File image of Shubman Gill.© AFP

Young India all-rounder Sai Kishore is currently eyeing a comeback after recovering from a neck injury. The Tamil Nadu-based all-rounder, who plays for Gujarat Titans, grabbed everyone’s attention with his match-winning spell against Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. Kishore registered brilliant figures of 4/33 against PBKS and also bagged the Player of the Match award. However, when he was enjoying his success at the IPL, he went for a game of golf and picked up a neck injury, which resulted him in leaving the tournament midway.

After leaving the IPL, Kishore went to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and worked on his rehabilitation. Earlier in July, the all-rounder made a comeback in the Tamil Nadu Premier League for Tiruppur Tamizhans.

“We use the neck for everything. If you have to walk, or sleep, that was the challenge. I think a lot of people helped me. The GT physio, I was in so much pain I called Thulasi Anna (Thulasi Ram Yuvaraj, physio at the NCA), the people in NCA, trainer Harsha… In TNPL also people helped, my personal masseur.. hard to single out. More than anyone, my wife helped me so much. I was not able to move or sit. Every two hours, I used to keep alarms just to wake up and walk. I was in so much pain,” The New Indian Express quoted Kishore as saying.

“I was very grateful to be back. Honestly, to get back to normal life only was an achievement, cricket was a bonus. When I came in, I knew I couldn’t do it (bowl as much). I accepted that but I wanted to take the challenge. Mind was there, but the body was not fully there. So I had to make others do the job,” he added.

The Gujarat Titans all-rounder further showed a lot of self-confidence and called himself “one of the best spinners” in India. He even expressed his desire to play alongside Ravindra Jadeja in Test cricket.

“I feel I am one of the best spinners in the country. Put me in a Test match, I am ready. So, I am not worried too much. Jadeja is there, I have never played alongside him,” said Kishore.

“I have been with him in CSK, but never played together in red-ball format. So, it will be a good learning experience in terms of what he does. In saying that, I feel confident. So, I am ready more than ever,” he added.

Sai Kishore has been called up in the Duleep Trophy and has featured in three T20Is at the Asian Games.

Hardik Pandya (left) and Mohammed Shami.© X (formerly Twitter)

Hardik Pandya being celebrated after T20 World Cup 2024 win.© Instagram

Veteran Indian spinner Amit Mishra touched upon some of the most controversial topics in Indian cricket during a chat on a podcast. While speaking of the KL Rahul-Sanjeev Goenka incident to the Virat Kohli–Gautam Gambhir row, Mishra shed light on some highly talked-about topics in the sport. He also shared his views on Shubman Gill‘s elevation as India skipper, for the recently-concluded T20I series against Zimbabwe, saying he doesn’t feel the opening batter should’ve been given the responsibility. For Mishra, Ruturaj Gaikwad remains a better option in all aspects, even as a batter.

During a chat on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast on YouTube, Mishra had no hesitation in suggesting that he wouldn’t have made Gill India’s T20 captain for the Zimbabwe series. The veteran spinner admitted that the decision was a surprising one.

“Mai Shubman ko captain nahi banaunga, kyonki maine usey IPL me dekha, he doesn’t know ki captaincy kaise karna hai, uske paas captaincy ka idea hi nahi hai. (I would not have made him the captain. You saw the IPL this season, Gill doesn’t know how to captain the side, he is clueless),” he said on the show.

“Just because he is a part of the Indian team, he shouldn’t be made the captain. Gill has done well in the IPL over the last few seasons, he did fine in the Indian team as well. The Indian team made him the captain as they want to give him the leadership experience, which wasn’t visible when he led Gujarat Titans in IPL,” he added.

Amit Mishra said, “I’ve seen him (Shubman Gill) in the IPL, and he doesn’t know how to do captaincy. He has no idea about captaincy. Why they made him captain is a question. Just because he’s in the Indian team doesn’t mean he should be made captain.”

pic.twitter.com/7D9nf9aSpe

— (@SergioCSKK) July 15, 2024

Speaking of the captaincy options in the shortest format, Mishra cited the names of Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, and Ruturaj Gaikwad as some of the other options. While Gaikwad was a part of the Zimbabwe T20Is series since the beginning, Samson joined the team in the second match.

