He has already won a few Man-of-the Match awards for his superlative performance with the ball in the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League and experienced campaigner Ashish Nehra says it is difficult for a fast bowler to regularly emerge as the top performer in one season.
West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo credits the Indian Premier League for shaping the careers of India's players. He insists that the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament is the route to international success.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting on Monday backed Rahul Dravid as one of the best candidates to coach the Indian cricket team.
Replacing Gautam Gambhir as the skipper, young Shreyas Iyer Iyer led from the front with the bat, smashing a brilliant 93 from 40 balls to propel Delhi to a massive 219 for four in their 20 overs.
Rediff.com takes a look at the youngsters who impressed during the course of the eighth edition of the cash-rich Twenty20 extravaganza.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look to assert their supremacy, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on mind when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator in New Delhi on Wednesday. Both Sunrisers and KKR finished their league engagements on 16 points each but the Gautam Gambhir-led side ended fourth behind Sunrisers due to inferior net run rate. But going into the do-or-die game, KKR have psychological advantage over the Sunrisers having beaten them on both the occasions during the league stage. KKR thrashed Sunrisres by eight wickets in their first meeting this season and came out victorious by 22 runs in a must-win match last Sunday to qualify for the play-offs.
Eyeing their first win of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad would be looking to put up an improved show in their home ground where they lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders, who would also be keen to get back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League.
A charged up Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on their minds when they face an in-form Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, in Hyderabad, on Thursday.
Hit by scams in recent times, the IPL is yet to prove a good business move for its franchisees.
Gautam, a former Karnataka wicketkeeper-batsman, was earlier on Thursday arrested by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch along with Abrar Kazi for allegedly accepting money to spot-fix in the scandal-ridden Karnataka Premier League (KPL).
Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the play-off when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL clash in Mohali on Sunday. Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an all-round performance on Sunday. What has made this game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, which has struggled through the tournament, has suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way. The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam on Friday night.
Punjab are lying at the bottom of the table with only one win from six matches, while the in-form Lions are the top of the IPL standings with six wins from seven matches.
The International Cricket Council confirmed on Friday that following remedial work and retest, the bowling action of the West Indies' Sunil Narine has been found to be legal, and the off-spinner can now resume bowling in both international cricket and domestic cricket events worldwide.
Former U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand is set to become the first Indian cricketer to play in Australia's Big Bash League after he signed for Melbourne Renegades for the 2021-2022 season.
Rising Pune Supergiants all-rounder Rajat Bhatia has said no side can do much if the players get injured but it gives chance to other players to showcase their talent.
Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to consolidate their gains when they take on beleaguered Kings XI Punjab .
The Lions from South Africa will look ride on the performance of their captain Alviro Petersen to guide them to a better finish.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is focused on making good use of the one-month break post the Indian Premier League to sharpen his skill sets at the National Cricket Academy under Narendra Hirwani before embarking on India's challenging tour of the United Kingdom.
The Ethics Officer has ruled that the former India players have to choose between CAC, IPL jobs
Opener Ambati Raydu scored his maiden century in the Indian Premier League as Chennai Super Kings coasted to an easy eight-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad to virtually seal a play-offs berth, in Pune, on Sunday.
De Villiers was set to lead the side in Kohli's absence but the South African was ruled out of the team's opening game of the season on Wednesday.
Buoyed by their thrilling last-ball win against Delhi Daredevils, a confident Rajasthan Royals will take on a beleaguered Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League cricket encounter in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Sandhu is excited at the prospect of playing alongside Zaheer Khan.
Lungi Ngidi bowled the most economical figures of this season's IPL to uproot Punjab's innings.
Sunrisers Hyderabad unit would look to consolidate its position at the top of the points table
Rajneesh Gupta's fascinating look at the routes RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad took to the IPL 9 final.
Gambhir, one of the most successful batsmen for India, has been out of favour with the national team for a while now after a dip in form and last played a Test back in 2016 against England.
Surprised at the call up, Kolkata Knight Riders' South African recruit Johan Botha, who was brought in as replacement for injured Aussie Chris Lynn, said he's fresh after a three-week break and ready for the rigours of IPL-8.
He will join his former Proteas team mate and close friend Jacques Kallis who is the head coach of the two-time Indian Premier League champions.
A timely 52 not out off 29 balls in Royal Challengers Bangalore's easy win over Delhi Daredevils should erase the disappointment of failing to fire in the World T20 final against Sri Lanka.
'The impact Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, Mayank Markande, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar had on the IPL not only won hearts, but also the approval of the selectors,' says Ayaz Memon.
'We knew these youngsters could turn out to be match-winners and we waited patiently for the last three years because success doesn't come overnight, it takes time.'
Former India and Bengal pacer Ashoke Dinda on Tuesday announced his retirement from all formats of cricket, bringing the curtains down on a career spanning one and a half decade.
Ricky Ponting, on Sunday, heaped praise on the Indian players, especially Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer
The Delhi Daredevils team management, comprising of skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Gary Kirsten, will have some selection dilemma ahead of the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), if Ross Taylor is to be believed.
Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has praised Moises Henriques.
Mumbai Indians' all-rounder Krunal Pandya is a big fan of swashbuckling cricketer Yuvraj Singh and idolises the Punjab all-rounder who is playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad this IPL season.
Nothing but a win will keep their play-off hopes alive as defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Gujarat Lions in a do-or-die battle, which will be their final IPL league match in Kanpur on Saturday. With seven wins in 13 matches, Mumbai are currently placed fifth, tied on 14 points with Royal Challengers Bangalore (3rd) and Kolkata Knight Riders (4th) -- both having better net run-rate with one match to go. A loss on Saturday will knock them out of the race for play-offs and Mumbai will hope to pull the rug from under the feet of the Lions this time after suffering a defeat during their home leg on April 16.
The eight IPL franchises will submit their 'Player Retention Lists' on Friday, January 10. A look at the players likely to be retained.
Dhoni has turned back the clock with his last three innings, two of them half centuries, adding to the fine run of imposing all-rounder Shane Watson.
