The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the cash-rich league, Kolkata Knight Riders' assistant coach Shane Watson received a warm welcome from head coach Abhishek Nayar. "Everyone knows Shane Watson as a player, but I've known him as someone who has played under him. I'm really really happy Watto, to have you with us. You've been a terrific addition even in this small period that I've interacted with you," he said. "Tap into his experience, you will learn a lot. We've had a lot of good coaches, but I'm pretty sure that Shane Watson is going to add a lot of value to us. So Watto, welcome to the KKR family," added Nayar. The tournament's match is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Earlier, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Secretary, Santosh Menon, confirmed that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will host five of the RCB's IPL 2026 home games. The venue will also host one of the play-off matches and the title clash of the tournament. Bengaluru's remaining two home matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will kick off their campaign by playing a clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: Full Squads Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (WK), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Mayank Markande, Sherfane Rutherford, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, Tilak Varma, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz (WK), Allah Ghazanfar, Naman Dhir, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar.
18 March,2026 09:18 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the concluded T20 World Cup 2026, England's Jos Buttler had a poor run. In eight innings, the right-handed batsman managed to score only 87 runs. Despite a poor run in the global showpiece, Buttler has expressed a hope of finding a place in the national team. "I hope so. I don't know. Obviously I had a poor tournament, which is disappointing, but I've been playing some of the best cricket of my [career] in recent years, so hopefully I can get back to playing my best," he said on 'For the Love of Cricket'. "I certainly have ambitions [to continue playing for England] but no longer being a captain, I'm not a selector and whatever, so what will be will be. Yeah, we will see," added the 35-year-old cricketer. Reflecting on his T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, the Englishman stated that despite hard work and all his efforts, he was not able to deliver performances. "There's elements [to what went wrong] that I actually don't really know exactly. For all your best intentions and hard work and efforts to perform, it just didn't work, and sometimes that's okay as well. That's something I've had to realise. It wasn't for a lack of effort. It just didn't quite happen," he concluded. Buttler will soon be in action in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He will represent Gujarat Titans (GT). The IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. The tournament's first match will be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. GT will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. IPL 2026, Gujarat Titans: Full Squad Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Tom Banton, Glenn Phillips, Nishant Sandhu, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Jason Holder, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Luke Wood, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan. (With ANI Inputs)
18 March,2026 08:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe medical panel of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suspects that veteran players, Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman, might not have been 100 per cent fit when they were picked in the national squad for the concluded T20 World Cup 2026. The same concerns were raised by senior selector Aaqib Javed at a media conference last week, and he said the board would investigate the matter. A source close to the board said that Dr Javed Mughal has expressed his concerns after examining the two players after the conclusion of the global showpiece. Dr Mughal is a UK-based consultant on sports physiotherapy and medicine, and he joined the PCB medical team as director of sports exercise and medicine in January. The matter emerged after Babar's refusal to feature in the National T20 Championship after the global event, citing hamstring irritation. On the other hand, Fakhar reported a similar issue. "When Babar was examined his injury turned out to be more serious than initially diagnosed while Fakhar also has been struggling with the same problem for months now," the source said. On the other hand, the source also said that the national selection committee has made it clear that both players were picked in the squad after receiving medical clearance from the Pakistan team's physiotherapist, Cliffe Deacon. Sunrisers Leeds face criticism over acquisition of Pakistan's Abrar Ahmed On the other hand, in The Hundred player auction, the Sunrisers Leeds became the first Indian-owned franchise to pick Pakistan cricketer Abrar Ahmed. The franchise, which is owned by Chennai-based media conglomerate Sun Group, purchased his services for approximately Rs 2.34 crore. The franchise also faced backlash following Abrar's signing, with the team's X account suspended briefly. It was suspended just hours after the team signed Abrar. The platform did not provide a precise explanation for it, but said "Account suspended" when trying to open it. After Usman Tariq, who was acquired by Birmingham Phoenix for GBP 140,000 (about Rs 1.72 crore), Abrar was the second Pakistani player sold at the auction. However, the Phoenix franchise is not connected to the IPL and has American owners. No franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has signed any Pakistani player since 2009 due to strained relations between India and Pakistan. Abrar's acquisition did not go down well with the fans, who reacted on the Sunrisers Leeds official X account. Several fans took to social media and criticised the Sunrisers franchise and the owner, Kavya Maran, for signing a Pakistani player amidst the ongoing tensions between the two nations. (With PTI Inputs)
