AbhiVarta

Recently, India test team registered one of their most memorable performances in England. They managed a well deserved 2-2 draw against a more fancied oppostion in their own backyard. This was really remarkable because it came from team in transistion under a new test captain after the sudden retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli . Cricket pandits had not given much chance this new looked team under Shubham Gill . Certain English analysts opined that the series against India would serve as a good warm-up for the Ashes . The Indian test team went against all odds and did the unthinkable. As we bask in the glory of the this remarkable feat, probably its the right time to reflect upon the future of the test team. The most pertinest question banging on every Indian cricket fan is : Who would be the next Fab Four ? First one to make the list, would be Shubham Gill. The charismatic captain who led from the front and scored a mammoth 754 runs in the England series. He has the patient g...

Bouyed by an inspired performance in England , where they managed to draw the series (2-2), Indian crciket team gears up for their next assignment in form of Asia Cup 25 . There can be no doubt that the defending and current T20 champions start as tournament favourites. This Asia cup has been marred by political tensions between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan. Both the countries have been at loggerhead since the infamous Pehlgam attacks which resulted in short conflict between the two nations. Now, as the dust seems to have settled with BCCI announcing its team for the marquee tournamanent. It is a perfect and ardent time to look at the squad. India will undoubtedly feel the absence of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli who had announced their retirement from T20 post the triumph in T20 WC in June 24. On paper, the current squad looks really formidable. This has been proved by their startling performance post the T20 WC. India has registered win in 17 out of their 20 gam...

Infosys Mysore - "Place where dreams become reality". As soon as one receives the offer letter, the ever agonising wait for the joining day mail starts.Having heard numerous stories about the 5-star accomodation provided to the trainees in the World Class campus of Mysore , I was really looking forward to witness it. So finally, when I received my joining date, I was more than ready to take the first train to Mysore . Before entering into the Mysore campus, one has to undergo a mandatory security check up. Since, a large number of trainees had their joining along with me, it took me nearly an hour before I underwent the mandatory security check. After the security check, we were taken to our hostels by a golf cart . When the golf cart made a move towards the hostels, I had the first glimpse of the Mysore campus and it really impressed me, to say the least. As soon as I reached my designated block, I was handed the keys of my room where a big surprise ...

Stock markets seem to be favourite place for investors to earn quick money. Some call it a mere gamble while others call it speculation or calculated risk. Whatever you call it, it is not important. It has and will remain to be an attractive source of multiplying your earnings. What do you need to do before investing your hard earned money into stocks. I would like to list down few steps which if followed religiously can yield you good returns. Remember I am not here to list down the stocks that you should buy, instead try to help you out in chosing the right one by taking calculated risk Prepare a Watchlist Just do not jump into the market as soon as you have ready cash. Spend sometime in watching the market movement. Believe me it is not as simple as it seems. Study how it behaves owing to different macro economic factors . Prepare a watchlist that would contain stocks that you feel can earn you profit. Do not spend much thought in chosing these stocks. Take help from certain...

IPL was started with much fanfare in 2008.It was regarded as the next big thing in cricket.Under the able guidance of Lalit Modi , it started of really well.It was inspired by the highly popular EPL (english Premier League).Since its inception,it has caught the eyes of players and viewers alike.It brought in Bollywood and corporates under one roof. It resulted in huge amount of money poured into the game. Presence of bollywood stars during matches raised the glamour quotient. Pay package of international players, increased by leaps and bound. Players who appeared for a season, started drawing much more than what they were paid by their respective boards. This has lured a number of international cricketers to cut short their international career. Many others have become free lancers. This has resulted in question being raised over player's loyalty for his country. There is nothing harm in the players opting for these leagues which offer them lucrative money but definit...

