A recap of the action of the fifth week of IPL 2026.
'What you see with Hardik Pandya as a captain is a sense of comfort with the rest of the team.'
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy justified his selection with a five-wicket haul and bowled India to a 44-run victory against New Zealand.
After winning their fifth IPL title in 2020, Mumbai twice crashed out in the league stages in two successive seasons in 2021 and 2022, while they made it to the play-offs last year, but lost in the Qualifier 2 match to the Pandya-led Gujaraat Titans.
'It was a lot of hard work. We had to clear our minds and make sure that we believed.'
However, their third choice Ishan Kishan didn't work out and they have now zeroed in on Gill, who could also be seen as a potential captaincy candidate.
'Shardul Thakur isn't as good as Hardik Pandya. I don't believe he is an all-rounder'
A recap of the action of the eighth week of IPL 2026.
An emotional Natasa joined Hardik after the match to celebrate the historic moment as the Gujarat Titans became only the second team to win the IPL title in their first season.
Spin stalwart Ravichandran Ashwin feels that if all-rounder Hardik Pandya is made the Mumbai Indians skipper, Rohit Sharma will "handle it with grace" as the Team India captain "does not have much ego".
'...You see someone like Ben Stokes, what he does for England, brings in great balance as an all-rounder. I see no reason why Hardik Pandya can't become that for India'
Former Australia player Tom Moody believes India need to be flexible with their batting order in white ball cricket.
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer who have often been overlooked in the T20 format, will captain Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings respectively with both eager to make a statement.
Hardik Pandya branded the newly-constructed stadium 'unreal' while retweeting BCCI's original tweet.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav made optimal use of available resources in both departments as India did enough to beat a spirited Oman by 21 runs to end their league stage commitments in Asia Cup with a hat-trick of victories.
On Sunday, in the crucible of Dubai, it all comes down to a single question: Who will seize their moment and become a hero for a nation?
The Gujarat Titans captain registered match-turning figures of 3/17 to help his team outclass the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
By posing with folks at the baby store, the soon-to-be-daddy and the just-become-daddy inadvertently breached Cricket Australia's biosecurity norms, an official told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.
Hardik was inspirational with both bat and in the field and there was no one more worthy of being the top performer of the game.
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar hailed Sanju Samson after his match-winning knock powered India to a five-wicket victory in the must-win match against West Indies in the T20 World Cup.
Walking in with the run rate climbing, Shivam Dube launched a stunning counterattack that briefly swung the momentum in India's favour.
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was on Wednesday stretchered off the field during the Asia Cup group league encounter against Pakistan after sustaining a back injury.
Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson have been recalled to the squad while seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been included in the squad.
Captain Hardik Pandya led from the front with both bat and ball to guide Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season, after they beat by seven wickets in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Senior batter Rohit Sharma missed out Mumbai Indians' match against Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League in Lucknow on Friday after he was hit on the knee during a nets session, according to captain Hardik Pandya.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2026 after Game 48.
India will still be without injured vice-captain Hardik Pandya for Thursday's World Cup match against Sri Lanka.
Australian star batter Steve Smith has advised Hardik Pandya to simply "block out" the constant jeers and boos the new Mumbai Indians skipper is receiving from spectators at the IPL so far, as they are "all irrelevant".
The India all-rounder is expected to be out of action for five months.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya said it was important to stay disciplined and humble following their sixth victory in a row.
The Indian team's troubles on Sunday were compounded after all-rounder-turned-specialist batter Hardik Pandya injured his shoulder while batting during the T20 World Cup game against Pakistan, after which he did not come out to field.
The WAG's various avatars as she cheers hubby Hardik Pandya.
'My message to all the young guns who are joining Mumbai Indians this year is that if you are here, you have that spark, you have that talent, which the scouts have seen.'
Hardik Pandya could take over as India vice-captain in place of KL Rahul, who missed the ongoing five-match T20I series against West Indies after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Gujarat Titans were busy practising for IPL 2022 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
'Hardik is also a part of leading group. When we sit, we decide what we want to do in the game going forward and also on the field. He is always around. It's like we have a lot of captains on the ground.'
Mumbai Indians' head coach Mahela Jayawardene praises Rohit Sharma's improved fitness and commitment ahead of IPL 2026, while also highlighting Suryakumar Yadav's leadership and Jasprit Bumrah's work ethic.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2026 after Game 52.
Rohit Sharma offered a hilarious piece of advice to spinner Kuldeep Yadav ahead of the T20 World Cup this year from February 7.
A shortened game will be like a sprint where the risk element will be high. Who will win when emotion meets execution remains to be seen. K R Nayar reports from Colombo.