“There’s Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad who can lead India in T20Is. Right now, the BCCI is only looking to assess all option,” he said on being asked about the reason behind Gill’s elevation to the leadership role.

Everyone Favours Someone

“Everyone has some liking”, Mishra said on being asked if Rahul Dravid‘s ‘favouritism’ got him India captaincy. “I am not a Shubman Gill hater, I also like him. But, I feel Ruturaj is a better option because he has scored runs in tougher situations, be it for Chennai Super Kings or during the Asian Games. He is a good option, should be kept with the team, the way Yashasvi Jaiswal was with the Indian side at the T20 World Cup.”

“He is someone who can deliver in T20Is, ODIs and Tests. The most important thing is, who brings calmness to the team? He doesn’t play risky shots much. He should hire a good manager (for social media PR),” he further explained.

The IPL 2024 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans got washed out due to heavy rain in Hyderabad on Thursday. This resulted in SRH acquiring the third place and getting qualified for the playoffs. This was GT’s second match in the same week, which got abandoned due to rain. Earlier, their match against Kolkata Knight Riders was called-off due to relentless rain in Ahmedabad. GT, who won the title in 2022 and were the first runners-up in 2023, failed to qualify for the Playoffs this season.

Despite the game getting called-off, GT skipper Shubman Gill shared a hilarious moment with SRH skipper Pat Cummins.

In a video going viral on social media, the match officials were seen informing Gill and Cummins about the match getting abandoned. The duo then hilariously played a rock-paper-scissors game to decide the match winner.

pic.twitter.com/35ERDVpuWl

— Nihari Korma (@NihariVsKorma) May 17, 2024

Gill ended up winning the rock-paper-scissors game and then shared a laughter with Cummins and others.

With SRH’s qualification, there’s only one spot left for the Playoffs, which will be acquired either by Royal Challengers Bengaluru or Chennai Super Kings.

Both RCB and CSK will be facing each other in their last league stage match of IPL 2024 on Saturday at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.

As it happened in SRH vs GT match, the rain threat is also looming large over this fixture as well. RCB’s margin of victory needs to be a solid one too, and if, rain comes down pouring, reducing the length of the match, the scenario will get even more complicated.

In a case where a full 20-over contest is played, RCB would need to win by 18 runs or more, provided they score 200 runs while batting first. In the case of a 5-over contest, RCB would need to restrict CSK to a maximum of 62 runs if they score 80 while batting first.

Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill shared a heartwarming moment with childhood friend and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Abhishek Sharma after their IPL 2024 match was washed out on Thursday. As the rain prevented the players from taking the field, thus allowing SRH to qualify for the playoffs, Gill went to greet Abhishek’s mother, Manju, and sister, Komal, in the stands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Gill kneeled down to touch Abhishek’s mother’s feet before sharing warm smiles and a handshake with Komal.

Gill’s heartwarming gesture for Abhishek’s mother and sister has gone viral on social media.

This

Shubman Abhishek and his family pic.twitter.com/c1YlmJloBY

— Ash (@_ashevor77) May 16, 2024

Gill and Abhishek share a great camaraderie as they grew up together playing age-group cricket in Punjab.

Both made their respective First Class debuts for Punjab during the 2017 season and also went on to play together at the U-19 World Cup in 2018, which India won under the leadership of Prithvi Shaw in New Zealand.

Gill was named ‘Player of the Tournament’ for scoring 372 runs. Since then, Gill and Abhishek have had different career trajectories.

While Gill made his India debut in 2020 before establishing himself as regular member across formats, Abhishek is yet to play for the senior team.

There were talks surrounding Abhishek’s selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup, owing to his brilliant form in IPL 2024, the selectors decided to stick with the players who have already played for India.

In fact, even Gill did not find a place in the 15-man squad as his place at the top was taken by Yashasvi Jaiswal. The GT skipper, however, is one of the four reserve players who will travel to the Americas with the rest of the squad.

Meanwhile, the washout on Thursday saw both teams taking a point each, which pushed SRH to third  in the table with 15 points. 