Retirement of Dravid and Laxman in quick succession has left a huge void in the Indian middle order . Once reputed for its FAB4 (Dravid, Sachin , Ganguly ,Laxman),the batting line up suddenly looks brittle.Worse enough,we still have not found a replacement for Ganguly, who had retired from test cricket wayback in 2008. Yuvraj and Raina were considered to be the most suitable replacement for Dada. Both of them promised a lot but none of them delivered . Cheteshwar Pujara , the run machine from the domestic circuit was drafted into the Indian team owing to his potential of playing long innings. He had a promising debut against Aussies and he carried his form on to the tour of SA. It was widely felt that the search for Ganguly's heir apparent was over. Unfortuantely, it was short-lived as Pujara while appearing for KKR in an IPl match, injured himself. The injury was so grave that he was out of action for more than 5-6 months. Last year was a forgettable year for the  Indian t...

Virat Kohli , the lad from Delhi has been the most consistent batsman for India in the last 2 years. He averages ov 52 in ODIs with a strike rate of around 87.0 that is simply phenomenal. The good thing about Kohli is that whenever he comes on to bat, he is really calm and composed and can switch gear at will. He has a wide array of shots which makes him a potent player. When he is at his destructive best, he  makes the best bowlers look ordinary. He is from the younger generation that doesen't wilt under pressure and love to face challenges. As a skipper of U-19 team ,he guided the team to World Cup glory in 2008 . The transition from U-19 to senior level never been a smooth ride for the players in past. In the past we have seen a number of U-19 cricketers making it to the senior level at an early age but soon they were lost into oblivion.Kohli was no exception. After his heroics in the U-19, he was considered the next big thing in the Indian cricket fraternity . As a result ...

After India's third successive Super 8 exits, voice over axing Dhoni has grown strong.Former cricketers and so called cricket pundits have come up of theory of having different captains for different format.Some even believe that dhoni should have been stripped of his captaincy after the debacle in Australia itself .Though everyone is entitled to have his opinion but I just want to put forth one question to them : Do we have a replacement?  Indian team has performed exceedingly well under Dhoni. The same crictics had hailed him as the one of the best captains.I understand that recent overseas performance especially in Tests were not up to the mark. A captain is always as good as his team and when the team is not performing to its potential, there is little a captain can do.Having said that a captain should shoulder much of the blame for he is is the man in charge when team takes the field.But to drop him after couple of series loss is totally unfair.One should ...

India again failed to make it the semis. It seems to be nothing new as per few angry fans for they expected it to happen. Third time in a row, India had failed to reach the knockout stage. Nevertheless,  it was a much improved  performance. In the previous two outings, we did not win a single game in the Super 8 stages. Still this did not augur well with the former cricketers and cricket pundits.  Swords were drawn against Dhoni and experts began to question whether he was the right person to lead the team. Suddenly, a man who was supposed to be one of best captains of India, was considered to be lacking motivation and will to lead the team. The bigger question is do we have his replacement? Under Gambhir KKR were crowned the IPL champions but the man is struggling with his form of lately in all formats. Viru's attitude is neither helping his batting nor the team as a whole. Kohli is terrific played probably the best ODI player in the world at this time but he is to...

Having seen Champions league involving soccer clubs all around the world, I am  somehow perplexed to see the format of the T20 Champions League. Is it really the League that involve the champions club from all over the world? The answer to that is no. Just have a look at that soccer clubs that feature in UEFA Champions lLeague. It comprisesof clubs from all over Europe competing in away and home matches for the ultimate glory, thats Champion of Europe. Most importantly, they are the champion clubs from the respective European nations. After all Champions League involves champions, isn't it? Sadly, T20 Champions League does not provide equal representation from all the member countries. We have 4 IPL teams , 2 from SA, 2 from down under and 2 other teams( top 2 teams from the qualifiers) that make up the list. Even, startling is that clubs from few member countries like Zimbawae and Bangladesh are not even invited to participate in the qualifiers. Why can't we have top clubs...

