs. There have also been concerns around his approach. An increased reliance on slower deliveries has …

‘Serious misstep’: Shakib blames Bangladesh interim govt for T20 World Cup exit, straining ties with BCCI, ICC | Cricket News

‘Serious misstep’: Shakib blames Bangladesh interim govt for T20 World Cup exit, straining ties with BCCI, ICC | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Apr 30, 2026 04:55 PM IST Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, has been absent for close to two years from Bangladesh’s team and has said that he is looking for solutions to make a return to the country and the team for one final stint. Shakib, one of Bangladesh’s most prominent cricketers, who turned to politics, has not returned to Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and political exile to India in 2024. Hasan, a member of the Awami League, now hopes to be a part of the national team again. Hasan spoke to Sportstar and said that the interim government could have handled the incidents following Mustafizur Rahman’s ouster from the IPL better, and that the sentiments of people were misled when Bangladesh decided to back out of the T20 World Cup. ALSO READ | ‘I think things will start to get better’: Shakib Al Hasan on India vs Bangladesh cricketing ties “In the end, it was the players who suffered — and that’s simply not acceptable. It was a very poor …

Abhishek Sharma and the sightscreen father

Abhishek Sharma and the sightscreen father

Published by Webster

On Tuesday night, Abhishek Sharma had just hit 135 off 68 balls. The stadium in Hyderabad was still making the noise it makes after something like that. The presentation microphone was in his hand. And in that moment, with all of it around him, Abhishek Sharma thought about his father. “I don’t know how, but since my Under-12 days, my dad has been sitting next to the screen all the time. Whenever I am at the non-striker’s end, he always tells me how to play a certain shot. It’s still going on. I want one of the cameras to go to him next time and just see his reactions.” Raj Kumar Sharma was near the sightscreen. He is always near the sightscreen. It started when Abhishek was playing junior cricket in Punjab. Sharma Sr would travel across the state, find the stand nearest the sightscreen, and sit. Not cheer. Sit and watch. From there he could read a bowler’s wrist. He could see the seam position shift, the change-up being loaded, the field setting into …

How MS Dhoni’s advice helped Noor Ahmad deliver a Player of the Match performance against KKR

How MS Dhoni’s advice helped Noor Ahmad deliver a Player of the Match performance against KKR

Published by Webster

3 min readApr 15, 2026 07:00 AM IST Prior to Tuesday’s IPL 2026 outing against Kolkata Knight Riders, Noor Ahmad had endured a tough few months. Since January, he had just one wicket to his name, which came in the previous home match against Delhi Capitals. But on Tuesday, he bounced back to form, picking up 3/21 in four overs in Chennai Super Kings’ 32-run win over Kolkata and walked away with the Player of the Match award for his spell. On a pitch that assisted the spinners, Noor didn’t try anything extraordinary. And more importantly, didn’t overuse his googly and relied on the one that comes back into the right-hander. As he roared back to form, CSK’s bowling coach Sridharan Sriram credited MS Dhoni for having a crucial chat with Noor, where the former captain emphasised not to overuse the googly. “I think it was good, the wicket helped today. There was a little bit of help for him. The other wickets were quite flat. Today, I think he was a little bit slower …