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Image :X Boria Majumdar Rohit Sharma has been back in the news over the last few days, and I have read and seen videos by some journalists saying they are certain he will not play in the 2027 World Cup. Some have even said he should retire because he is doing a disservice to his reputation. While everyone is entitled to an opinion, and opinions make for good debate, no journalist can ever claim to know for certain what will happen. The answer is simple. Rohit has not been dropped. He will feature in the West Indies series. Suppose he scores runs in that series. No journalist, official or selector can drop a player who is performing. If the player performs, the matter ends — unless the player himself wants to retire. So, while Rohit can indeed be dropped if he fails or underperforms, if he scores, the matter ends there. Runs, or the lack of them, will decide. Not the whims or fancies of journalists. By all means, Rohit could miss out on the 2027 World Cup. But for that to happen, h...

Tanzid Hasan (PC: BCB) Tanzid Hasan made history on the second day of the first Test against Australia in Darwin on Friday, becoming the first Bangladesh batter to score a Test century in Australia. Tanzid reached his century in his second Test match and he also recorded his maiden hundred in the format. He scored 101 runs off 197 balls, which included eight boundaries and a six. His knock helped Bangladesh to get a headstart on the second day. Tanzid also shared a crucial 102-run partnership with Mominul Haque (49) and a 93-run stand with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (84). Tanzid was eventually dismissed for 101 off Nathan Lyon’s delivery. The 25-year-old became the only Bangladesh batter to score a Test hundred in Australia. Before Tanzid’s ton, Hannan Sarkar held the record for the highest Test score by a Bangladesh batter in Australia. He scored 76 runs in Cairns in 2003. For Australia, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon got one wicket each. Bangladesh were 289 f...

Beth Mooney (PC-ECB) Trent Rockets have booked a spot for themselves in the 2026 Women’s Hundred final after winning seven out of the eight league matches. Led by Ashleigh Gardner, the team is balanced with experience, quality and key players like Sophia Dunkley, Beth Mooney, Kim Garth, Samantha Bates and Georgia Elwiss to name a few. The number one ICC Women’s T20I batter and the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup 2026 player of the tournament, Beth Mooney, has suffered a string of low scores in the Hundred. She came into the tournament high on confidence after scoring 74* against New Zealand, 61* against the West Indies in the semifinals and 64 against England in the final at Lord’s. But before that, the scorecard tells a different story. Apart from those three crucial knocks, Mooney had scored 7, 10, 0 and 22 in the group stages. Her numbers in the Hundred have followed a similar pattern. Mooney, initially, struggled to convert her starts but managed to score 54* against MI London an...

Trent Rockets have booked a spot for themselves in the 2026 Women’s Hundred final after winning seven out of the eight league matches. Led by Ashleigh Gardner, the team is balanced with experience, quality and key players like Sophia Dunkley, Beth Mooney, Kim Garth, Samantha Bates and Georgia Elwiss to name a few. The number one ICC Women’s T20I batter and the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup 2026 player of the tournament, Beth Mooney, has suffered a string of low scores in the Hundred. She came into the tournament high on confidence after scoring 74* against New Zealand, 61* against the West Indies in the semifinals and 64 against England in the final at Lord’s. But before that, the scorecard tells a different story. Apart from those three crucial knocks, Mooney had scored 7, 10, 0 and 22 in the group stages. Her numbers in the Hundred have followed a similar pattern. Mooney, initially, struggled to convert her starts but managed to score 54* against MI London and 57 against Welsh Fi...

Image: Debasis Sen Vaibhav Tripathi, Galle On the front page of an Australian newspaper, in big, bold letters, was the headline: ‘The New King’, with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s name above it. The subheading read: ‘Jaiswal, best since Kohli.’ Before his first tour of Australia in 2024, the young left-hander was already in the spotlight. Australia is tough, especially for first-timers. Jaiswal couldn’t score a single run in his first innings Down Under. In the next innings, he went big, scoring 161. An average of over 40 in his first Test series in Australia was a commendable effort by the youngster. Even on his first tour of England, he averaged more than 40. Barring the South Africa tour in 2023–24, Jaiswal has done well whenever he has played away from India. In conditions similar to those in India, Jaiswal will be one of India’s batting mainstays in the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. By now, Jaiswal has matured to the extent that he knows how to come back from failure...

Dhruv Jurel. Source: BCCI X India’s nets session here at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Thursday started with a close inspection of the pitch. The ‘usual suspects’ were there — head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak. As they were having a mid-pitch conference, Dhruv Jurel was called in. The latter had led India A in the unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A in Galle only about a month and a half ago. His inputs were sought. Later, Jurel had a long batting stint at the nets, and there was enough indication that the team management will stick with him at No. 6 or 7, at least in the first Test, which starts on Saturday. There shouldn’t have been a debate on this. But Sarfaraz Khan’s inclusion as the replacement for the injured Sai Sudharsan has given rise to this middle-order discussion. A middle-order batsman coming in for a No. 3 suggested that the selectors and team management wanted to add to the ...

Hasan Mahmud (PC: X) Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud delivered a brilliant performance as his six-wicket haul helped his side clean up Australia for 198 runs on the opening day of the Darwin Test on Thursday. Mahmud finished with figures of 6/55 in 17 overs at an economy rate of 3.23. He removed both Australian openers, Jake Weatherald (23) and Travis Head (22), before dismissing captain Pat Cummins (9) and Mitchell Starc (1) after lunch. Mahmud then picked up the key wicket of Steven Smith who was the top scorer with 71 runs to complete his third five-wicket haul in his Test career. He wrapped up the innings by removing Nathan Lyon (7) to complete his six-wicket haul. Mahmud was the standout performer but the rest of Bangladesh’s pace attack also played a major role. Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain claimed two wickets each. In reply to Australia’s score of 198, Bangladesh finished up on 96 for 1 as it turned out to be a great day for a team that hadn’t played Test cricket...