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

Royal Challengers Bengaluru open their IPL campaign on March 28 against SunRisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the same venue where they finished IPL 2025 with nine wins from 14 matches. Their next confirmed fixture is against Chennai Super Kings on April 5, followed by Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on April 10 and Mumbai Indians […]

David Warner walks into PSL as a captain with runs, experience, and a settled squad around him. Ashton Turner walks in with a completely reshaped Multan Sultans side, Steve Smith as his most credible senior presence, and a bowling attack that does not yet have an answer to the question every T20 captain dreads: who […]

Mumbai Indians open at Wankhede on March 29 against Kolkata Knight Riders at 7:30 PM IST. Their next fixture takes them to Delhi to face the Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Then Guwahati for Rajasthan Royals at Barsapara Cricket Stadium. Then back to Wankhede for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Four matches, three venues, two away […]

Mitchell Starc is not missing Delhi Capitals’ early fixtures because something went wrong. He is missing because Cricket Australia planned it this way, and franchise cricket lost the argument. After the Ashes cycle and a packed red-ball schedule, Starc is being preserved for international commitments that Cricket Australia has prioritised above IPL availability. Delhi knew […]

Lucknow Super Giants walked into this season’s auction with a bowling plan built around Wanindu Hasaranga. Then his hamstring went. Now, Anrich Nortje, the alternative, carries availability questions of his own after limited exposure last season. Two overseas bowling options, both compromised before a ball is bowled. What LSG does next, how they structure their […]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have produced some of the most entertaining cricket the IPL has seen without winning the title as often as their talent warranted. The question this exercise asks is simple: if you built an XI from every player who ever wore that jersey, selecting on role clarity and tactical fit rather than pure […]

Irfan Pathan did not hedge when he talked about Mayank Markande. His assessment was direct: if Markande performs, the Mumbai Indians have no real bowling weakness worth worrying about. That is not a casual comment from a former cricketer doing television rounds. It is a specific claim about a specific structural problem that MI have […]

The most revealing moment in Pope’s entire Ashes 2026 story was not a dismissal. It was the press conference after his omission. He sat down, answered the questions, and told the room that England made the right call. No deflection, no grievance, no suggestion that conditions or selection timing were unfair. Just a direct acknowledgement […]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Sunrisers Hyderabad all walk into this season carrying problems that were not part of their auction planning. Josh Hazlewood is unavailable for the opening phase. Harshit Rana is likely ruled out entirely. Pat Cummins has handed the SRH captaincy to Ishan Kishan while he recovers. Three of the […]

Indian women have spent years searching for a seam bowler who can take wickets in overseas conditions without relying on the pitch to do the work for her. The WACA Test gave them that answer. On debut in Perth, under pink ball conditions at twilight, on one of the most demanding surfaces in women’s Test […]

Shubman Gill scored 2,449 runs for the Gujarat Titans at an average of 46.20. Sai Sudharsan scored 1,793 runs at 49.80. David Miller averaged 68.71 in GT’s 2022 title-winning campaign. Hardik Pandya contributed 11 wickets and six IPL half-centuries during his GT years. Rahul Tewatia has a career strike rate of 150.76 with GT. Rashid […]