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AnalysisApr 16

Impact Rule Cuts Sundar's Overs, He Adapts Quietly

Washington Sundar barely gets a crack at bowling in GT's four games—just four overs total. Instead, he's thriving in those tricky Powerplay slots.

Washington Sundar snagged a wicket in the Powerplay. GT's opener. Crowd murmured.

That Impact Player rule? It's flipped his role upside down. Across four games for Gujarat Titans, he's sent down just four overs—way off his Pune stint back in 2017. Teams swap in specialists now. Allrounders aren't bowling as much. Sundar thrives batting up top. Ready for whatever. Loves those Powerplay bursts, he told the Times of India.

Look at the numbers. IPL allrounders used to average 5.8 overs a match pre-rule. Down to 3.2 now. Sundar dodged that early this season. Matthew Hayden's coaching him. Bat contributions too. His four overs? Economy under 6. Subs mean pure bowlers, pure batters. Sundar adapts. Bowls tight on call. Bats higher up.

via Times of India

FiledWashington SundarGujarat TitansMatthew HaydenIPL

VerifiedAnalysisApr 16

Hazlewood's Chinnaswamy Return Points to RCB Lockdown Role

The ball angled in from Hazlewood's hand, thudding into Patidar's pads just short of leg stump. First over back at Chinnaswamy after 151 days sidelined. RCB beat LSG while he found his hard lengths.

He leaked just 20 off four overs. Thirteen dots choked the chase. Variable bounce aided him; he stuck to back-of-length probes. RCB's unbeaten home run stretches on. Kohli came in as Impact Player again, knee and ankle taped, made 49 off 34. But Hazlewood's rhythm looked the sharper story—less rust than his debut suggested. Coach's faith in the Aussie quick pays early dividends.

Injury shadows lift slow in T20. Hazlewood gripped the old ball tighter by over three. RCB face DC next; Axar and Kuldeep wait. Patidar's middle-overs blitz looms large there. Hazlewood bowls over the wicket, stares down the variable strip. Chinnaswamy faithful remember his Gabba growl from the commentary box.

via ESPNcricinfo, Times of India

FiledJosh HazlewoodRCBLSG+3IPLMatch Centre

AnalysisApr 16

BCB Launches Lifetime Cards for 33 Bangladesh Captains

BCB rolled out lifetime 'Captains Cards' for 33 skippers since 1977. Tamim Iqbal pushed the plan through. Cardholders get event access, parking, health insurance—the works players receive.

That's every captain Bangladesh has had. Current ones included. He spotted the disconnect between board and former leaders. Now they hold permanent perks. No more waiting at Mirpur gates.

Bangladesh cricket shifts. Old guards link to the board's new welfare efforts. Skippers who led the team get lasting benefits. Tamim's step matches runs to leadership. Ethical observers nod. Others will follow.

via Cricbuzz

FiledBangladeshTamim IqbalBcbInternational

InsightApr 15

Abhishek, Axar Join NADA Testing Pool in IPL Star Shake-Up

Abhishek Sharma from SRH slots into RTP for Q2 2026. Alongside him, DC's Axar Patel steps up too.

India's Abhishek Sharma from SRH and Axar Patel of DC just landed spots in NADA's Registered Testing Pool for Q2 2026. They're stepping in for Smriti Mandhana and Shreyas Iyer from PBKS. That bumps the full list to 348 athletes now. Fourteen cricketers make the cut—Shubman Gill at GT, Jasprit Bumrah with MI, and the rest.

RTP means random doping tests anytime, straight out of the WADA code. Keeps elite cricket clean. No exceptions.

FiledAbhishek SharmaAxar PatelNada+2IPL

InsightApr 15

Abhishek, Axar Join NADA Testing Pool as Dope Watch Tightens

Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel, fresh off their T20 World Cup triumph, slot into NADA's RTP for Q2 2026. They're taking over from Mandhana and Iyer.

India's T20 World Cup standouts Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel just landed in the National Anti-Doping Agency's Registered Testing Pool for Q2 2026. Out go Smriti Mandhana and Shreyas Iyer. The list hits 348 athletes now, with 14 cricketers such as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Jasprit Bumrah still on it.

Closer watch on the big names. That's NADA's angle before those key tournaments hit. Abhishek plays for SRH. Axar captains DC. Both fresh off international wins. He's even talked about folding national team standards into IPL pressures.

