The instant stardom associated with impressive performances in the Indian Premier League has not changed Rashid Khan's ultimate cricketing dream -- to bowl lethal googlies to the best in the world while donning Afghanistan whites.
"(The loss) Just shows we can make mistakes as well. We lost two games in a row. If we pick up momentum and win the next three, then you will be asking how is the championship feeling," he retorted when asked how back-to-back losses could affect the team going into the play-offs.
Australia's limited-overs skipper and Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Aaron Finch says there will be lots of games played over and over on the same wickets, which will get slower and the dew factor will become even more.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming is not only ruing the absence of Brendon McCullum from the batting line-up for Indian Premier League qualifier but also the fact that Tuesday's match is an away game for them.
K L Rahul, the kingpin of the KXIP batting, is second (MVPI: 601), followed by Sunrisers Captain Kane Williamson (543). Jos Buttler, after his match-winning batting for Rajasthan Royals on Friday night, is just 4 'runs' behind at 539, and M S Dhoni is fifth with 538 'runs'.
Hit by scams in recent times, the IPL is yet to prove a good business move for its franchisees.
ujarat Lions face the challenging task of gathering themselves and bounce back when they square off against the consistent Kolkata Knight Riders.
While KKR suffered their heaviest defeat of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game, Pune looked to have found their mojo in the business end of the tournament having registered consecutive wins in their last two matches.
Skipper Dinesh Karthik will face a big test when a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with a resurgent Delhi Daredevils, led by double title winning former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, in a much-anticipated IPL clash, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Images from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
With it's scandalous past, still fresh in the minds of fans and critics alike, the Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers will look to ensure that the focus remains firmly on cricket when the cash-rich event gets underway with a glamorous opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Let's looks at 10 former India players, who missed the IPL but had they been active today, they could have forced the Ambanis and the Shah Rukh Khans to loosen their purse strings a tad more.
The likes of Virat Kohli, David Warner will be aiming to silence their critics, while KKR's Shreyas Iyer and Lucknow Super Giants' K L Rahul will be looking to prove themselves after being the handed captaincy of their respective franchises.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
A clutch of Indian stars led by India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli are either sidelined or ruled out of this edition of the tournament, lessening the wow factor of the IPL.
The eight IPL franchises will submit their 'Player Retention Lists' on Friday, January 10. A look at the players likely to be retained.
None of three India fast bowlers -- Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami -- which makes it a bit easy for coach Stephen Fleming to sort his combinations.
The BCCI has set a salary cap of Rs 90 crore for 10 IPL franchises, including the two new entrants, for the next season and allowed a maximum of four retentions for the eight established teams.
On the other hand, the Royals have managed to win only one of their three fixtures. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in their previous match to slip down to the sixth spot. Sanju Samson and his men will be eyeing a second win.
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, in Dubai.
As Team India begins its campaign in the Champions Trophy, many await the outcome of the Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble tangle.
As in all successful comebacks, strong leadership will be key for the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals.
Mumbai Indians scored a 15-run victory over Delhi Daredevils in a must-win match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Friday, to stay in the hunt for a play-off berth in the Indian Premier League. They squandered an electrifying start from openers Michael Hussey and Lendl Simmons, losing their last eight wickets for 33 runs before being dismissed for 173 runs in 19.3 overs, but did well to restrict Delhi to just 158.
The Suresh Raina-led side suffered consecutive defeats against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders and title holder Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening two matches.
It will not be the first time that the competition has had to be held outside India.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders take on Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne stadium, in Mumbai, on Saturday, in a perform-or-perish contest, as the race for play-off berths in IPL 8 hots up.
Dhoni has to ponder over both the batting and bowling departments of his team.
Mumbai Indians have a 10-5 record against KKR. Can they maintain the advantage?
Supremely confident on home turf, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue their forward march when they face an inconsistent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata on Thursday.
On a roll after back-to-back wins, the vintage Chennai Super Kings would look to extend their winning run when they clash with struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in their next IPL match in Mumbai on Wednesday.
'All the venues are high-scoring venues. So what you need is pace.' 'You really want someone to come there and control the flow of runs in the death overs, whether you are setting a target or setting a target.' 'It is going to be the fast bowlers because at how many venues have you seen spinners bowling the death overs?'
Powered by in-form, inspirational leader in Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to inch closer to a maiden Indian Premier League title triumph when they take on table-toppers Gujarat Lions in the Qualifier I, in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Delhi Daredevils defeated fancied Rising Pune Supergiant by seven runs in New Delhi on Friday, making it tougher for the visitors in their quest to make it to the play-offs, in the Indian Premier League.
Rishabh Pant of the Delhi Daredevils, with a most valuable player index of 897, is the most valuable player of IPL 11.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers continued their sparkling show with the bat to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a commanding nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders and keep their play-off hopes alive in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Monday.
With Cricket Australia repeatedly stressing on the "unrealistic" challenge of hosting the 16-team T20 World Cup in October-November, the likelihood of having the IPL has increased significantly in a year thrown haywire by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ICC recently pushed its final decision on the T20 World Cup to next month but the BCCI has already zeroed in on the September-October window for the tournament.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings after the league phase in IPL 10.
'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.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances