The Dugout: Deep Dives, Player Analysis, and The Latest Cricket Stories

The BCCI has issued an eight-page directive covering unauthorized hotel access, owner-player interaction during live matches, and vaping in team environments. All ten franchises received strict instructions. The advisory doesn’t treat these as separate issues. It treats them as connected symptoms of the same problem: franchise cricket operating at a massive commercial scale without consistently […]

Sahibzada Farhan and BKG Mendis both finished on 23 sixes, making them the joint leaders of the tournament’s boundary-hitting charts. Usman Khan sat one behind on 22. Steve Smith surprised with 18, and Maaz Sadaqat’s 16 arrived at the highest strike rate in the group. These five batters didn’t just hit sixes. They hit them […]

Two teams with genuine top-of-the-table ambitions arrive at this fixture carrying the same structural problem from opposite ends. Sunrisers Hyderabad have fixed their bowling, and their batting was never the concern. Punjab Kings keep posting massive totals and keep losing matches because their bowling can’t protect them. This contest doesn’t hinge on which team scores […]

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has scored 404 runs from 10 matches at a strike rate above 230 for the Rajasthan Royals. Those numbers belong in the conversation about the most destructive T20 batters in the country. They don’t automatically belong in India’s squad announcement. The gap between what he’s doing in the Indian Premier League and what […]

Rohit Sharma scored 1,234 runs from 41 IPL opener innings at an average of 34.27 for the Mumbai Indians. Sanju Samson has scored 1,185 across the same sample at 32.02 with a strike rate of 146.29 compared to Rohit’s 131.69. Two centuries for Chennai Super Kings this season against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians changed […]

Tata’s tournament crossed 1.06 billion cumulative screens across digital and linear television this season. The average match reached 277 million. Connected TV growth accelerated so sharply that a single match matched the total Connected TV reach from the entire previous edition. These aren’t incremental improvements. They represent a broadcasting transformation that has moved faster than […]

Australia’s core group is settled. The debates sitting around the edges of that core will determine whether they arrive in England and Wales with the right tactical balance or the right names. Grace Harris, Alana King, and Lucy Hamilton represent three completely different answers to the same question: what does this squad need most when […]

A social activist has threatened legal action against the Rajasthan Royals, claiming a 15-year-old should not be participating in a high-pressure professional league under child labour regulations. The complaint emerged while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was producing some of the tournament’s most explosive batting performances. His talent triggered the spotlight. The spotlight triggered the controversy. What the […]

Eight franchises are making their offseason decisions now, and the gap between teams with a clear plan and teams still working one out is already visible. Perth Scorchers retained their championship core and remain the early benchmark. Sydney Sixers moved fastest in recruitment. Hobart Hurricanes enter with settled roles across every position. Brisbane Heat, Melbourne […]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru arrive as the more balanced and consistent side. Lucknow Super Giants have struggled to produce the complete performances their squad depth suggests they’re capable of. On any other ground, this fixture would carry a clear favourite. At Ekana, where totals of 155 to 165 have proven competitive this season and disciplined bowling […]

Kolkata Knight Riders arrive with three consecutive wins and the most disciplined spin attack in the tournament. Delhi Capitals arrive having lost four of their last five, with a middle order that keeps changing shape between matches and keeps producing the same result when quality bowling finds it. Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy don’t need […]