Cricket now

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...

  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...

  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...