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“Best support staff I have played with” – Venkatesh Iyer

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In an exclusive interview with Boria Majumdar, RevSportz’s editor-in-chief, Venkatesh Iyer spoke of the roles played by Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning back-to-back IPL titles. He also reflected on the contribution of the support staff that has helped shape RCB into the most formidable team in the league. When asked about Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik, he responded without hesitation: “Best support staff I have played with, purely in terms of communication, role clarity, handling of players and situations, and also empowering players to make decisions.” He further added: “Especially in India, we are used to coaches dictating situations, which is necessary. However, empowering players to make their own decisions and creating an environment where they feel encouraged to take on leadership roles is something these people have achieved.” He also spoke highly of Dinesh Karthik and praised his work ethic, saying: “If I had to point out the most...
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Three Matches, Several Questions: What Should India Experiment With Before The T20 World Cup?

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  Image :X Trisha Ghosal, Taunton In Taunton, on the eve of the T20I series decider, rain set in around mid-afternoon and never really went away, forcing both India and England to abandon plans of training outdoors and move their preparations inside. Whether the weather allows a full game remains to be seen, but for India, there may be a bigger picture to consider. With the decider followed by two warm-up matches in Cardiff, the Indian side effectively has just three games left to answer a few lingering questions before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup begins. One of those questions revolves around Richa Ghosh. There is no debate about what she brings to the side. On her day, she can change a match in the space of a few deliveries. The issue, however, is whether India are giving her enough time to do that. Walking in during the 14th or 15th over often means she has to start swinging from ball one. On surfaces where timing is not always straightforward, that can be a difficult assi...
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A RevSportz Exclusive “He insists on clarity of action”: Venkatesh Iyer on Virat Kohli’s Relentless Drive and RCB Impact

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  Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer share a chat during RCB’s net session. Image :X It was around 2:30 pm in India when Venkatesh Iyer dropped me a WhatsApp message suggesting we could speak. I was getting ready to leave Manchester for Edinburgh and, I must say, was looking forward to the conversation. Venkatesh is one of the most articulate cricketers around and an excellent speaker. In an interview, it helps a lot if the subject has clarity of thought and is willing to go deeper while answering questions. Soon after discussing his injury, we settled down for a deep dive. While the detailed interview will be aired today, in this piece I want to focus on what he said about Virat Kohli, his opening partner for RCB in the playoffs and the final. “How was it batting with Virat?” was what I asked, curious to know a little more about Kohli’s work ethic. It was as if Venkatesh had been waiting for the question. “There is so much to learn from him,” he told me. “In the chase, the...
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GT vs RCB, IPL 2026 Final: “We lost early wickets and never got momentum” – Shubman Gill on GT’s defeat

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GT vs RCB, IPL 2026 Finals (PC: BCCI/IPL) Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill admitted that his side fell short with the bat in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured a five-wicket victory to clinch their second consecutive IPL title on Sunday. During the post-match presentation, Gill reflected on his side’s batting struggles and their inability to build momentum after losing early wickets. “If we’d have gotten 180–190, it’d have been a good match,” Gill said. “Maybe a little two-paced [the pitch] , but not too much. There was some early movement for the pacers. We lost early wickets and never got momentum. We felt we’d be in the game if we took one or two wickets in the powerplay.” Batting first, GT suffered early setbacks as openers Gill (10) and Sai Sudharsan (12) were dismissed cheaply. Washington Sundar anchored the innings with an unbeaten half-century off 37 balls, while Nishant Sindhu (20) and Jos Buttler (19)...
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King Kohli masterclass secures back-to-back IPL titles for RCB

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Virat Kohli (PC: IPL/BCCI) There are pretenders, there’s a nouveau star, and then there’s the master. No disrespect to Vaibhav S oo ryavanshi – the Orange Cap is richly deserved. He is undoubtedly a star for the future. For the moment, though, the stage still belongs to Virat Kohli. On a tricky Ahmedabad pitch, his masterclass in the final against Gujarat Titans (GT) secured a second successive IPL title for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) . Rajat Patidar, as captain, is now in elite company, rubbing shoulders with MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. He owes Kohli a thank you. After restricting GT to 155, RCB looked to be running away with the game through a 62-run opening partnership between Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer in just 4.3 overs. Then the wickets began to fall. A double-wicket over from Rashid Khan made things edgy for RCB. But Kohli was still there, and as long as he remained at the crease, his team appeared destined to win. Class never dies. RCB won by five wickets with 1...
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Star-Studded Launch Sets Stage for T20 Mumbai League

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  The T20 Mumbai League is set to get underway on June 1st at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, bringing top-tier local franchise cricket back to one of India’s most celebrated cricketing venues. The tournament was officially launched at an event in the city on May 30th, attended by several prominent names from Mumbai’s cricketing fraternity. Five marquee cricketers- Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur, Ajinkya Rahane, and Sarfaraz Khan have been named as captains of their respective franchises for the season. All five players have represented Mumbai at the domestic level, alongside featuring for the Indian national team. Now, they will compete against each other as franchise rivals. Matches will be played across June, with the tournament running in the Twenty20 format. The competition is also expected to draw attention from IPL scouts, who are known to monitor domestic tournaments for emerging talent. The T20 Mumbai League is positioned as a significant a...
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Shubman Gill may be Prince but he must build his own kingdom!

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Shubman Gill ( Image: IPL/X) The debate around Virat Kohli being called the “King” and Shubman Gill being referred to as the “Prince” is an interesting cultural conversation in Indian cricket. At one level, it is harmless fan banter. At another, it reveals something deeper about how we Indians consume sport and construct sporting mythology. The truth is that the labels are both appropriate and premature. Why appropriate? Because sport, much like cinema in South India, thrives on archetypes. We do not merely watch athletes. We assign them roles in a larger narrative. Virat Kohli’s journey over the last decade has earned him a place that transcends statistics. He isn’t just a batsman who scores runs. He became the face of Indian cricket’s most aggressive and self-assured era. He walked into hostile overseas conditions, stared down opponents, demanded excellence and redefined fitness standards. Whether one likes him or not, Kohli changed the cult...
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