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  Ishan Kishan and Ms Dhoni, PC: Ishan Kishan on Instagram   East Zone’s 2026 Duleep Trophy triumph put several Jharkhand cricketers into the spotlight. Led by Ishan Kishan, East Zone ended a 13-year wait for the title, with Kishan producing a massive 270 in the final and Kumar Kushagra compiling a century. Shikhar Mohan, meanwhile, also made an impression during the tournament, scoring 85 and picking up wickets.   The performances once again highlighted the depth of talent coming through Jharkhand cricket. But behind the performances is a question that naturally comes up whenever Jharkhand’s young cricketers are discussed: what kind of influence does MS Dhoni continue to have on them? Long after he stepped down as India captain, Dhoni still walks into the Jharkhand State Cricket Association’s academy in Ranchi like any other member, except everyone around him knows who he is. What they’ll tell you, almost in unison, is that he never lets them fe...

  Image :BCCI Srishti Bhattacharya, New Delhi Sanju Samson has seen both sides of the noise that comes with playing for India. When he scores, the celebrations are loud. When a few innings do not go his way, the questions around his place in the team quickly follow. On Tuesday, against Afghanistan, Samson had the perfect response. After scoring only 10 runs in the first T20I, he walked out to open again in the second game and produced a blistering 57 off just 22 balls. He brought up his half-century in only 20 deliveries, helping India race through the chase and seal the three-match series 2-0. It was the kind of innings that reminded everyone why Samson remains such a dangerous T20 batter. But more than that, it came at a time when he was once again trying to find his way back after a difficult period. To understand why this knock mattered, it is important to go back to the start of the year. At the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Samson was not part of India’s playing XI at...

  Harmanpreet Kaur. Image: BCCI Women The Indian women have won the Asia Cup and, as my readers read this, are about to land in Nagoya for the Asian Games. There is no doubt India will start as overwhelming favourites for gold, with the same opponents present in Nagoya. But despite the Asia Cup win, questions remain, and many of them surround the batting form of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. For years, Harmanpreet has been the mainstay of the middle order. One expects her to play the big shots, control the middle overs, add to the scoring rate and set things up for finishers like Richa Ghosh. But over the last few months, apart from the one-off innings against Australia at Lord’s on 28 June, which was brilliant, Harman has struggled for momentum with the bat. In the Asia Cup, there was not a single occasion when she actually looked good. In the final, her decision to come up the order was the correct one. After a fantastic start, the stage was set for her to dominate. But then came...

Samson (PC: RevSportz) Sanju Samson reflected on his communication with head coach Gautam Gambhir, the team’s decision to back Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in England and Zimbabwe, and the challenge of dealing with outside noise after India’s seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in the second T20I in New Delhi on Tuesday. “Running the Indian team is not an easy task,” Samson told reporters after the end of the second T20I. “You see a 15-year-old boy who has come after scoring 700-800 runs. My tournament was before that. After that, he performed so well and he had to come in some way or another. I did not perform in two or three games, he was in form and we wanted to win games in that series. It was very understandable from a leadership point of view.” Samson said his own experience as an IPL captain helped him understand the difficult decisions faced by the leadership group. “I have been in this situation myself. I have also taken many tough calls as a captain in an IPL franchise, ...

Laura Wolvaardt scoring her 4th WT20I century (PC: Zimbabwe Cricket) Records galore for South Africa Women skipper Laura Wolvaardt as she smashed her fourth WT20I century in Bulawayo on Tuesday. Her unbeaten 126-run knock hit the headlines as the Proteas Women eventually sealed the ongoing five-match WT20I series against Zimbabwe with an 80-run win in the third match. 7% Batting first, the visitors smashed 200/1 in 20 overs, courtesy of an unbeaten 173-run partnership between Wolvaardt and wicketkeeper-batter Karabo Meso (unbeaten 50 off 51, her maiden WT20I fifty). However, it was all about the Proteas Women skipper, who was having a rough time in this format heading into this clash. In the previous eight innings, she had managed only 150 runs. Finally, she responded with 16 fours and four sixes in her innings, striking at 203.22 and leading from the front. However, courtesy of this knock, several records were achieved by Wolvaardt, as follows: Highest individual score for a Prot...

N Shree Charani (PC: BCCI Women) India left-arm spinner Shree Charani has moved closer to the all-time record for the highest rating points achieved by a women’s T20I bowler after an impressive performance in the Women’s Asia Cup. Charani climbed to a career-best 804 rating points in the latest ICC Women’s T20I Rankings after taking four wickets for 20 runs in the final against Sri Lanka on Sunday. She is now just two points behind the record of 806 points, achieved by Australia’s Megan Schutt in 2018. Charani’s rise also means she now holds the highest rating points ever achieved by an Indian player in the women’s T20I rankings. She has surpassed Mithali Raj’s previous Indian record of 780 points, set in the batting rankings in 2011. Deepti Sharma also made a significant jump after finishing the Asia Cup as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets. She has risen four places to second in the bowling rankings. Shafali Verma was another major gainer. The opener moved fr...

Nannapat Khoncharoenkai for Thailand (PC: ACC) When Thailand were bundled out for just 65 runs against India in the recent Women’s Asia Cup, one performance still caught everyone’s attention – a gritty 41 off 48 balls from 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Nannapat Khoncharoenkai. Thailand Women’s Cricket Team are now preparing for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan after a tough outing in the recently concluded Asia Cup in Dubai. Placed in Group A, they began their campaign with a six-run win over Hong Kong, China, followed by crushing defeats against India and Pakistan. However, their bowlers were quite impressive – first defending 120 against Hong Kong, China, then, at one stage, reducing India to 137/9 and also restricting Pakistan to 119/9. But it was their batting unit that failed to turn up, especially when they were bundled out for just 65 against India, followed by managing only 84/8 against Pakistan. Still, Khoncharoenkai showed courage and once again demonstrated why she is...