Cricket now

Steve_Smith (X/ICC) Australia batter Steve Smith is the newest addition to the list of players using black anti-glare strips below their eyes. This was made famous by West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Smith tried the anti-glare strips when Australia had a floodlit training session before their pink-ball second Test against England in the Ashes series, which begins on Thursday at the Gabba. Smith said during Australia’s last day-night Test against West Indies: “The pink ball in general is just a completely different game. Personally, I find it quite tricky just picking the ball up at certain times of the day and things like that, and the way it behaves is completely different to a red one. I think people like the spectacle. But as a player, particularly as a batter, it’s very challenging. The game can so quickly, and things change really quickly, which you probably don’t get so much with a red ball. But yeah, people like watching it, I suppose, so I guess it’s here to stay.”...

Virat_Kohli (PC:X) India legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that veteran India player Virat Kohli is the ‘greatest’ batsman in the one-day format of the game. Speaking on JioHotstar, Gavaskar said that even the modern-generation players accept the greatness of Kohli. “It’s not just me. Those who have played with him and against him all agree that he is the greatest in the one-day format.” Kohli scored his 52nd hundred in ODI cricket against South Africa in Ranchi and became the first male cricketer in the world to reach that many hundreds in any format of the game. The Delhi-born cricketer played a brilliant knock of 135 off 120 balls, including 11 fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 112.50, and stitched a partnership of 136 runs off 109 balls with Rohit Sharma to lay the foundation for a big score. Pointing towards Ricky Ponting’s comments on Kohli, Gavaskar said: “It is rare—very rare—to get praise from an Australian. So if an Australian says he’s the best, then there’s no a...

Virat Kohli in Ranchi. Image: Revsportz. Subhayan Chakraborty in Ranchi Virat Kohli lit up Ranchi on Sunday with a scintillating 135 that earned him Player of the Match honours and powered India to a 17-run victory in the first ODI against South Africa. The 37-year-old’s knock laid the foundation for India’s imposing total of 349, which proved too steep for the visitors despite a valiant chase. With a media report suggesting that a player recently retired from Tests might be open to rethink his decision, speculations were rife whether it was Kohli. However, the batting maestro was quick to shut down the rumours while also hinting towards his future participation in domestic cricket. The innings, coming on the back of Kohli’s continued excellence in 50-over cricket, inevitably reignited chatter about his Test retirement U-turn. Earlier this year, Kohli stunned the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from the longest format after 123 Tests, finishing agonisingly short of ...

Rishabh_Pant (PC:X) Former India selector Saba Karim believes that there will be no place for Rishabh Pant in the playing XI for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Karim said that KL Rahul will be India’s wicketkeeper-batter. “I would love to see him in the XI, but I think the way the XI is going to be constructed, I see no place for Rishabh Pant at this stage. He comes in because Shubman Gill is not there in the side and once you have decided to pick Tilak Varma in the XI, you see KL Rahul coming in as a wicketkeeper-batter. Then you have the all-rounders coming through.” Pant is India’s vice-captain and a proven match-winner in Test cricket, but he has been in and out of the ODI team for a long time. KL Rahul has cemented his place as the wicketkeeper-batter in ODIs. Pant played his last ODI for India against Sri Lanka in August 2024. Tilak Varma played a match-winning knock against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup 2025 to help India wi...

Harbhajan_Singh (PC:X) Former India bowler Harbhajan Singh believes that India currently lacks a specialist off-spinner for Test cricket. Harbhajan, who himself was an off-spinner, told PTI: “Looks like (India does not have a specialist right-arm off-spinner for Test cricket).” On the sidelines of the launch of 8JJ Sports India, he said: “I think Washington Sundar is there, but we will have to bowl him more. He will have to be bowled for 30-35 overs in a Test match to make a bowler out of him.” India faced two Test whitewashes at home within the span of one year. In the recently concluded series, South Africa defeated India 2-0 in a comprehensive manner. Indian spinners failed to make any impact in the entire series while South African spinner Simon Harmer was brilliant. Harmer was named Player of the Series. The Indian management was criticised across the country by fans and experts for the pitches prepared during the series against South Africa. Harbhajan believes that India s...

