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2026 T20 World Cup: “Shame for them” – Jacob Bethell on Australia’s early exit

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Jacob Bethell (PC: X) Jacob Bethell’s cheeky remark on Australia’s early exit from the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has gone viral on social media. In a recent video, the 22-year-old was speaking to BBC Test Match Special and said it was a shame for Australia not to make the Super Eight stage. Bethell said: “It was good to see. They just didn’t seem like they got firing in the tournament. And in those group stage matches if you don’t hit the ground running, you’re in danger of that happening. So yeah, it was a shame for them.” Australia began with a convincing win over Ireland but failed to maintain the momentum. They lost to Zimbabwe by 23 runs and then to hosts Sri Lanka by eight wickets. Although they ended their campaign with a win over Oman, both Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe finished above them in the group. Australia’s early exit surprised many fans and critics. Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, they have won five of their eight T20I series, losing two and drawing one. In the 202...
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From Leg-Spin to Lethal Pace: How a Local Club Crisis Birthed World’s Best Hardik Pandya

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Hardik Pandya with his coach Jitendra Singh Anil Kumble famously transitioned from a medium pacer to a legendary leg-spinner. Ravichandran Ashwin began his cricketing journey as a fast bowler before evolving into a world-renowned off-spinner. Even Yuzvendra Chahal started as a medium pacer before establishing himself as a world-class leg-spinner. The same goes for Kuldeep Yadav , who wanted to replicate the great Wasim Akram but ended up becoming one of the finest left-arm wrist-spin bowlers. In today’s Internet age, unearthing these fascinating career pivots takes nothing more than a quick click. But Google’s archives do not know everything. They certainly do not hold the complete, meticulous history of every cricketer – especially not the origin story of Hardik Pandya . How many people actually know that the ‘Baroda Bomber’ was once a leg-spinner? Or that his genesis as one of India’s finest fast-bowling all-rounders happened entirely by accident during an unassuming local c...
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How T20 World Cup pitches have made India recalibrate

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Team India practice session at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Image: Revsportz For almost a year, India’s white-ball batting template has been fairly uncomplicated: attack early and dominate. But World Cups have a way of demanding nuance and adaptability. At this marquee tournament, surfaces have required assessment before unleashing unbridled aggression, and India’s shift in approach has been intentional rather than reactive. On match day minus two, ahead of the high-octane clash between India and South Africa, Morne Morkel acknowledged the role of surfaces in shaping how India have been batting. “Our mindset is to take the game on and put the opposition under pressure,” he said. “However, the smart approach is to quickly assess the conditions and play the crucial moments well. To be honest, it hasn’t always been easy to hit cleanly through the line of the ball.” Also read India Dial Up Intensity in Ahmedabad Practice Session He also spoke about how it is nearly impossibl...
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Geopolitics Casts Shadow Over Pakistan Players in The Hundred

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  Indian-owned franchises in The Hundred are unlikely to sign players from Pakistan. Image :Debasis Sen There was a report yesterday stating that Pakistan players are unlikely to be picked by Indian-owned franchises in The Hundred. That is perhaps the most obvious thing one could say. Given the current political climate between the two countries, there is very little chance that any franchise would want to stir up controversy. While no one will state it publicly, I would be very surprised if any franchise with Indian ownership were to sign a Pakistan player. Let me make one thing very clear at the outset: this has nothing to do with the skill sets of the Pakistan players. Rather, it is entirely influenced by geopolitics and events that have transpired in recent weeks. Consider this: Mohsin Naqvi and Shehbaz Sharif initially announced a selective boycott of the India game at the ongoing T20 World Cup. This was done in solidarity with Bangladesh ahead of the elections there, w...
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Cupcake Comedy and the Shrinking of Great Matches

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Image: Debasis Sen/Star Sports “History repeat karenge, padosi ko defeat karenge” chant a bunch of India fans as they mimic a Rohit Sharma … but so far removed from the flamboyant former India captain’s part lazy Sunday stroll, part “haan bhai, trophy toh meri hi thi” energy. “Greatest rivalry hai” reminds the Pakistani fan in green. Who would say that in everyday conversation? This is what I call lazy advertising — poor scripting, poorer creative imagination and a lame attempt to infuse humour. I can almost imagine the product brief would have mentioned that this is the tournament’s greatest rivalry and the marketing task would have been to aggregate unprecedented reach. What the creative team needed to have done is to bring alive the rivalry from an emotional or humourous persepctive like the iconic Mauka Mauka campaign…but to just say “greatest rivalry” is like describing Diwali simply as the festival of lights. Just when I thought that it could get no worse, comes the India ve...
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How Agentic AI Could Rewire the IPL Ecosystem

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Agentic AI and IPL (PC: X and IPL) Last week I came across an interesting update about how the Lalia is embracing agentic AI and this got me thinking about the implications for cricket in India and in particular, the IPL. Let me start with a simple definition. Agentic AI is artificial intelligence that does not merely respond – it acts. It sets sub-goals, makes decisions across multiple systems, adapts in real time and moves toward an outcome without waiting to be prompted at every step. If traditional AI is a calculator, then Agentic AI is a strategist. And if you apply that lens to cricket in the Indian subcontinent, the possibilities are enormous. In India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, cricket produces staggering volumes of data. Ball tracking. Wagon wheels. Pitch maps. Fantasy points. Engagement curves. TRP spikes. Social chatter in multiple languages. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: most of this data is passive – this is collected, visualised and debated but does no...
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Ravichandran Smaran: The Nandi Hills Calm Behind Karnataka’s Ranji Surge

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The picturesque Nandi Hills, a little over an hour’s drive from Bengaluru, stands at around 1,500 metres above sea level. Somehow, the cool and pleasant weather, alongside the height of the hills, comes to mind while watching Karnataka’s promising batter, Ravichandran Smaran. Consider the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Mumbai to gauge the left-hander’s unflappable temperament. By the time KL Rahul was dismissed, Smaran had raced to 65 off just 82 deliveries. Karnataka then lost a couple more wickets and slipped to 285 for 6. With about 40 more runs needed to cross the line, the question was: what would be the young batter’s approach? Especially with Mumbai spreading the field for him. The southpaw smartly looked to pinch singles and farm the strike. Even when Mumbai’s pacers tested him with the short ball, Smaran’s only aim was to keep the pull along the ground and rotate the strike. It helped that Vidyadhar Patil, the lower-order batter, used the long handle to good effect and ...
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