Indian cricket has often been projected as a global powerhouse. The success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the depth of talent in domestic cricket, and India’s financial dominance in the sport have only strengthened that perception. But whenever India tours overseas, particularly England, Australia or South Africa, uncomfortable questions resurface. Are we truly a…
India’s unprecedented clean sweep of five gold medals at the 2026 International Physics Olympiad in Colombia is much more than an academic triumph. It is a reflection of a larger national transformation—one built on planning, investment, institutional support and the belief that excellence is cultivated, not stumbled upon. The same story has unfolded on India’s…
Maheshwar Singh The Hyderabad Cricket Association’s decision to appoint former India Test opener Wasim Jaffar as head coach is, at first glance, a welcome development. More importantly, it reflects an uncomfortable reality—that many former Hyderabad cricketers who once brought immense glory to the state have, over the years, lost the confidence of the cricketing fraternity…
I have never believed in blaming individuals. Administrators come and go. Selectors change. Office-bearers change. But if a system continues to produce the same injustice decade after decade, then it is the system that deserves to be questioned. My question is simple. Why is genuine rural talent from Telangana still treated as an afterthought? I…
Watching England play New Zealand recently was, frankly, a disappointing experience. For a nation once revered as the undisputed home of cricket, England’s current plight reflects a worrying decline in standards. There was a time when playing county cricket in England was considered the ultimate finishing school for cricketers across the world. International stars from…
As the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) enters a new era under its recently elected leadership, I wish to place before the Governing Council a long-pending and genuine plea on behalf of several former Hyderabad cricketers who represented the state with distinction but today find themselves excluded from any form of financial support. The Board of…
There was a time when Indian cricket treated spin bowling as an art form rather than a mere method of taking wickets. The ball did not simply travel from one end of the pitch to the other; it danced, drifted, dipped, teased and deceived. The spinner was not merely a bowler but a craftsman, a…
Cricket continues to remind us that talent alone is rarely enough. The teams that go the distance are often the ones that read conditions better, adapt faster, and think a step ahead of the opposition. The IPL playoffs have once again reinforced that simple truth. Winning the toss and choosing to bat first is usually…
Maheshwar Singh There is something strangely fascinating about the name Heinrich Klaasen. It sounds more German than South African. Yet when he walks out to bat, there is nothing confusing about his cricket. It is pure, uncluttered, old-school batting wrapped in modern-day power hitting. Klaasen continues to play exactly the way he did when he…
Modern cricket is increasingly becoming a game of instant gratification. Batters walk in with premeditated strokes, teams obsess over strike-rates, and coaches often reduce the shortest format into a six-hitting exhibition. Yet, every now and then, a player arrives and reminds the cricketing world that the essence of batting still lies in understanding conditions, reading…
