Author: Mishaal Mubarak

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has opted to put all efforts into hosting the entire Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, thus deciding not to succumb to any ‘neutral venue’ demands. The decision came as rumors about the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declining to send the national team to Pakistan resurfaced. While it was not officially stated by the BCCI or an official related to the board, many media reports suggested that the Indian Board has demanded their matches be shifted to a neutral venue. PCB had once before entertained these demands by their neighbors in Asia Cup…

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to start a thorough investigation into the expenses of the New York leg of the recently concluded T20 World Cup. The decision came after many members raised eyebrows apropos to many things related to the mega event with the New York pitch quality being the top of all. Moreover, some apprehensions about ticketing losses at the venue were also expressed within the board, according to a source. “The auditing is still on. There are assumptions that ICC may have incurred losses in ticketing as well in the USA leg. The tournament looked mismanaged.…

The way Zimbabwe started this series and the way they are ending it has several light years stretching between them. Nevertheless, all is not lost if they have learned a thing or two. With thing number one being the flaws in their fielding and thing number two, the team needs to be more synchronized to cash on the chances.  For India, plenty of positives have emerged, the most significant being that the future of their batting is in safe hands. Shubman Gill would like to rest in the knowledge that the series has ended with way more to take home…

One win and India will win the series. One win and the last match will essentially become a dead rubber. But at this point, winning the series is lesser of Shubman Gill’s worries. Indian management as well as Gill came to Harare hoping to create a blue-print for their future tours but that task has not been quite done yet. While they still have two matches to go, you never know when the hosts wake up from their slumber and start making things difficult for the visitors. They did give India a little scare in the last game with a…

Zimbabwe won the first game but it woke the Indian team wide awake. So naturally the hosts had to pay for disturbing the sleep the very next day. India went all guns blazing and scored 234, putting the Zimbabwean batters back to bed before they could reach the 150-mark. World Champions will be World Champions, even Sikandar Raza could not disagree. However, barging through the 200-run barrier does not change the fact that this team is still very young. And what is youth if not mercurial? Scoring 102 runs as a team in one game and defeating the opponents by…

There is so much white ball cricket you can consume as a fan before getting frustrated. Once one gets tired of all the razzmatazz the short-format games have to offer, one has to retort to the OG format. The serene games where you can sit back and relax watching the sport you love. English Test Summer is bringing the first hint of that surreal feeling this year. But with the glee of red-ball cricket returning, a lingering sorrow has filled the air. A sorrow that heralds the end of a tale many children grew up listening to. While James Anderson…

The hosts outplayed the young Indian team by 13 runs in the first match. But it’s fine. Everyone knows one has to go through such defeats during the new hiring process. India’s young blood still has four games to prove their worth but even thats not what they are here for. They are here to build a new team that can carry the legacy of their experienced countrymen. No one would mind winning a game or two, but Shubman Gill’s men should not forsake the real mission. But no talks about young blood and secret missions should take away anything…

The World Cup victory jubiliations still continue for India but what needs to be done has to be done. With three out of the eleven who won the final game having already bidden farewell to the format and the next World Cup slated to be played in India, the team has to be restocked with champions to defend the title successfully. Shubman Gill has been relayed the task to lead this team of young applicants and let them make a convincing case for themselves for the senior team.  Zimbabwe had a more than decent run during the previous T20 World…

The dust has settled. The tornado warning is over. And team India is due to take their flight from Barbados back to their country where people are waiting to laud the national heroes and, if they get lucky enough, touch the coveted silverware. After the trophy comes home after almost two decades. But critics and devils dwell in the details and there is not a greater duo in cricket than hindsight and weeding through the details. Despite the euphoria outbreak in the cricket-mad country, some pundits have managed to extract some killjoy details to question the victory, with Sanjay Manjrekar…

Indian women’s team has done the unthinkable in the first innings of the Chennai Test against South Africa. Taking the South African bowlers to cleaners, the hosts posted a mammoth 603 runs on the board before declaring the innings. Doing that the women’s team has shattered many records. This is the highest aggregate any cricket team, be it women’s or men’s, has ever scored in a day’s play, going past Sri Lanka men’s total of 509 in Colombo against Bangladesh back in 2002. This is also the first time any team has crossed the 600 runs mark in women’s Test…