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The Australian players during the first Test in Perth. Photo: Debasis Sen/RevSportz“ Jin logo ki naam aapne liya, Bumrah unse bhi aage nikal gayi hai (the names you have mentioned, Bumrah has surpassed them),” said Rashid Latif. The question to the former Pakistan captain was whether Jasprit Bumrah could sit alongside the likes of Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall and Wasim Akram. Just going by the hard numbers, Lillee had 355 wickets from 70 Tests at 23.92. Marshall accounted for 376 scalps from 81 Tests at an average of 20.94. Akram took 414 wickets in 104 Tests at an average of 23.62. Bumrah has 181 wickets from 41 Tests at 20.06. His figures so far have been Sydney Barnes-esque (27 Tests, 189 wickets at 16.43). Barnes last played international cricket in 1914. Modern cricket is privileged to have the fast bowler from Ahmedabad. Australia were bewitched by Bumrah’s genius in Perth. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, some of their batsmen, Marnus Labuschagne for example, probably could...

Mitchell Starc and Yashasvi Jaiswal durimg the 1st test between India and Australia in the Border Gasvaskar trophy 2024-25. Photo: Debasis Sen Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon – clearly one of Australia’s best bowling attacks ever, with an incredible 1,443 wickets between them. And yet, in the last 10 years, they haven’t beaten India in a Test series. Each of them played the 2018-19 and 2020-21 series, and they all played in Perth. Each time, they finished second-best. So, while we accept that Australia beat India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the 50-over World Cup final, it is also true that India have consistently had the better of them in bilateral Test series. Adelaide and the pink-ball Test will perhaps be the last roll of the dice for this Australian bowling line-up. They know the conditions well, and have played much more with the pink ball than India have. They will also remember the 36 all out and try and take inspiration from i...

Parth Jindal on KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant (PC: X) Despite not getting Rishabh Pant or Shreyas Iyer, Delhi Capitals (DC) have managed to assemble a solid squad for the upcoming IPL. Parth Jindal, the Delhi Capitals’ co-owner and JSW Sports Director, had a candid chat with RevSportz’s Editor-in-Chief, Boria Majumdar. He opened up on the Pant saga, KL Rahul’s inclusion, getting Mitchell Starc at such a low price, the whole squad combination and a lot more. Excerpts: Boria: Happy with the auction? Your first thoughts? Jindal: I am very happy with the auction. Going into the auction, there was so much speculation about what is going to happen with Delhi Capitals and who are we going to go with. I must say that it was a very disciplined show by everyone at Delhi Capitals and both the ownership groups worked well together. A lot of credit to the support staff as they did a tremendous job. The team is looking very good on paper. Now, we need to make sure that they click. In my heart, ...

Delhi Capitals at the 2025 IPL Mega Auction (PC: @delhicapitals on instagram) With some of the highest bids in the history of the tournament and teams jostling to buy the best talents in the cricketing world, IPL 2025 Mega Auction was a whirlwind event. Among the standout performers was Delhi Capitals, who have caught the attention of fans for making some smart investments and their auction strategy. Here’s a closer look at their hits, misses, and overall squad strength after the auction.   HITS   Faf du Plessis (2 crore) Two time orange cap winner, seasoned campaigner and the former captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was picked up by DC in what can only be described as a steal. Having been a veteran of the sport in international cricket and leading RCB, Faf brings stability coupled with aggression at the top of the order as well as leadership skills. He has consistently delivered top-order runs and has anchored the innings, which makes him a pivotal addition to ...

Ricky Ponting at the PBKS auction table (Image: PBKS) / Shreyas Iyer for KKR (Image: KKR) The 2025 IPL mega auction is over in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and all 10 franchises are set for the new season. Punjab Kings boasted the biggest purse, Rs 110.5 crore, going into the auction. The franchise retained only two players, wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh and all-rounder Shashank Singh, so they had much to fill at the auction. Hits Under head coach Ricky Ponting, the Punjab franchise’s biggest buy was the former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer for a staggering sum of Rs 26.75 crore. Iyer led KKR to the IPL 2024 title and is going to be the captaincy choice for Punjab, also bolstering their top-order batting. Iyer and Ponting who have previously worked together at Delhi Capitals (DC), are expected to deliver this time for Punjab and guide them to glory. The PBKS management exercised their Right-to-Match (RTM) card on Arshdeep Singh and secured the services of the lef...

KKR Squad for the IPL 2025 (PC: KKR/X) Defending IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders bought 15 players from the mega auction held at Jeddah. The Shahrukh Khan-owned franchise raised eyebrows by spending a whopping 23.75 crore to buy back Venkatesh Iyer. The cricketer from Madhya Pradesh became the most expensive all-rounder in the history of IPL. Apart from getting back Venkatesh, the franchise also brought back the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (2 cr), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (3 cr), Vaibhav Arora (1.8 cr), Manish Pandey (75 lakh) and Anukul Roy (40 lakh), who were all part of the champion side last season. The franchise also added depth to their squad by signing the likes of South African speedster Anrich Nortje (6.5 cr), West Indies T20I captain Rovman Powell (1.5 cr), England all-rounder Moeen Ali (2 cr) and Umran Malik (75 lakh). The three-time IPL champions spent 50.5 crore in buying 15 players from the mega auction. They still have 4 Indian slots with a purse of 50 lakhs remain...

Sanju Samson with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag in an event (PC: X) Rajasthan Royals went into the auction with a limited purse of Rs 41 crore. On expected lines, RR were cautious during the mega auction in terms of picking up players. They added 14 players to their roster. Jofra Archer, who has previously been one of the mainstays of RR’s attack, is back in the mix. The franchise has also added some punch to their spin-bowling stocks.  RR also stumped everyone by picking up the 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi for Rs 1.10 crore. The young batter had recently cracked a quick-fire ton versus Australia U-19. Incidentally, they had retained six players before the auction – Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma. Hits :  Nitish Rana – The southpaw, who has over 2600 runs in the IPL, could form an integral part of RR’s unit. The middle-order batter, however, hasn’t exactly been among the runs over the last few seasons. ...