FiledAbhishek SharmaAxar PatelShubman Gill+2IPL

OpinionApr 15

County Sub Rule Sparks Row after Two Rounds

Peter Moores, Nottinghamshire's coach, grabbed the sub rule for that edge. Glamorgan skipper Kiran Carlson?

Substitute rule in county cricket draws debate.

Peter Moores' Nottinghamshire grabbed it two rounds in. Gained an edge. The coach admits the laws sit too loose right now. Glamorgan's Kiran Carlson spots real problems too. Tactics twist games unfairly, he says (per BBC Sport).

Subs can jump in mid-match under the rule. Picture the IPL Impact Player, but counties skipped the guardrails. Batter slips in to bowl. Bowler pops up late to bat. Balance tips hard. Moores' crew snagged those key moments and won. Others aren't happy. Early numbers? Twelve subs so far. Seven flipped the outcomes.

Counties test T20 futures. Current rules allow role switches. Referees review before season deepens.

via BBC Sport

FiledPeter MooresKiran CarlsonCounty Championship

InsightApr 15

Sahibzada Farhan Unlocks T20 Power Secret: Crystal Clear Intent

Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan's opener, puts T20 batting power down to one thing—total clarity. "If you are in two minds, your body doesn't generate momentum to hit the ball well." Smashing Jasprit Bumrah? That gave him a real lift. Focus stays sharp against the best.

He's been on a tear lately in the PSL for Multan Sultans. All this as IPL chatter swirls. Bumrah's hit a rough patch at MI—wicketless over five games. Went at 0/35 against RCB last time out. Economy holding at 8.75, though.

Farhan's just 25. Doubt kills intent in T20s. Especially facing top-shelf pace.

FiledJasprit BumrahSahibzada FarhanMultan SultansPSL

VerifiedInsightApr 15

Rahane Hit with 12 Lakh Fine as CSK Steamroll KKR

KKR skipper cops a fine for dragging his feet on the over-rate. That came in a 32-run loss where Noor Ahmad's 3/21 almost snatched an unlikely win.

Chennai Super Kings romped to a 32-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders right there at MA Chidambaram Stadium. They racked up 192/5. Bowlers then squeezed KKR to 160/7. Noor Ahmad shone brightest for them—4-21-3 at 5.25 an over. Didn't matter in the end.

Sanju Samson anchored CSK's innings with 48 off 32 balls, cracking four fours and three sixes. Ayush Mhatre chipped in 38 off just 17—six fours, two sixes. Dewald Brevis wasn't far behind at 41 off 29, same boundary count. KKR pushed back. Ajinkya Rahane made 28 off 22 with two sixes. Angkrish Raghuvanshi got 27 in 19 balls. Rovman Powell finished 31 not out off 22. Ramandeep Singh topped them with 35 off 23. CSK's bowlers delivered. Syed Khaleel Ahmed snared 1/24 in 3.5 overs at 6.26. Anshul Kamboj took 2/32, economy 8.00. Akeal Hosein grabbed 1/26 at 6.50.

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane copped a INR 12 lakhs fine after the match. Slow over-rate. IPL Code Article 2.22. First offence. CSK stay hot off that 23-run beating of Delhi Capitals. KKR? Still smarting from LSG's 3-wicket heist.

FiledAjinkya RahaneChennai Super KingsKolkata Knight RidersIPLMatch Centre

OpinionApr 14

World Cup Hero Slams LSG's Overseas Stars after Chinnaswamy Collapse

Former World Cup winner Krish Srikkanth tore into Lucknow Super Giants' overseas trio—Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran—for bombing out there. Bench them now, he says. LSG's third loss in five games drops them to seventh, scraping by with four points.

Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, LSG crumbled to 146 all out in 20 overs. Their lowest total this season. That slow pitch didn't help. RCB knocked it off in 15.1 overs. Five-wicket win. They leap to the top with four victories from five.

Rishabh Pant copped a Josh Hazlewood bouncer. Hurt bad. LSG's batting just keeps sinking deeper.

Srikkanth's rant hits as LSG slumps hard. Those overseas big guns? Silent at a batting paradise.

FiledLSGAiden MarkramMitchell Marsh+2IPL

VerifiedInsightApr 14

County Coaches Rip ECB's 'Ridiculous' Sub Rules after Six Late Switches

Coaches, pundits, players—they're all ripping into the ECB's injury replacement trial in the County Championship. Ridiculous, they call it. Six subs in the second round alone. Nottinghamshire pulled off a late switch against Glamorgan that swung victory their way, and now Kiran Carlson and Peter Moores are fuming, demanding changes yesterday.

