So 52 games have already been played in the Indian Premier League this season. Here are the Most Valuable players and some random observations by Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle.
impressed all and sundry by scoring 160 runs at an average of 40.
India skipper Virat Kohli and his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni are among the top players who are set to be retained by their respective IPL franchises, Royal Challengers Bangalore and comeback outfit Chennai Super Kings respectively.
Former India captain Rajasthan Royals mentor Rahul Dravid said that the franchise had put in place systems to prevent a repeat of the 2013 fixing scandal, but the players too need to remain on their guard to avoid any kind of shady approaches.
The 13th edition of the IPL will have added significance as 2020 is also a T20 World Cup year.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar dismissed talk of the cash-rich Indian Premier League being the reason behind Champions League T20 being scrapped, saying "there's no connection" between the two events.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Chahal, who has been an automatic choice in the limited overs format has not played any first-class cricket since December 2016 (against Haryana in Ranji Trophy), but the Indian team management and especially skipper Virat Kohli has indicated that he wants the wiry leg-spinner for five-day matches also.
Indian cricket's fortunes ebbed and flowed in 2015 with Virat Kohli successfully leading the national side in Tests and Mahendra Singh Dhoni appearing to be losing his midas touch, while in off the field drama Shashank Manohar returned as the president of Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Former India skipper Rahul Dravid says the Justice Lodha committee's decision to ban Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the Indian Premier League for two years will affect the young players, but the verdict of the Supreme Court-appointed panel must be respected.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.