GT had been knocked out of the play-off race earlier this week after their game against Kolkata Knight Riders was also abandoned due to rain.

The weather in Hyderabad on Thursday left thousands of fans disappointed at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.

The game was finally called off more than two and a half hours after the scheduled start. 

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings, who are fourth, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru lead the hunt for the final play-off spot.

(With AFP Inputs)

Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill, right, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins, left, walk after their IPL match was abandoned in Hyderabad on May 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 16 qualified for the Indian Premier League playoffs after rain washed out their IPL match against Gujarat Titans in Hyderabad without a ball being bowled.

SRH thus became the third team to make the cut following Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, who are currently occupying the top two places in the standings.

The Sunrisers received one point to take their tally to 15 points with one match to go. They will face Punjab Kings, who have already been eliminated, on May 19 in their last league assignment.

GT, the 2023 runners-up and 2022 champions, were knocked out of the playoff race after their previous match was also abandoned due to rain. They thus end the season with 12 points from 14 matches.

The toss didn’t happen at scheduled time of 7 p.m. due to rain and wet outfield. The rain intensified before settling into a steady shower as the covers and outfield stayed covered.

The cut-off time for a five-over game was 10.56 p.m., which meant the drizzle needed to stop for mop-up to begin by around 10.15 p.m. but with rain showing no signs of abating, the official decided to abandon the match.

It is the second game to be called off in this IPL, because of rain and wet outfield.

Four teams — Chennai Super Kings (14), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (12), Delhi Capitals (14) and Lucknow Super Giants (12) — are still in fray for the battle for the last spot.

If LSG win against Mumbai Indians on May 17, they will move to 14 points to stay mathematically alive but CSK will seal the spot if they beat RCB or the game is washed out on May 18.

If RCB beat CSK by at least 18 runs or 11 balls to spare then they will grab the fourth available spot on the basis of net run-rate as they would be on 14 points, same as DC, CSK and LSG (if they win).

SRH entered the playoffs of IPL 2024 on May 16.© BCCI

IPL 2024 Playoffs Scenario: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Thursday got its third play-off-qualified team in SunRisers Hyderabad. The Pat Cummins-led side reached 15 points in 13 games after its match against Gujarat Titans got washed out due to rain in Hyderabad. It ensured that SRH will be among the top-four sides along with Kolkata Knight Riders (19 points in 13 matches) and Rajasthan Royals (16 points in 13 matches). SRH still have a game left against PBKS on Sunday.

With three spots already sealed, the fight is among three teams for the final playoff spot –  Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Lucknow Super Giants. Out of the three, the real fight is between CSK and RCB. LSG have only mathematical chance of advancing in all practical sense.

Here’s the full details of the scenario for the four teams after SRH pocketed the third playoff spot.

Chennai Super Kings (14 points in 13 matches, NRR +0.528)

Matches remaining – 1 (vs RCB)

The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team is best-placed to grab the fourth playoff spot. A win against RCB on Saturday will see them through. If RR and SRH lose their last matches against KKR and Punjab Kings respectively, CSK can dream of a top-two finish too, provided they have better Net Run-rate. 

They can also advance even if they lose to RCB. For that, the side must ensure that the losing margin is not big. That will see their NRR remain better than RCB and hence finish above the rivals in the final points table.   

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (12 points in 13 matches, NRR +0.387)

Matches remaining – 1 (vs CSK)

The Faf du Plessis-led side has to win the last game to have a shot for the last playoff spot. And not just win, they have to triumph by a handsome margin to ensure their run-rate remains above CSK. 

Lucknow Super Giants (12 points in 13 matches, NRR -0.787)

Matches remaining – 1 (vs MI)

The KL Rahul-led team is facing an improbable scenario. The only way they can qualify is to hope they win their last match by a very humongous margin. Then, RCB beat CSK but not by a big margin. That might see their NRR get better that RCB and CSK. However, the scenario looks almost impossible.

Delhi Capitals (14 points in 14 matches, -0.377)

Matches remaining – 0

The side is out of the playoff race as it has no more matches left. They don’t have any other matches left to improve it.