Broader replacements were the idea. Didn't work out. Matches tipping unfairly from all the heavy use, especially those late edges that wreck the balance. Critics won't shut up about it.

The TakeCricHubb Desk

England's county cricket bosses face a crunch. They can't let dodgy declarations slide any longer—not after Surrey's latest ploy blew up in their faces. Rory Burns called his side all out at 551 for nine, just to stop Essex from batting on. Balls left? Plenty. That's 16 overs shy of the minimum 120 needed to force a result. Umpire Steve O'Shaughnessy wasn't having it. No new ball for Surrey. No declaration upheld. Burns fumed post-match. "Gutted for the group," he said. Essex grabbed a lead anyway, 45 ahead by stumps on day three at the Oval. They finished 596 all out, James Rew unbeaten on 106. Surrey replied with 178 for four. Nightwatchman Gus Atkinson digging in. A week earlier, Nottinghamshire pulled a similar stunt against Somerset at Trent Bridge. They declared at 370 for nine declared—six overs short of the 110-over mark. Umpires disallowed it too. Chair umpire Martin Saggers stepped in. Somerset won by 169 runs after enforcing the follow-on. These rulings expose the loopholes. County rules say a declaration only stands if the innings lasts at least 110 overs (or 85% of scheduled time, minimum 120 overs). Miss that? It's void. Team forfeits the innings or faces penalties. Yet clubs keep testing the boundaries. ECB officials huddled Thursday. They're rushing tweaks to stop this nonsense before it poisons more matches. County secretary Chris Watts confirmed the urgency. No details yet on the fixes. But expect clearer guidelines soon. Declarations need to earn their spot—properly.

via Wisden, BBC Sport, ESPNcricinfo

FiledECBCounty ChampionshipNottinghamshire+3County Championship

VerifiedInsightApr 13

SRH Bets Big on Raw Pace

Hinge and Hussain's hauls underline SRH's domestic talent play amid auction inflation.

Two uncapped pacers took four wickets each on IPL debut. That's smart buying.

Praful Hinge hails from Vidarbha. Back injury behind him now. Sakib Hussain comes from Bihar. Family struggles marked his path. Both impressed in domestics. SRH trusted them against RR. Four hauls apiece. Auction costs climb every year. Stars eat budgets. These lads prove the fix.

Game's gone soft on talent hunts. Scouts chase hyped names. SRH digs deeper. Uncapped gems deliver. Hinge and Hussain show it. Trust raw talent. Costs stay low. Impact hits hard.

Domestic circuits breed winners. Not just the big auctions. SRH gets this. Others chase auctions. They unearth. Four-fors on debut back the call.

via Cricbuzz, ESPNcricinfo, Times of India

FiledSRHPraful HingeSakib Hussain+1IPLMatch Centre

OpinionApr 13

Gavaskar Blasts RCB's 'Timeout Drama' in Tense MI Clash

Sunil Gavaskar blew his top at RCB calling three medical timeouts for Rasikh Salam's cramps right in the middle of MI's chase at Wankhede. Players ought to just walk off the field, he fumed, instead of dragging things out in that sticky humidity.

RCB hung on to defend 240/4, winning by 18 runs as MI limped to 222/5. Phil Salt smashed 78 off 36. Virat Kohli made 50. Rajat Patidar fired 53 off 20. Tim David unbeaten on 34 from 16 balls. Sherfane Rutherford's 71* off 31—nine sixes—almost dragged MI over the line.

Rasikh Salam battled through with figures of 2.5-23-1 despite the cramps. Gavaskar's outburst? It taps into the mounting irritation over these constant stoppages.

FiledRCBSunil GavaskarRasikh Salam+3IPL

InsightApr 13

Harmanpreet Kaur Plots T20WC Revenge after ODI Glory and WPL Surge

Harmanpreet Kaur, India's women's captain, draws straight from Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni's playbooks. She's chasing redemption at the T20 World Cup in England.

Harmanpreet Kaur's got India charging toward the T20 World Cup in England. Redemption's the word after those past heartbreaks. She's leaning on the 2025 ODI World Cup win, plus all that fresh talent bubbling up from the WPL. Her own growth? She stacks it right up there with Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni.