Ro-Ko (PC: BCCI) Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, India’s head coach and the chairman of the senior men’s selection committee, might not have the last word on the ODI future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, it is learnt. It would be about how the two titans of Indian cricket are planning their future, with an eye on the 2027 World Cup. According to a source in the know, the BCCI would like to hear from them, as a meeting is planned towards the end, or after the white-ball series against South Africa that starts on Sunday. Gambhir and Agarkar are expected to be part of that meeting, but ultimately, it would be the BCCI’s call, as the 2027 World Cup is high on the cricket board’s agenda. Rohit and Kohli are still performing in the only format they play now. The former returned from the three ODIs in Australia as the Player of the Series on the back of a half-century and an unbeaten hundred. Kohli, too, made 74 not out off 81 balls in the final ODI in Sydney after back-to-back ducks i...

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (Image: Debasis Sen) India will be without regular captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, which begins on Sunday. The team is eager to put the recent 0-2 Test series drubbing behind them. In their absence, KL Rahul will lead the side and will rely on the vast experience of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja to guide the squad toward a strong comeback. Although the 50-over format is no longer India’s top priority, with the next ODI World Cup still two years away, interest in bilateral ODIs has surged again – largely because Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continue to feature. Uncertainty over the duo’s long-term future in the format has only added to the buzz, and their involvement has revived a format that had started to lose its appeal. Both looked noticeably sharper in the nets in Ranchi than they did during the Australia tour, and their unbeaten century...

Sophie Ecclestone in action against RCB in WPL (PC: BCCI/WPL) The eagerly awaited WPL 2026 Auction had its share of thrills and spills. Here at RevSportz, we list out the top five auction buys in terms of value for money. Sophie Ecclestone – The UP Warriorz would be pleased to pick up Ecclestone for 85 lakhs. The left-arm spinner remains one of the best limited-overs bowlers in the cricketing landscape. She has 36 wickets in the WPL at an average of 18.38. Ecclestone has a very repeatable action, which contributes to her excellent control, and her height allows her to generate natural flight.  She gave a glimpse of her class and quality in the humdinger against RCB in the 2025 season. In that game, she not only bowled a superb Super Over but also showcased her hitting prowess against Renuka Singh, thwacking the pacer to all corners during the UP Warriorz’s innings. Grace Harris – The batting all-rounder’s services were secured by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for 75 lakh. Sh...

Gautam Gambhir. Image : X Boria Majumdar A lot of fan anger is directed at Gautam Gambhir at the moment. Many have called for his head, singling him out as the one responsible for the disastrous 2-0 series loss against South Africa. While fan anger is understandable, much of it is raw emotion rather than reason. Gambhir is indeed accountable, as he himself admitted in the press conference. But is he alone the root of all evil, and will things improve simply by removing him? The answer is  no . Much like Gambhir, the batters are equally – if not more – accountable. The bowlers too need to take responsibility for what has happened. Take the issue of shot selection. Yashasvi Jaiswal playing the same cut shot that caused his dismissal at Eden Gardens in the second innings at Guwahati can’t be blamed on Gambhir. KL Rahul, perhaps the most improved batter in the last year, flopped in both Tests. Gambhir isn’t responsible for the failure of his premier batter. Lack of application a...

Healy (PC: X) Australian captain Alyssa Healy went unsold at the Women’s Premier League 2026 mega-auction, held in New Delhi on Thursday, November 27. Healy entered the auction as one of the most prominent names, but not a single franchise showed interest in her. The wicketkeeper-batter was the first player presented in the marquee set. Usually, the first set is dominated by heavy bidding, but, surprisingly, no franchise raised the paddle when her name was announced. Healy is currently playing in the Women’s Big Bash League for the Sydney Sixers. Her current form is not particularly strong, as she has scored only 65 runs in four innings at an average of 16.25. She missed the previous WPL season because of a foot injury sustained during the T20 World Cup in the UAE. Healy’s past record in the WPL is respectable, with 428 runs to her name in 17 matches at a strike rate of 130.48 and an average of 26.75. She also captained UP Warriorz in the first two seasons of the WPL. The dynam...

