Cricket with CricChanakya

- Atul Agarwal With four months remaining for the World Cup 2019, each of the ten cricket boards is busy trying to figure out the perfect combination of fifteen odd men who’d be flying to England for the grandest tournament of the cricketing arena. While each team has some people who’ve almost booked a slot, there are others who’ve been facing the axes muscly swung by their national selectors ahead of their respective bilateral ODI series.   Selection of a team has never been more difficult before, with the onset of far too many players emerging from the domestic T20 and One Day leagues. While there are ten teams contending for the coveted glory, cricket aficionados have already declared their verdict that the two teams that should make it to the finals are England and India. However, reality, like always, is far from the truth. Despite being the co-favourites, the Indian selection board and the team management have been having the toughest of times in picking their est

-Atul Agarwal It was a bright sunny afternoon in Johannesburg on the 23 rd day of March, 2003, and millions of Indians back home were glued to their television sets, hoping that the Men in Blue beat all odds stacked up against them. However, the Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting had different plans. His knock of 140 off 121 balls was enough to send us in deep sense of melancholy. The sound of the ball hitting the meat of the bat before flying over the stands still reverberates in our ears. It wasn’t that the Indian Cricket Team struggled this way throughout the tournament on their road to the finals. They were one of the most dominating sides in the competition. In their defence, they were up against the most dominating cricketing nation of the generation. They were the mighty Australians! Fast forward fifteen years, in the ongoing Test match against India in Adelaide, the Aussies seem to have lost all traces of the aggressive outlook, which made them the powerhouse of world

Cricket South Africa will take a sigh of relief when the first edition of Mzans Super League will get underway on 16th November 2018.                                                     Pic Courtesy- MSLT20 Here's a look at how the 6 teams line up for the inaugural season of MSL. Cape Town Blitz Quinton de Kock ,  Dawid Malan ,  Andile Phehlukwayo ,  Dale Steyn ,  Samuel Badree ,  Asif Ali ,  Farhaan Behardien(c) ,  Anrich Nortje ,  Janneman Malan ,  Malusi Siboto ,  George Linde ,  Ferisco Adams ,  Jason Smith ,  Sibonelo Makhanya ,  Kyle Verreynne ,  Dane Piedt. Durban Heat Hashim Amla,  Rashid Khan ,  David Miller ,  Heinrich Klaasen ,  Kyle Abbott ,  Keshav Maharaj ,  Khaya Zondo ,  Albie Morkel(c) ,  Marchant de Lange ,  Vernon Philander ,  Brandon Mavuta ,  Temba Bavuma ,  Morne van Wyk ,  Okuhle Cele ,  Sarel Erwee ,  Tladi Bokako. Jozi Stars Kagiso Rabada ,  Chris Gayle ,  Dane Vilas(c) ,  Rassie van der Dussen ,  Daniel Christian ,  Beuran Hendricks

- By Atul Agarwal Not everyone is born with exemplary leadership abilities. It comes naturally to some than others, though it is really difficult to find someone who possesses this extraordinary skill. A leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. The Indian Cricket Team has unfailingly been blessed with versatile foremen. From Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in the 1960s, Sunil Gavaskar in the 1970s, Kapil Dev in the 1980s, Mohammad Azharuddin in the 1990s, Saurav Ganguly in the early-2000s, to M S Dhoni in the last decade, we’ve had men who truly turned out to be the true talisman for their nation. It is after the resignation of M S Dhoni, the man who has won virtually every international silverware as a captain, that the Indian Cricket Team has had more questions than answers. With no major tournament accolades under his belt, and after two back to back overseas Test debacles, the current Indian skipper Virat Kohli has come under the scanner of Indian

-  By Atul Agarwal Powerhouse of batting, toe grinders, swing monarchs, ultra-potent wrist turners, lusty fielders – you name it, and we have it all. Such is the shape of the Indian One Day International cricket team today. For someone remotely inclined towards Indian cricket, this is by far the best ODI side the country has ever had. Kissing the World Cup for the third time should seem like a walk in the park. However, reality is far from the truth, as we notice that in order to make a triumphant return in the sport’s grandest stage, the Indian team has more than one question to answer. THE NUMBER FOUR CONUNDRUM One of the most grotesque puzzles that still remain unsolved is the middle order quandary, led by the number four conundrum. While the nation boasts of the most compelling top order batsmen in the globe, led by the skipper Virat Kohli, the men following him in the batting order have shown little or no signs of tenacity, much to our dismay. The revolv

Born on 5 th  November 1988,  Virat Kohli is one of the most revered names in the world cricket today. In a career span of 10 years, he has achieved greater heights than what the greats of the game couldn’t do in their entire career. Virat Kohli, the captain of Indian cricket team in all formats likes to lead from the front and always sets a high bar for other players. He has worked on his fitness level over the years which has brought a noticeable change in his game. He has seen his fair share of failure but never refrained from accepting his weaknesses and conquering them. The recent tour to England is the biggest example. To honor this genius, let us have a look at the 30 Records he holds in International Cricket before actually turning 30 years of age on November 5 th , 2018. Fastest to score 7000 runs as a Captain.  During the first test match against England, in his 124 th  innings, Virat became the fastest to score 7000 runs as a captain across all the formats. Wh