18 March,2026 08:02 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the cash-rich league, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has shared a post on its official social media handle. They announced that their skipper, Pat Cummins, will miss a few matches of the league as the pacer is recovering from his injury. Till then, swashbuckling batsman Ishan Kishan will take over the leadership duties, and Abhishek Sharma will be his deputy. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury.Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will be the Captain and Abhishek Sharma will be the Vice-Captain. pic.twitter.com/etXJUkQJeG — SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 18, 2026 The first match of the IPL 2026 is set to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Earlier, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Secretary, Santosh Menon, confirmed that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will host five of the RCB's IPL 2026 home games. The venue will also host one of the play-off matches and the title clash of the tournament. Bengaluru's remaining two home matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Full Squads Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale. (With ANI Inputs)
18 March,2026 06:19 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the cash-rich league, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) players Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have joined the team. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. On Kohli's arrival, the Bengaluru-based franchise shared a post on its official social media handle, which read as, "You don't have to see him... to know he's coming! Check the calendar. There will be signs... #PlayBold RCB #IPL2026". You don’t have to see him… to know he’s coming! Check the calendar. There will be signs… โจโค๏ธ#PlayBold #เฒจเฒฎเณเฒฎRCB #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/qv8tA5ZCrA — Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 18, 2026 For Bhuvneshwar, the team shared a post with a caption, "He brings the calm, but his impact is loud! Bhuvi is HOME, and the veteran is back to shoulder responsibilities again. Show our Swing King some love, 12th Man Army". ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐! ๐ Bhuvi is HOME and the veteran is back to shoulder responsibilities again. ๐ช Show our Swing King some love, 12th Man Army. โค๏ธโจThis is Emmvee presents RCB Shorts.#PlayBold #เฒจเฒฎเณเฒฎRCB #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/3Sb43fkS8q — Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 18, 2026 Paddikal, who played a crucial role at number three last season, also joined the team, looking all set and determined to "control the game". "Back to #PlayBold. Back to control the game. Debuted in 2020. Still ours in 2026. Bengaluru's very own, StarBoy, Devdutt Padikkal is all set for #IPL2026!," posted RCB on X. ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ #๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ. ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ. ๐ฎ๐จ๐ฎโค๏ธ๐ฅDebuted in 2020. Still ours in 2026. ๐งฟBengaluru’s very own, เฒจเฒฎเณเฒฎ StarBoy, Devdutt Padikkal is all set for #IPL2026! ๐ซก๐ pic.twitter.com/pwP8oGBofD — Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 18, 2026 IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Full Squad Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal. (With ANI Inputs)
18 March,2026 05:16 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the cash-rich league, former Team India cricketer Lakshmipathy Balaji feels that Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane should bat in the top order. He also explained the reason behind his thought of Rahane batting in the top order by saying that it will allow him to settle down and then score runs for the side. "I always feel that KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane should bat in the top order. He shouldn't bat at anything less than number three. He has done phenomenally well with CSK at number three and scored a lot of runs. So, he batting one down would be good for both, him and KKR. Cameron Green can come out to bat at number four. That will give him time to settle down and then start going after the bowlers. So, a top four of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Ajinkya Rahane and Cameron Green is going to be the go-to one," he said. The former cricketer then said that players such as Cameron Green, Finn Allen or Angkrish Raghuvanshi should step up for the team. "Somebody needs to step in now. Probably, Cameron Green or Finn Allen. And of course, you have a young talent like Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Their time has come now. If they do well, KKR will get massive momentum. Their performance will surely be something to watch out for," said Balaji. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will kick off their campaign by playing a clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: Full Squads Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (WK), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Mayank Markande, Sherfane Rutherford, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, Tilak Varma, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz (WK), Allah Ghazanfar, Naman Dhir, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar. (With ANI Inputs)
