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CSK batting coach Mike Hussey. File | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar Chennai Super Kings isn’t laying down arms yet.Batting coach Michael Hussey’s reply when asked to give an update on M.S. Dhoni’s participation in the game and beyond indicated as much.“I can confirm Dhoni is not here with the team, but if we do happen to qualify, he’ll definitely join back up with the squad. He’s got a bit of a sore thumb. He’s recovering nicely, but he won’t be ready for this match. If we manage to get through to the playoffs, hopefully he’ll be alright,” Hussey said…

Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. | Photo Credit: Reuters One of the enduring images for those who watched Sachin Tendulkar bat in Australia in 1991-92 could well be the expression on the big-moustached face of Merve Hughes. The big fast bowler had been straight-driven gloriously for a boundary by the curly-haired, baby-faced teenager at the Sydney Cricket Ground.  Hughes was surprised. Or shocked, rather. Maybe bewildered, even.More than three decades later, the world’s most fearsome bowlers are sporting similar looks. They are being tormented by another baby-faced teenager. Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi: he spares none.This…

Chennai Super Kings’ Kartik Sharma during a training session ahead of an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on May 20, 2026 | Photo Credit: PTI Gujarat Titans’ fabulous five-match winning run may have come to an end with its 29-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders. But Shubman Gill & Co. can take heart from the fact that they are playing their final IPL 2026 league fixture — after having already qualified for the playoffs — against Chennai Super Kings, the very same team they dismantled to kick…

Lucknow Super Giants’ head coach Justin Langer. File | Photo Credit: ANI Justin Langer has been around the 22 yards for a while. Three decades and a half, in fact.He has played with, against, and watched some of the greatest batters of our time. He is still awed by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s batting. The former Australian opener, who played 105 Tests, feels the teenager is scary for world cricket.“I have seen some amazing players in 35 years of cricket,” the Lucknow Super Giants coach said shortly after Sooryavanshi played a match-winning innings for Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on…

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunil Narine celebrates the wicket of Mumbai Indians’ Hardik Pandya during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak Kolkata Knight Riders’ commendable bowling effort, followed by Manish Pandey and Rovman Powell’s useful knocks, helped the three-time champion post a four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in an IPL 2026 match at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday (May 20, 2026). The victory helped KKR stay alive in the race for a playoff berth.After Ajinkya Rahane chose to…

Champions of the previous two Ranji Trophy editions – Jammu & Kashmir and Vidarbha – have been clubbed together along with Madhya Pradesh in the same group as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the detailed calendar for the forthcoming domestic season.While defending champion Jammu & Kashmir will be hoping to defend its crown by finishing in top two in Group A, Karnataka is one of the three southern teams to be placed in Group B along with familiar foe Saurashtra. Tamil Nadu, after a mediocre campaign in the last season, will have to upstage domestic…

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, take a walk through Zhongnanhai Garden, in Beijing on Friday. | Photo Credit: ANI U.S. President Donald Trump completed his visit to the People’s Republic of China(PRC) on May 14 and 15, 2026, a first in nine years. As the most consequential bilateral relation, the entire world watched this visit with great anticipation. However, as things stand, it appears that the visit was a stalemate and little was achieved by way of progress, and the two sides are not even closer to returning to the state of managed rivalry, which in…

Image used for representational purpose only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Growth in activity in the eight core sectors of the economy quickened marginally to 1.7% in April 2026, up from 1.2% in the previous month, official data released on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) showed.Notably, the data on the Index of Eight Core Industries released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry also saw a significant revision of the growth rate for March 2026 — now coming in at 1.2% compared to the preliminary contraction of 0.4% that had originally been reported for the month. The domestic crude oil sector contracted…

Delhi Capitals’ Madhav Tiwari bowls during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match against Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, May 17, 2026.. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR Moments after Delhi Capitals suffered a harrowing loss to Kolkata Knight Riders at home on May 8, skipper Axar Patel, resigned to his team not making the playoffs of IPL 2026, said the remaining three league games would be used to give opportunities to newer players. One of the beneficiaries of Axar’s view has been all-rounder Madhav Tiwari.The 22-year-old from Madhya Pradesh —…

As the 2026 IPL heads toward its playoffs, questions are growing around whether the tournament still holds the same cultural grip it once did. While the league remains hugely valuable and widely watched, concerns around viewer fatigue, repetitive contests, lack of international superstars and the changing audience habits have sparked debate about the IPL’s evolving appeal.In this episode of In Focus, we examine how IPL consumption patterns have changed over the years — from television to streaming, from full-match viewing to highlights and short-form content. Are flatter pitches and content saturation affecting fan engagement? And what must the IPL do…