Introduction On April 28, 2025, Rajasthan Royals were chasing 210 against Gujarat Titans. They needed a big innings early and quickly. At the other end of the ground, in Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium, a 14-year-old boy from Samastipur, Bihar — who had arrived at the IPL auction the previous December to find himself sold for Rs. 1.1 crore to Rajasthan...
Introduction When India won the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup — their first T20 global title in 17 years — the celebrations were enormous. Virat Kohli cried. Rohit Sharma raised the trophy. But behind the emotion of the moment was a structural reality that deserves more analysis than it typically gets: virtually every key player in India’s World...
Introduction Other batsmen hit sixes. Other batsmen win matches. But no one in the history of T20 cricket has done what MS Dhoni does specifically: he walks in when a match is apparently lost, he absorbs the pressure for several overs, and then he executes — with a precision that looks like magic but is actually the product of...
Introduction The IPL 2022 season was different. Ten teams instead of eight, a new group-stage format, new franchises with new narratives. And amidst all of it, one batsman who simply played a different sport from everyone else. Jos Buttler, the England wicketkeeper-batsman, had been a reliable IPL performer for Rajasthan Royals for years — good enough, consistent...
Introduction When Sunil Narine arrived in the IPL in 2012, he was the most talked-about mystery spinner in world cricket. His finger-spin variations bamboozled the best batters in the format; nobody could pick his wrong’un, his carrom ball, or his faster one. He was the most valuable bowling asset in T20 cricket. His batting? Barely noticed. He was a genuine number-ten —...
Introduction Every sport has a moment that tells you exactly what it is going to be. For the Indian Premier League, that moment arrived in the very first hour of the very first match. It was April 18, 2008, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The stadium was packed with 50,000 fans who were curious, a...
Introduction They won the IPL title in 2009. They had Adam Gilchrist. They were one of the franchise cricket world’s great success stories. And then, three years later, Deccan Chargers ceased to exist — terminated by the BCCI with one day’s notice, removed from the competition they had once won, their players dispersed to a...
Introduction There are bad days at the cricket ground, and then there is what happened at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on May 5, 2017. Royal Challengers Bengaluru — a franchise containing Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle simultaneously — were bowled out for 49 runs in 9.4 overs. The lowest total in IPL...
Introduction Most cricketers spend years building up to their best IPL performance. They need time to understand the conditions, learn the batters, find their rhythm in the unique pressure of the franchise tournament. Alzarri Joseph did none of that. The West Indian fast bowler had never played in the IPL before the night of April...
Introduction The 2008 IPL auction was a spending competition. Mumbai Indians splashed cash on top internationals. Chennai Super Kings built methodically around quality. Delhi Daredevils went hard for big names. And then there was Rajasthan Royals — the franchise that spent the least money of any team in the competition, picked up players that nobody...