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Hardik Masks the Truth, But India Can’t Hide from SKY-Gill Inconsistency

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Hardik Pandya. Image: Debasis Sen In the high-stakes arena of T20 cricket, where fortunes can flip in a single over, consistency and impact are necessities. Yet, for India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill, it’s been an area which is yet to come to fruition. Their latest outing in Cuttack against South Africa, a match India won by a whopping 101 runs, served as a stark reminder of this nagging issue. Gill departed after facing just two balls for four runs, while Suryakumar scratched around for 12 off 11 deliveries. Hardik Pandya’s blistering knock and a ruthless bowling display salvaged the day, but as the T20 World Cup looms with only nine matches remaining, the Men in Blue can’t afford to rely on middle-order miracles forever. The duo’s struggles aren’t isolated blips. This is a part of a troubling pattern. Since his reinstatement in the T20I squad from the 2025 Asia Cup, Gill has failed to cross the 50-run mark. His closest brushes with form came against ...
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IND vs SA: Suryakumar Yadav hails team effort after India’s big win in Cuttack

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Suryakumar_Yadav (PC:X) India crushed South Africa by 101 runs in the first game of the five-match T20I series at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack to take a 1-0 lead in the series. After the match, India captain Suryakumar Yadav credited the batters for taking the team to a decent score after losing three early wickets. In the post-match presentation, Surya said: “I told at the toss that we were 50-50, but very happy to bat first. I mean, absolutely. At 48 for 3, and then from there getting to 175… the way Hardik batted, Axar batted, Tilak batted, and in the end Jitesh coming in, chipping in and doing his role, I think it was very important. At first, we thought we’d get to 160, but then 175 was unbelievable. I mean, absolutely. I mean, batting first, 48 for 3 and then scoring about 90-91 runs from overs 7 to 15, and then finishing with 40-44 runs in the last five overs to get to 175… I think it was really, really commendable. The way we bowled, the amount of options we had, I think...
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IND vs SA: Pandya Reflects On his Match-Winning Knock

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Hardik_Pandya (PC:X/BCCI) Ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya played a blistering unbeaten innings of 59 and took one wicket in his comeback match to guide India to a 101-run victory over South Africa in the first T20I of the five-match series at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. In the post-match presentation, Pandya said: “I had to back my shots. At the same time, I realised that the wicket had a bit of spice. You had to be a little gutsy, and it was more about timing the ball, not trying to break it. I was very satisfied with the way I was batting.” Pandya was injured during the 2025 Asia Cup and was ruled out of the Australia series and the ODIs against South Africa. On Tuesday, he came out to bat in the 12th over after the dismissal of Tilak Varma and was involved in three small but useful partnerships to take India to a strong score of 175/6 in their 20 overs. The 32-year-old’s knock came off 28 balls, including six fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 210.71. Making his comebac...
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Salman Ali Agha Addresses Selection Calls Ahead of T20 World Cup

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Salman also confirmed that he will only lead Pakistan in the next year’s T20 World Cup. (PC: PCB) Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has shed light on how his team may shape their squad for next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka. Under Salman, the Men in Green have fared well, winning five bilateral series out of six, and also reaching the final of the Asia Cup, where they lost to India. That defeat prompted selectors to recall the likes of Babar Azam and Naseem Shah, and the move paid off in the team’s last two T20I assignments. Discussing the team combination and players’ roles, Salman indicated that there would not be any major changes to the squad before the World Cup. “I don’t think there will be any major changes before the World Cup; this will be the combination. All players have been given their roles, and we will move forward with these roles,” Salman said on a Pakistan Cricket Board podcast. “Six matches are left before the T20...
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JioStar’s ‘Exit’ of ICC rights isn’t panic, it’s a Repricing of Power in Global Cricket

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(PC- X) The storyline being pushed right now is one of panic: a broadcaster staring at massive losses, hit by regulatory hurdles on online gaming ads, facing an uncertain future with potential bans on pan masala advertising. That version makes it easy to believe JioStar wants out of cricket. But scratch beneath the surface, and the picture flips. This isn’t retreat. This is a strategic play to reset the economics of global cricket — on JioStar’s terms. The market reality is blunt: there is no saviour waiting to swoop in with a cheque book. Amazon and Netflix don’t see cricket rights as core to their streaming strategy. Sony and Zee have neither the appetite nor the balance sheet to chase the numbers Star once committed to. There is no White Knight who will match the $3.2 billion fee originally agreed with the ICC. JioStar knows it. The ICC knows it. And everyone around the negotiating table understands that India remains the epicentre of cricket’s monetisation ecosystem and JioSta...
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“They don’t have to prove anything to anyone” – Ashwin on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

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Rohit_and_Kohli (PC: X/ICC) Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has praised veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for their dedication to the game, saying that the experienced duo do not need to prove anything at this stage of their careers. “The fact that Rohit has worked on his fitness and come back deserves praise,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. “The fact that Virat is batting as well as he is also shows the kind of work both of them have put in. The idea that both of them still have something to prove is laughable. What do they need to prove? Obviously, it is all messaging. In such long careers, we all have ups and downs; we all have good and bad times.” Rohit and Kohli retired from the other two formats of the game and decided to continue only in the ODI format. Many experts and fans then said that they needed to prove themselves by scoring runs to earn their places in the team. Both answered their critics with the bat. Rohit was the highest scorer in the OD...
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Barabati Stadium continues to struggle with long-standing infrastructural shortcomings

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Barabati Stadium. Image: Subhayan Chakraborty, Revsportz As you step into the Barabati Stadium, the venue for Tuesday’s T20I series opener between India and South Africa, your eyes will inevitably be drawn to the expansive stretches of concrete stands. When modern seating facilities are a norm across most of the cricket stadiums, this venue has invited strong criticism with regard to lack of spectator-friendly experience. Forget about fan experience, the view from the press box with huge pillars in between is horrible, with the sightscreen blocking a sizeable portion of the ground. The murmurs over the stadium not having bucket chairs have been going around for long. One of the oldest stadiums in the country, Barabati wore a dilapidated look on Sunday, with several temporary works being carried out before the opening fixture of the five-match T20I series.  The BCCI gives each state association significant funds every year. Even a fraction of that would be sufficient to give mo...
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