  Gautam_Gambhir (PC:X) Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that it is unfair to blame head coach Gautam Gambhir for the home series losses against South Africa and New Zealand. And the coach did not get the amount of credit that he deserved when India won limited overs tournaments.  Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar added that it is the responsibility of the players to perform and the coach can only guide. “He’s a coach. The coach can prepare a team. But it’s out there in the middle that the players have to deliver. Now, to those who are asking, you know, for him to be held accountable, my question, counter-question is: what did you do when India won the Champions Trophy under him? What did you do when India won the Asia Cup under him?” he said. South Africa crushed India by a massive margin of 408 runs in the last Test of the two-match series to clean-sweep 2-0. It’s the second Test series loss for India at home, within a span of one year, as New Zealand de...

By Ashok Namboodiri From a broadcast standpoint, the WPL mega auction scheduled for today delivers what modern sports television increasingly seeks, high-intent viewing, spike-driven engagement and narrative density without the cost architecture of live gameplay. This is decision-making television. Tension without wickets. Drama without deliveries. This is not just a TRP exercise; it is strategic brand investment aimed at the highly engaged sports fan and is viewed by brands as a property that offers positive rub-off in more ways than one. In the RevSportz view, this auction is not merely a squad-building exercise. It is less about who goes where and more about what the WPL now represents in the hierarchy of Indian sport economics. Because unlike IPL auctions that operate within an already mature ecosystem, the WPL auction is still defining the grammar of its valuation model. Every raised paddle is a declaration of faith, from franchises, broadcasters and brands, in a league that ...

Shubman_Gill (PC:X) South Africa defeated India by a huge margin of 408 runs in the final Test of the two-match series in Guwahati, completing a 2–0 sweep. After the defeat, India’s captain Shubman Gill, who could not play in the second match due to a neck injury, reacted to the series loss. “Calm seas don’t teach you how to steer; it’s the storm that forges steady hands. We’ll continue to believe in each other, fight for each other, and move forward — rising stronger,” Gill wrote on X (formerly Twitter). India lost the first Test by 30 runs after failing to chase 124 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Gill’s neck issue began while he was batting at Eden Gardens in the first innings. The right-handed batter left the field and did not take part in the rest of the match, and was subsequently ruled out of the second Test. The team management is now waiting for his recovery ahead of the T20I series against South Africa, although a BCCI source said: “Gill has been given an injection to alle...

                                                                                                  (PC- Debasis Sen) For broadcasters, Test cricket is not merely a sporting product. It is a sentiment-driven economic engine where narrative, national pride and momentum directly influence revenue. Which is why India’s recent Test struggles, capped by a damaging 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand and the looming prospect of a similar outcome against South Africa, represent far more than a cricketing crisis. They constitute a strategic and financial shock to the broadcast ecosystem, especially for rights holders like JioStar and, to a lesser degree, Sony. Contrary to the comforting folklore that “close matches always drive revenue”, the Indian marke...

Kuldeep and Jadeja. Outclassed. Outgunned. Outthought. These three words best describe the difference between the South African and Indian spinners in the ongoing Test series. Not just in terms of skill, but the visiting side’s spinners were also superior in strategy and execution. Where to start? Perhaps by examining the pace at which the Indian finger-spinning duo bowled, especially in the first innings in Guwahati. On a very slow deck, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar consistently bowled at over 92 kph, at times even touching 95–96 kph. Washington wasn’t far behind his spin partner when it came to firing it in at pace. On a track offering more purchase for spinners, Jadeja and Washington might have dominated with his turn at pace. But in Guwahati, it was about imparting more revs on the ball and getting it to dip on the batter. Jadeja did slow his pace in the second innings, but it was too little, too late. No wonder the two finger spinners found the least amount of turn ...