Having grown up in the era,where I have been used to see Dravid and Laxman bat whenever India played a test. It would be quite unusual to see an Indian test team without these stalwarts. They were just not important for the indian middle order  but were a key component of the slip cordon. If its a test match, slip cordon is definately the lifeline for the pace bowlers. So, its impeartive that you have your specialist fielders in there, VVS and Dravid were those fielders for India. If Dravid was "the Wall" ,then Laxman was always Very Very Special. Though both of them had won numerous test matches for India, there match wining partnership in Eden Test against Australia in 2001 was by far the best. India were made to follow on and might have faced an innings defeat . Sadly, for the Aussies these gentlemen had other plans. They forged a partnership of well over 300 odd runs which just not saved India blushes of an innings defeat before a capacity crowd, infact it gave india a s...

7th Oct 2012 was the day, when the West Indies were crowned world champions in T20 World Cup. It was a night to remember not just for the Carribean people but for the whole world. We have heard about the West Indies of the past. The 70s era was truly the time, when the WI were a force to reckon. It was the time when WI boosted of the Holdings,Marshals and Lyods. This team did not have any superstars but it was fiercely competitive. They definately weren't underdogs for how can a team comprising of players like Bravo,Gayle,Pollard and the mystery spinner Narine would be considered a weak team by any means. A strong West Indies cricket team  was the need of the hour. But some how it was not happening owing to contract related fights between the players and the WICB(WI cricket Board). So this victory was good for the game of cricket and hence was appreciated by  fans from all over the world. No body enjoys or shall I say are more passionate about their game than the Carribeans. ...

2011 has been by far the most eventful year in the history of Indian Cricket.We were crowned the World Champions in front of a jam packed crowd at Wankhede stadium. Who can ever forget the picture of World Champion-India Dhoni swivelling his bat after completing the game by a towering six over long off. This was a nice tribute or a gift to the Little Master(for he has given 21 years to Indian Cricket, truly remarkable!!). From the highs of the World Cup win, Indian moved on to England with their confidence sky high, where another test awaited them. This was the place where the real cricket was to be played thats "Test Cricket". Moreover, it was far from home and in a completely hostile conditions. They were facing one of the best Test Cricket team though ranked lower than India(for we were the No. 1 test team), still they were a team to beat on their home soil. It was the fight for the No.1 spot in Test cricket. English were fresh f...

Speaking about Dhoni,I am reminded of a guy from a small town of Ranchi who, as in words of a famous commercial "Has Truly Made it Large". From working in Indian Railways as a ticket checker in Kharagpur(known only for its IIT) to leading the Indian Cricket team to the World cup crown after 27 years, Dhoni has come a long way. Mahi (as Dhoni is fondly called by his friends) is from the tinsel town of Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand. He completed his schooling from the famous DAV, Shymali. Initially, he started as a goalkeeper for his school team but soon switched to cricket on advice of his football coach. Dhoni, first came into reckoning when he performed superbly for India A team on the tour of Kenya way back in 2004. His consistent performance in Ranji and for India A finally earned him a call to play for India. The rest as we say is history. Still I strongly believe, if he were from cricketing states like Mumbai or Gujrat(which rule the roost in BCCI selection), h...

Cricket has been my passion since childhood. It didnt bother whether  India was playing or not ..if it was cricket I had to watch it. This was the foremost reason, I never had cable in my house till I completed 12th. Though I hardly remember when I saw the first match, I would safely assume I started watching cricket on TV from 1989. Honestly,way back then leave aside the cricket word ,I did not know anything about cricket. Like why wld people chase the cricket balls.When India were playing Australia and the bulky David Boon would hit the Indian bowlers to every corner of the ground , I would wonder why were Indians made to run to boundaries every other ball like they had got some punishment. I was really thrilled when Pakistan won the World Cup 92 as it had come back to Asia after 83(when india had won it under Kapil Dev ). I believe I became a supreme follower of cricket from 1992 onwards. Thinking about Indian players or legends as u ...