'There is a vast difference in pedigree of Virat and Akmal.'
Rediff.com's Manu Shankar spoke with former Essex player and fast bowling coach Ian Pont to assess England's disastrous start in the ICC's 50-over-a-side extravaganza.
'Binny's slot could go to a spinning all-rounder in Nagpur. It could be either Rohit or Mann.'
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com lists five matches you can't afford to miss out at the ICC's marquee event.
India's pace spearhead Mohammed Shami feels a certain degree of comfort playing under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. India's captain, he says, is never "demanding" and his backing has made the transformation from domestic to international cricket pretty smooth.
'I bring a lot of variety to any team I play for. I keep wickets, I field pretty well and I can bat up and down the order. I think I bring about a certain kind of advantage if I am utilised in the right manner.'
'From the beginning (I have told her) "Whatever it may be -- you are losing or winning -- on the ground you're not going to cry!" She never cried.' '"I don't want you to project that you are a loser. You are a winner".' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com speaks to Leela Raj about her famous daughter, now in the West Indies for the women's T20 World Cup.
- 'Always strong at the psychological game, the Aussies put the pressure on the opponents, knew how to handle the pressure themselves and exploited virtually every situation to their advantage' - 'They are firmly and categorically told never to allow success to go to their heads. You don't find Australian cricketers getting even a little complacent'
Images from the ICC World Cup quarter-finals played between India and Bangladesh at the MCG on Thursday.
Conceding that South Africa's teams haven't really fulfilled their potential in World Cups, captain Faf du Plessis said the Proteas need to win the upcoming ICC World T20 to shed the tag of 'chokers' which is haunting them for quite a while now.
Jason Holder and Ravichandran Ashwin weigh in on the Powerplay rules ahead of the World Cup match between the West Indies and India.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com explains why skipper Virat Kohli is backing his opening batsman to carry on the good form in the next two Tests of the series.
Cricket is a team sport, but there are instances where an individual performance outdid all. Such efforts, coincidentally, occur at critical junctures, and turn the outcome of the game on its head. Rediff.com takes a look at few such one-man shows at the World Cup.
Rediff.com takes a look at few of Virender Sehwag's best knocks.
'There were a lot of offers, but I wanted to be with a party that is working for the people and making them happy, not just by words, but also by action.'
With an impeccable tally of 2,633 runs across formats this year, Kane Williamson, says Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com, is right up there among the pantheon of modern great greats.
The former opening batsman picked India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand as the four semi-finalists in the upcoming tournament Down Under.
'The present crop struggles overseas because they are not accustomed to getting wickets with patience and perseverance.' 'I don't know how they will survive when the track is not turning.'
Injuries of varying proportions have occurred on the cricket field, some fatal while others life altering. Rediff.com gives you a lowdown of 10 most critical injuries in cricket.
India's Team Director Ravi Shastri believes that the ODI tri-series we played prior to the World Cup was a sheer waste of time and energy
South Africa coach Russell Domingo says India have a seriously good batting line-up and it's not the Proteas' style to target one individual player.
Only the Board of Control for Cricket in India, says Haresh Pandya, could have thought of inviting a team like the West Indies to provide practice to the Indian cricketers before they embark on a difficult tour of Australia for a four-Test series later this year.
'I just need to go back and bat at my old position at No 3.' 'In the IPL, captaincy is just for namesake. You just need to go out there and play well.' Suresh Raina tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about the challenges that lie ahead as he leads the Gujarat Lions and how much he will miss his beloved Chennai Super Kings and under his favourite skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Steve Smith scored a brilliant century to help Australia knock out defending champions India and set up a mouth-watering final against neighbours New Zealand, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on Thursday.
As Virender Sehwag called time on his international career, Harbhajan Singh recalls the memories of playing alongside the swashbuckling right-hander, whom he met a long time ago during the Under-16 days and has been good friends since then.
'When I was in Shrirampur I thought I would make it to the Indian team. There were a series of events that happened, and even if one link was missing, I don't think I would be here.'
'Team India's strategy -- rather the lack of it -- boomeranged in the game against New Zealand. It's because of the T20 generation's lack of patience to counter spin,' feels Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson believes India, with several match winners in their squad and the advantage of playing in home conditions, are definitely one the favourites at the World T20.
On Thursday morning, the world woke up to the news of the death of iconic New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe. A teenage prodigy, who went on to carve an illustrious career with his superlative batting and smart captaincy, lost his three-year long battle against cancer at the age of 53. Unfortunately, Crowe is among a few famous cricketers who battled to beat cancer but didn't survive the fight.
Former India spinner Murali Kartik assesses the spinning scene in IPL9.
Sachin Tendulkar broke every possible cricket record during his playing days, but the only blot in his long and illustrious career was his failure as India captain. He had two stints of captaincy, in 1996 and 1999, but on both occasions was forced to give it up after the team fared poorly under his leadership. The batting icon reveals that the real reason behind giving up the captaincy was because it started to affect his personal life.
Ravichandran Ashwin loves a good fight and that's the reason he is more excited than intimidated at the prospect of challenging the ever aggressive Chris Gayle against the West Indies in their cricket World Cup match in Perth on Friday.
Rahane's game is a judicious mix of caution and aggression, which enables him to adjust splendidly to any situation, says Haresh Pandya.
After four centuries on the trot with a strike rate of nearly 120, Sri Lanka's run machine Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI: 686) has raced to the top of the most valuable player standing at the ICC World Cup.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
There was a lot of buzz about the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch for the high-octane India versus Australia semi-final on Thursday.
Dhoni praised every aspect of Ashwin's performance.
'I would have loved to win a 50-over World Cup. We had two chances, but we didn't convert them.' 'There are regrets, but not regrets that I will be thinking about for years and years.'
Prem Panicker, a keen follower of the game and one of cricket's finest writers, analysed, debated and dissected the four semi-finalists on the Rediff World Cup Chat on Monday.
