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Barring Jos Buttler and Gerald Coetzee, Gujarat Titans’ entire overseas squad, including Rashid Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Kagiso Rabada, and Karim Janat, stayed in India, even as the threat of war loomed large. This meant they were the first team to resume training shortly after a ceasefire was brokered. Now that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has an official restart date, Buttler and Coetzee are expected to return too, but GT’s problems are far from over, with fixture clashes likely to gut their core just when they need it most. Jos Buttler, the backbone of their campaign this season, is likely…

After a week-long unplanned hiatus, both tournaments, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL), are set to resume action on May 17. The remaining eight PSL games, including four group stage matches and four playoffs, will be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Lahore will exclusively host the playoff games, which means all of the remaining group stage matches are locked in for Rawalpindi. The revised schedule for the league includes one double-header on Sunday (May 18). Multan Sultans (MS) will face Quetta Gladiators (QG) in the day fixture, while Peshawar Zalmi (PZ) and…

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC) has announced an updated schedule for the current edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is set to resume on May 17. The week was postponed nearly a week ago, after a Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) game was called off halfway, due to heightened cross-border conflict between Pakistan and India. The tournament, which was due to stage a final on May 25, will now conclude on June 3, almost a week after the original final date. As per the revised schedule, six cities across India, including Jaipur,…

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have a defeat, three wins, and a washout in their last five games. The situation is somewhat inverted for Delhi Capitals (DC), with one win, three defeats, and an abandoned match. DC and PBKS are separated by just one win and ticks of NRR, but both teams are miles apart in their current form. PBKS are on a roll. They won their previous two games, albeit against struggling sides, and were robbed of a definite win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by rain. DC, meanwhile, lost four of their last six completed games, which would have been…

Islamabad United (IU), after beginning so strongly, have lost three games on the trot, and one of them, the most recent one, came against Quetta Gladiators (QG), whom they will play once again. But the good news for Islamabad is that they return home now. They have lost all three on the road, to be precise, in Lahore. However, their five-match winning streak still keeps them in the hunt for the playoff qualification. Quetta, at this stage of the league, aren’t too naive either. They blasted 16 runs in the last over versus Islamabad in Lahore to pocket the game…

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)’s survival strategy is simple: win all the remaining games. If they do so, they will end up with 17 points, which would be one and two lower than the maximum Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI), who are right above KKR on the table, can manage. When put like this, the path forward seems as straight as it gets. Especially when their next two games will be against the teams already disqualified. But it isn’t as simple, Kolkata know this too. All of their plans could be done and dusted with a single defeat or…

Mumbai Indians (MI) have played eleven games so far. They lost four of their first five but have won all of their next six, so their early-season woes are a memory now. They have fourteen points next to their name, three games remaining to be played, and a dynamic form rallying them. Gujarat Titans (GT), too, have fourteen points in their kitty, but their campaign isn’t as contrasting when divided into halves. They lost one of their first five games and two in their next five. This does point towards a dwindled form, but there isn’t anything too worrying waiting…

Delhi Capitals (DC) sit at the fringes of the top four. They began very strong, stronger than most other teams, in fact, with a four-match winning streak, which, frankly, is what’s keeping them in the loop. Since that streak ended, DC have lost four out of their last six games. Ironically, these figures are the same for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), whom DC will play in their next game. They, too, have won only two of their recent six. But DC would not want their hard-earned wins going down the drain just because they lost the plot in the middle of…

Karachi Kings (KK) and Lahore Qalandars (LQ) share a rivalry that has stayed intense, even when one or both teams weren’t at their best. The banter between the two cities was what always added fuel to the rivalry. However, this season, both teams are sharp enough to finally bring cricket into the equation. Currently placed in second and third positions, both sides have identically won four games and lost three, with Lahore slightly ahead thanks to a washout that gave them an extra point. Both sides have religiously avoided consistency, but Karachi have been more mercurial of the two, alternating…

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are sitting at the bottom of the top four, but their current form is such that they shouldn’t worry about dropping out of the safe zone. Like most of the teams, they haven’t seen much of a home advantage, having won two and lost as many at their home ground in Mullanpur. For the last stretch, they move to their second home in Dharamsala. But if they expect home woes to stop tailing them at the new venue, they need to have a look at their stats. The last time they won a game at the venue…