Sports कट्टा

From being mocked at times for his ambition to be a cricket umpire in his youth to emerging as one of the youngest Indians to officiate in international cricket, Vineet Kulkarni has had an exciting ride. The respected umpire gives a lowdown into the world of modern-day cricket umpires. Don't miss some of the instances including those of legends including Yuvraj Singh, Yunus Khan and Sachin Tendulkar, among others

Despite COVID-19 forcing its postponement and One-day cricket seemingly appearing to be irrelevant with T20 being the flavour of the year, India will be hoping for Hardik Pandya, the bowler, and Yuzvendra Chahal's leg-breaks to come good ahead of a hectic white-ball season. We also underline the risks posed to cramped scheduling in the wake of an increasing caseload of COVID-19 cases

While spelling out the details of Shubman Gill's injury that has ruled him out of India's tour to England, we explore whether Prithvi Shaw is in with a real chance to replace him for the Test series. Besides, we also dissect whether Mithali Raj's consistency with the willow overshadows her lower strike rate in ODIs and the BCCI domestic calendar

Only once since the inception of Ranji Trophy in 1933-34 has Mumbai/ Bombay missed out on a title for more than five years. In fact, it turned out to be an eight-year-long wait since the glory in 1984-85. The itch was finally broken with Ravi Shastri leading Bombay from the front and carving out a generation of youngsters who went on become champion cricketers. Jatin Paranjape, the stylish left-handed batsman, recalls the landmark season.

Now that it's official that the T20 World Cup and the remaining Indian Premier League will be played in the United Arab Emirates, we tell you about the windows that are being worked out for both the events. Besides, we also discuss India Women's topsy-turvy performance in England and Rahul Dravid's challenge while being in charge of India's team in the forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka

From getting under the wings of Ramakant Achrekar only after his 10th standard to being one of Rahul Dravid's most trusted lieutenants in India's coaching ecosystem, Paras Mhambrey has had a fascinating journey. The former Test pacer recalls the 2002-03 Ranji Trophy season as his first pacer.

Giving due credit to New Zealand, veteran cricket writer Sunandan Lele joins us to decipher various issues arising out of India's unsuccessful inaugural World Test Championship campaign? Did India falter in team selection? Should India persist with the same line-up for the Test series in England? What makes Virat Kohli an unfortunate captain? And was Kohli's jibe after the loss aimed at Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane?

From listening to Javed Miandad's ghazals on the field to the (in)famous altercation with him during the 1992 World Cup squad; from advising Kapil Dev to avoid a defensive stroke while batting to grooming talent at his academy in Baroda, including the Pandya brothers; and from how as the national chief selector he ensured Mahendra Singh Dhoni was picked at the right time to the Sourav Ganguly exclusion saga. Part 2 of a must-watch freewheeling chat with Kiran More, the former India wicketkeeper.

Wicketkeeper. Coach. National selector. Administrator. IPL Talent Scout. Kiran More has contributed to the world of cricket in various capacities. In the first part of the freewheeling chat, More recalls his early days in Vadodara to his first tour with the Indian team, to West Indies in 1983; from his much-delayed Test debut in England in 1986 to Sachin Tendulkar's much-anticipated Test debut in Pakistan in 1989; from dropping Graham Gooch at Lord's in 1990 to citing Rishabh Pant's example to explain the art of wicketkeeping. Don't miss the stories of watching Vijay Hazare gardening from his school; earning a pat on the back by Sunil Gavaskar in Bombay's fiercely competitive corporate cricket circuit; and learning from the great George Headley while scoring during the West Indies tour.

Pinnacle for Test specialists; the first, and possibly the last, WTC final outing for the seniors in the squad and the best chance for Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli's coach-captain combo to emerge victorious in a World championship. Let's build up towards the maiden WTC final