Nadal and the art of fighting injuries

Persistent focus on physical fitness and mental toughness are the secrets of Rafael Nadal’s success, giving him his 21st Grand Slam title in the twilight of his illustrious career     In the last 18 years, since his first French Open Grand Slam in 2005, most of us have kept making the mistake of calling Rafael […]

A young captain in Virat’s mould

After leading the Under-19 team to victory in the Asia Cup, Delhi boy Yash Dhull is expected to bring back the trophy from the ongoing Under 19 World Cup despite coming down with Covid-19 in the middle of the tournament      When West Delhi boy Yash Dhull was named as captain of the India Under-19 […]

Forget egos, the team needs Kohli the batsman

Captains have often been summarily dismissed but the history of cricket shows that if they put the needs of the team first, they can still perform well enough to help India win.   To put the record straight, Team India lost both the Test and One-day series in South Africa. This came at a time […]

Three hats in the ring

Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul: Who will succeed Virat Kohli? That is the question uppermost in the minds of cricket lovers.   Now that Virat Kohli’s exit as Test captain has been thoroughly debated and discussed, the time has come for someone to step into his shoes. Kohli has heralded the process of […]

BCCI prioritises IPL over domestic circuit

Cancelling domestic cricket matches while planning the IPL could pose long term problems for the Indian team, leaving future players with even less time to hone their skills for the international arena   On 10 January, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its decision to postpone the ongoing Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy […]

Neeraj soars, Virat is grounded

In a year when Kohli’s slipping grip over the Indian cricket team became news, athletes became household names after the country’s remarkable performance at the Tokyo Olympics  For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the Games were postponed for a year in 2020 due to the Corona-19 virus. The Games, though, have […]

Ashwin’s outburst a bid to further undermine Kohli?

After being unceremoniously removed from the ODI captaincy, Virat Kohli’s problems seem to be deepening further as Ashwin candidly aired his views about the treatment meted out to him A lot has obviously been happening inside the Indian team’s dressing room if our best, or world’s best, spinner has been talking loudly about the “treatment” […]

Has Rahane run out of time?

Rahane has an impressive record in leading Team India, making him a good choice for the South African tour, but will his poor batting performance and threat from younger players be his undoing? Patriot takes a look Ajinkya Rahane used to be called a calm and composed mind whose aggression was not like Virat Kohli […]