BCCI's stepping up its game on prep work these days. That fuels her push. Strong showing ahead—mixing the old hands with the kids to finally beat those familiar rivals.

FiledWpl 2026Harmanpreet KaurGeneral

VerifiedInsightApr 12

Prasidh Krishna Takes 4/28 as GT Rout LSG by Seven Wickets

Prasidh Krishna ripped through with 4/28. LSG managed just 164/8 at Ekana Stadium, their batsmen scrambling.

Gujarat Titans wrapped up a seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2026's 19th match at Ekana Stadium. Prasidh Krishna ripped through with 4/28. That kept LSG to 164/8. GT knocked off 165/3 in just 18.4 overs. Shubman Gill made 56 off 40 balls. Jos Buttler cracked 60 off 37.

Aiden Markram's 30 off 21 topped LSG's scores—on a pitch that bit back hard. Mohammed Siraj snared 1/19. Kagiso Rabada got 1/54. Ashok Sharma claimed 2/32. Early wickets shook GT. But Gill and Buttler glued it together. Two wins in a row now. After that one-run squeaker against Delhi Capitals.

LSG's sixth loss straight. Kane Williamson pointed to batters wrestling tricky pitches.

FiledPrasidh KrishnaShubman GillJos Buttler+2IPLMatch Centre

AnalysisApr 12

Jaffer Urges Gaikwad to Fire Early and Ditch Big-Score Trap

Wasim Jaffer reckons CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad should swing harder right from the off. No more hunting those fat hundreds. Instead, pile on the risks early. His IPL 2026 strike rate? Just 103.70. And the returns—6, 28, 7, 15—haven't exactly set pulses racing. Aaron Finch agrees. Time to switch that mindset. Dominate quick.

CSK finally notched a win against DC. Their first one. Gaikwad copped a slow over-rate fine anyway. Even with Samson's century in the mix.

The TakeCricHubb Desk

Ruturaj Gaikwad's playing it safe up top. And it's biting Chennai Super Kings in the powerplay. Sure, he's notched 336 runs at 58.66 this IPL season. But that strike rate? A measly 141.83. Compare it to Travis Head's 213.62 or Jake Fraser-McGurk's 234.78. CSK's managed just 48.33 per powerplay over nine matches. Bottom of the pile. You wonder what a dash more aggression might do. Back in 2021, he hammered 635 runs at 160.25. Orange Cap territory right there. Even last season, despite a dodgy wrist, he posted 590 at 163.88. Now? He's got 17 boundaries from dot balls in the first six overs. That's the highest among openers with 100-plus runs. Too many singles. Too much nudging around. Faf du Plessis exploded for 388 powerplay runs at 192.08 in 2022. Yashasvi Jaiswal's sitting on 251 at 169.12 this year. Gaikwad could join that club. Especially with the Orange Cap dangling—only 13 runs off Virat Kohli's lead. Powerplay pinch-hitters haven't lit it up for CSK either. Rachin Ravindra: 59 off 37. Devon Conway: 54 off 37. Same old story. Bottom line. Gaikwad needs to swing freer early. CSK's top order would breathe easier. And that Orange Cap? Suddenly within reach.

FiledRuturaj GaikwadWasim JafferAaron FinchIPL

InsightApr 12

Zampa Drops Aesthetic Bowling for T20 Results Amid Australia's Trophy Drought

Adam Zampa eyes economy rates between 7.10 and 8.10. That's his sweet spot for gigs like PSL 2026 with Karachi Kings.

Adam Zampa ditched the pretty stuff for grubby spells that get the job done. Ugly wins T20s. Australia's trophy cabinet stays bare. His economy sits between 7.10 and 8.10 across leagues—nothing flashy. PSL 2026 alongside Karachi Kings fits right in. Those short boundaries suit him way better than IPL tracks.

No Test caps for Zampa. Coaches hammered his game into shape. Packed schedules hit him hard these days. He's chasing consistency, period.

White-ball bowling ain't what it used to be. Australia keeps botching chases. Spinners don't grip the ball tight anymore—they probe batsman flaws instead. Zampa's PSL run brings the goods. Australia's drought forced this rethink. T20 demands wickets. Style can wait.

