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A Fan Called Mansi: The Quiet Passion That Makes Cricket Special

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India faced a defeat against Australia (PC-X) It was in Manchester, and the India versus South Africa game had just ended. We were making our way to Trafford College, right opposite Old Trafford, when I spotted her. There was a lady wearing an India jersey, silently weeping. I didn’t think much of it at the time because I was in a rush to get to the show and get started. About 30 minutes into the show, Trisha Ghosal walked up to me and said there was a fan who followed us regularly. She had flown in from New York and looked utterly distraught. Could we have a word with her and perhaps cheer her up? It turned out to be the same woman I had noticed earlier. She was an Indian professional based in New York who had travelled to England for the World Cup after buying tickets to all of India’s matches, as well as the semi-finals. “I follow the team around the world,” she said. “It was always my dream to come and watch them play in a World Cup in England, and I’ve bought tickets for every...
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The ubiquitous Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

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  Image : x ‘Vaibhav Sooryavansshi is ubiquitous.’ So, what could be the hidden meaning of the above-mentioned line? It isn’t as if yours truly is aiming to start a contest on adjectives. But it more or less narrates a story of how the wonderkid’s heroics seem to have gripped the cricketing landscape. Just open your social media handle and the first trend to notice is Shreyas Iyer’s press conference. The India skipper ended up answering a volley of questions on whether Vaibhav would don the national colours in the first T20I against England. For a moment, also scroll through the quoted tweets of that press conference and one would observe a fair bit of heat coming Shreyas’ way. The simple reason being the Indian cricket fans wish to see a glimpse of Vaibhav wear the blue jersey for the senior Indian team. So much so that his every shot in the net sessions – defensive or attacking – seems to be getting analysed by cricket fans. Fo...
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Fever Grips London Even Before His India Debut

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  Images :X Boria Majumdar Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hasn’t yet made his presence felt in international cricket. And yet, he was the only talking point at Lord’s a couple of days ago. Walk into the press box, and you hear journalists talking about him and him alone. “A lot of people are selling off their Pavilion tickets to go and watch the 10 July game because they think Vaibhav will be playing,” said one. “The women’s Test at Lord’s starts on 10 July.” Another senior reporter who had been asked to track him put things into perspective. “It is almost impossible to get print space when the FIFA World Cup is on. And yet we have been specifically told to cover Vaibhav in detail. He is almost like a football star at the moment.” Yet one more, equally excited, added: “We generally don’t do podcasts on T20 matches. Our focus has always been Test cricket. But we are making an exception for Vaibhav and will be doing podcasts for this [T20I] series. He is the draw.” The hype surrounding ...
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ENG vs IND: “We’ve got our tactics” – Brook ready for Sooryavanshi challenge

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Sooryvanshi (PC: SLC) England white-ball captain Harry Brook praised India’s teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi but revealed that his team has prepared plans to stop the 15-year-old ahead of the first T20I against India in Durham. During the pre-match press conference, Brook said, “He (Vaibhav) looks like a very, very talented player. Obviously, he’s done extremely well over the last year, year and a half, and we’ve got our tactics and hopefully they work. There’s been a lot of digging behind the scenes to see what we can do to try and stop him from playing his best cricket.” Sooryavanshi, who is yet to make his international debut, is one of the biggest talking points ahead of the series. He was picked in India’s squad after an outstanding IPL 2026 season for Rajasthan Royals. The left-hander scored 776 runs in 16 matches at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 237.30. When asked what he was doing at Sooryavanshi’s age...
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Arfaz, Nishanth set up Buddhi’s heroics as Anurag Nalgonda Knights register third straight win

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Nishanth Saranu of Anurag Nalgonda Knights bowls during the Match 15 of the Sreenidhi University TG20 between Palamuru Strikers and Anurag Nalgonda Knights at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, India, on June 29, 2026. Photo by Sumeet Parmar / CREIMAS  Anurag Nalgonda Knights secured their third win on the trot, registering a comprehensive six-wicket victory against Palamuru Strikers in the first match of the day on Monday, in the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Sreenidhi University TG20. Knights’ bowlers were sensational in executing their plans as Md Arfaz Ahmed (3/39) and Nishanth Saranu (2/16) were the standouts, restricting the Strikers to 148/9. Skipper Rahul Buddhi (68* off 40) held his nerve in the run chase to lead his side to a comfortable victory with 28 balls to spare, helping them jump to second on the points table. It was a wobbly start for the Strikers as they lost three wickets in the powerplay. A run out cost the in-form Vignesh Reddy his wicke...
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Shreyas Iyer, captaincy, and different sides of a prism

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  Image: BCCI When Shreyas Iyer was named the new T20I captain of the Indian team, it was considered a bold move by the selectors. On the surface, it seemed like one too. After all, Suryakumar Yadav, the then captain, was struggling for form. With India having hoisted the T20 World Cup trophy, alongside possessing incredible depth in white-ball cricket, it was time for such a ruthless call to be made.  However, just like how there are different sides to a prism, such a big decision could also have contrasting viewpoints. One of them could be it wasn’t right to elevate Shreyas to the leadership role when he hadn’t been a part of the T20I set-up for close to three years. This school of thought also has enough logic attached to it. The keynote would be even if one of the candidates has the credentials to take over the mantle of leading the side, he needs to earn it. Simply put, parachuting a player who was out of the set-up, to a position of such eminence, despite the presence...
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Time to Look Beyond Harmanpreet? India’s Captaincy Conundrum After Another T20 World Cup Exit

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  Image: X Boria Majumdar in London As the dust settles on India’s group-stage exit in the ongoing T20 World Cup, a lot of people have asked me whether India should continue with Harmanpreet Kaur as captain. It is a very natural and pertinent question. In two consecutive T20 World Cups, India have been unable to progress beyond the group stage. Harmanpreet isn’t getting any younger, and in this particular World Cup her only innings of real consequence was the one against Australia in a losing cause. While that innings was brilliant, and it was because of her that India were in the game at the halfway stage, the truth is that it was just one effort in five matches. Had she played a similar knock against South Africa in Manchester, India could well have been playing the semi-final at The Oval. But when we assess Harmanpreet critically, we must also look at the alternatives. Has Smriti done enough in the big games to convince us that she is ready? She started well against Pakista...
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