Much like Dhoni, Pant is an aggressive ball-belter who keeps wickets. But he will require enormous work on his keeping if he is to reach anywhere close to Dhoni's absurdly high standards, notes Dhruv Munjal.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after game 47 of IPL 10.
'I'm prepared for any kind of Bangalore wicket' 'South African teams are known for bouncing back and their resilience. I'm expecting the boys to be very upbeat for the second Test match'
Sukanya Verma discovers what she loves about Anushka Sharma's 'spirit' on more than one occasion in her super-filmi week.
'It remains to be seen how much Prithvi Shaw's warriors go on to accomplish, but letting all the adulation go to their heads is the last thing you can expect.' 'Throughout its dominant streak in New Zealand, the Under-19 team played in the personality of its coach, Rahul Dravid.' 'Now, only if they can kick on and become as good as him.'
David Warner's blazing century sent him on top of Rediff.com's MVP table, with KKR's wicketkeeper-batsman Robin Uthappa not that far behind.
Every day at 9 am, five 20-somethings who live in a 4-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru have a session with their physical trainer. After a workout, they spend the next 8 to 10 hours in their spacious living room, headphones in place and computer screens in front of them. Their salaried job: To play video games for the rest of the day.
'This little incident might seem trivial to most people. But when such things happen in the BCCI's own backyard...'
'All businesses have to be run for business, for profits on a sustainable basis. It may sound old school, but then I have been in business for 32 years and you can't change an old tiger's stripes.'
He was blessed with celestial ability, a once-in-a-generation player destined to pull India out of its hockey inertia and lay down for it a new, exciting, path of greatness. Then he was shot and unsure if he would walk, let alone play hockey again. Dhruv Munjal hopes Soorma, the biopic on Sandeep Singh's life, will bring him back where he belongs -- in the spotlight.
'For all practical purposes, the game ended at the break. The Irish bowlers had neither the pace nor the skill to compete against the Indian line-up; the lack of swing further blunted any edge they could have brought to the contest.'
With the threat of Twenty20 cricket eating into the share of the five-day formats, former India middle order batsman VVS Laxman said that it's high time that they bring in new innovation like introduction of day/night matches to sustain the legacy of Test cricket.
They dampened the local spirits by knocking out India but a resurrected West Indies cricket team will bring its own brand of joie-de-vivre to the ICC World Twenty20 summit clash when they take on a transformed England in what promises to be a battle of power-hitting at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Donald Trump, Hardik Patel, Kangana Ranuat... The year 2017 wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for these personalities and many more. As we herald in 2018, here's a look at the faces and stories which left an indelible mark on us.
Yuvraj has switched focus to business.
'If fame, money and comfort are the only factors that drive us, then we are playing cricket for entirely the wrong reasons.'
For his 60th birthday in December, which he called his third 20th birthday, Mallya flew in Enrique Iglesias to perform at his villa overlooking the beach in Goa.
'Probably because he was aware that this was his 100th ODI. Or probably because, in the first of its knock-out games, his team had produced the sort of all-round display that induces smiles.'
When minnows Jammu and Kashmir defeated 40-times Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai on Wednesday, it was perhaps the biggest-ever shock victory in domestic Indian cricket. Rediff.com's Vaihayasi P Daniel and Sonil Dedhia spent time with the J&K team after their stunning triumph to discover the inspiring story of how these fine cricketers turned adversity into advantage.
'Of the 32 captains who have led India in Test cricket, only four have been pure bowlers -- Ghulam Ahmed, Venkatraghavan, Bishan Bedi and myself.' 'The captain must lead with only one idea in mind -- to win the game. The draw mentality is partly because captains lacked confidence and partly because they want to protect their record. If you don't think winning is the point of the game, there is little point in even entering the field.' 'As the Monekygate controversy raged, I received a message from Bishen Bedi, no stranger to controversies himself. "As a captain," he wrote, "take a decision you will be proud of when you look back on history".' Anil Kumble, cricketing legend, on the Art of Captaincy.
The full text of the speech delivered by VVS Laxman at the Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata.
'Put cricket, first and foremost, at the centre of every decision you take.' 'The bottom line must always be the sport that we love.' Rahul Dravid as eloquent as always in his M A K Pataudi Memorial Lecture.