The TakeCricHubb Desk

Adam Zampa's regrets over his one and only Test cap back in 2019 cut deep. He's spoken out now, admitting he'd kill for another crack at the baggy green. Australia's selectors, though? They've stuck to their guns on pace ever since. Fast bowlers get the nod, time and again. Legspinners like him rarely break through. White-ball duties swallow them up instead. Zampa's spun plenty of webs in ODIs and T20s—86 wickets across 86 ODIs, no less. But that red-ball dream? Faded fast. Pace bias rules the day. Think about it: only three frontline legspinners have played Tests for Australia this century. White-ball schedules clash. Tours overlap. Selectors prioritize the quicks who can bash the ball around. Zampa knows it too well. "I'd love to play a Test match again," he said recently. Hasn't happened. Other leggies face the same wall.

via ESPNcricinfo

FiledAdam ZampaPSL

VerifiedInsightApr 11

Salt-Patidar 131-Run Blast Buries MI in Wankhede Thriller

RCB posted 240 for 4. Way too much for MI in the end.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru piled on 240/4 at Wankhede, leaving Mumbai Indians short by 18 runs in IPL 2026's 20th match. Phil Salt tore into them for 78 off 36 balls—six fours, six sixes—then Rajat Patidar fired 53 off just 20, their 131-run partnership off 56 balls ripping the heart out of MI's bowling.

Virat Kohli chipped in with a calm 50 off 38. RCB's total loomed large. MI clawed back through Ryan Rickelton's 37, Suryakumar Yadav's 33, Hardik Pandya's 40. Sherfane Rutherford stood tall, unbeaten on 71 from 31 balls with nine sixes. Krunal Pandya grabbed 1/26. Suyash Sharma snared 2/47. Jacob Duffy picked up 1/58. Trent Boult ended with 1/50 for MI. Still, they finished at 222/5.

RCB bounces back from that Rajasthan Royals defeat. MI, coming off a rain-hit loss to RR, deals with Rohit Sharma's hamstring—scans ahead. Tim David loses 25% of his match fee for mouthing off at the umpire.

FiledPhil SaltRajat PatidarSherfane Rutherford+2IPLMatch Centre

OfficialInsightApr 11

Pope's Ton Signals England Test Revival Amid Packed Summer

Ollie Pope carved out 103 at Kia Oval. Backed hard by Jamie Smith's 166, they piled on a stand worth 208.

Ollie Pope's building a proper shout for an England Test recall. After that Ashes axe, he fought back hard—smashed 103 in the County Championship at the Kia Oval. Test spots? They're wide open this stacked summer.

Jamie Smith chipped in with 166. Together, they carved out a 200-run stand. Surrey racked up the runs against Leicestershire, who opted to field first and paid for it dearly. Shoaib Bashir grabbed career-best bowling figures too.

England's chasers hitting stride. Tough Tests loom. Pope, Smith, Bashir—these knocks might just nudge the selectors.

FiledEnglandOllie PopeJamie Smith+1County Championship

InsightApr 10

Natarajan Hails DC Support in Comeback from Collarbone Nightmare

DC stuck with T Natarajan through his injury nightmare of 2025. And boy, did it pay off.

T Natarajan. Back slinging it down for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, after that nightmare 2025 where a busted collarbone kept him to just two games—despite the fat auction tag. He's shouting out DC management for getting him right through those training camps.

Talking up his mental toughness now, and shrugging off old injuries. Remember that nail-biter against Gujarat Titans at Arun Jaitley? GT piled up 210/4. DC scraped to 209/8. One run short. Natarajan went 4-34-0, econ 8.50, right in the thick of that chase.

DC's backers stuck by him. Form's creeping back. Sure, David Miller's call to skip the single cost them in the end. Natarajan? He's just locked in on doing his bit.

FiledT NatarajanDelhi CapitalsGujarat TitansIPL

AnalysisApr 10

IPL's Rs 118 Cr Auction Flops Haunt Big-Spending Teams

Cameron Green tops the list of pricey flops from the IPL auction. The Aussie allrounder, fetched for 11.5 crore by Mumbai Indians, has managed just 141 runs at 16.59 in 15 games.

IPL 2026's priciest 10 auction buys—Rs 118 crore down the drain—haven't fired a shot. Except Ravi Bishnoi. Cameron Green tops KKR's dud list after three grim flops, then back rehab.

Aaron Finch figures they ought to bump Green higher in the batting or just bench him. KKR coach Tim Southee says the allrounder's back bowling now, rehab done. That after early-season woes, like Xavier Bartlett knocking him over in the rain-soaked PBKS scrap.

FiledIPL 2026Ravi BishnoiCameron GreenIPL