18 March,2026 05:16 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentPunjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting has approved the late arrival of Marco Jansen for the IPL, considering that the South African all-rounder was among the last batch of players who departed late from India following the T20 World Cup due to logistical issues.After finishing their World Cup campaigns, players from South Africa and the West Indies were stranded in India for over a week. Some players, such as Proteas batter David Miller and West Indies head coach Daren Sammy, also expressed their annoyance at the delay in their departure from India because key airports like Dubai and Abu Dhabi were unable to operate owing to the crisis in West Asia.Marco Jansen is an important player in the PBKS unit who ended up as the runner-up in the IPL last season. The left-arm pacer took 16 wickets last season at an economy rate of 9.20.Jansen will join the rest of the PBKS squad on March 26, while coach Ricky Ponting and other international players will link up with the team on March 21.Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai will join the team on March 23 from Kabul. His country is currently involved in a conflict with Pakistan. Meanwhile, Captain Iyer is expected to join the squad on March 19.In their first year with PBKS, the Ponting and Shreyas Iyer combination took the franchise to the final last season, its first since 2014.The airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are still well below capacity, which presents another difficulty for the clubs when it comes to scheduling players' travel from the West.On March 31, the Punjab Kings will host the Gujarat Titans to begin their 2026 campaign. before they travel to Chennai to face CSK on April 3. Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2026: Shreyas Iyer (C), Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Pravin Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Pannu, Pyla Avinash, Vishal Nishad (With PTI Input)
18 March,2026 02:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer South African star AB de Villiers has suggested that MS Dhoni should sit on the side and mentor the players if he cannot bat above number 6. The former RCB star further added that Dhoni has a lot to offer with the bat, but must bat at a higher number instead of batting at number eight or nine."I feel that in the last few years, his role has purely been about keeping that brand as strong as possible. That's why I don't see a role for him batting at eight or nine and not really doing enough, like last season. We know he can be impactful with the bat, but if he's batting that low and not captaining, it feels like he's almost just making up for a spot for the wrong reasons. There's still a place for him, but he needs to bat higher, at least at six, maybe even at five or four at times." AB de Villiers said.De Villers futher suggested that Dhoni should step aside if he comes to bat below number 6. He added that Dhoni's experience of handling the pressure will be huge for the young CSK team."My only issue is where MS fits in and if he's not going to have that big impact batting at 4, 5, 6 sometimes, then rather be out of the squad. Let someone else, who can maybe bowl and bat and have a bigger impact in the game, come in there, and then MS can almost sit on the side as a mentor and still guide the guys," De Villiers added. De Villiers feels Sanju Samson is the right player for CSK AB de Villiers feels that Sanju Samson is the right player for CSK and will be a good signing for the franchise. CSK brought in Samson from the Rajasthan Royals in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. I do feel Ruturaj and Sanju are the perfect players to take over from MS (Dhoni). It's a tricky situation, but Sanju Samson is the right guy to take over, and credit to Dhoni because he's hung around, waiting for the right person to come. If MS plays, I want him to put himself under more pressure and be the guy to handle those big moments," De Villiers said.
18 March,2026 01:04 PM IST | Mumbai | Atharva UpasaniIndia skipper Harmanpreet Kaur moved up to seventh even as her deputy Smriti Mandhana continued to hold on to the top spot in the latest women's ODI rankings released on Tuesday. Kaur moved up a spot to seventh after New Zealand legend Sophie Devine dropped two rungs to climb down to ninth. Jemimah Rodrigues remained static on 12th. New Zealand batter Maddy Green's fine knock of 94 in the final match of their ICC Women's Championship series against Zimbabwe has helped her make notable progress in the rankings. The 33-year-old's 73-ball knock in Dunedin contributed to her side's massive 200-run victory that completed a 3-0 series victory while helping her move up five places to 17th position among batters with a career-best 610 rating points. All-rounder Amelia Kerr, who won the Player of the Match award in the final ODI with an all-round effort of 80 and five for 22, also captured the Player of the Series award while advancing from 21st to joint-19th among batters, registering more than 600 rating points in both batting and bowling rankings. Isabelle Gaze (up three places to 61st) is another New Zealand player to move up the batting rankings while seam bowlers Rosemary Mair (up seven places to 58th) and Bree Illing (up five places to 79th) have progressed in the bowling rankings. The T20I rankings see captain Amelia Kerr attain a career-best 694 rating points after smashing 78 off 44 deliveries in the opening game against South Africa in Mount Maunganui while retaining eighth position in the bowling rankings. Georgia Plimmer's knock of 63 has helped her go from 50th to 41st position, also contributing to New Zealand's 90-run win. In the T20I bowling rankings, Jess Kerr's figures of two for 13 have helped her move up 11 places to 23rd position while Sophie Devine's career-best haul of four for 12 has lifted her from 104th to 79th position. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 March,2026 09:01 AM IST | Dubai | PTIKerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan honoured India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who played a pivotal role in India’s triumphant campaign at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup earlier this month. Vijayan hosted the World Cup champion at his official residence, Cliff House, on Monday (March 16), to acknowledge his achievements. The 31-year-old Samson came dressed in traditional attire for the ceremony, during which Vijayan handed him a commemorative memento bearing the message, “We salute Sanju Viswanath Samson.” The keepsake also highlighted his crucial contributions during the tournament’s knockout phase, including a 97 off 50 balls against the West Indies in the Super 8 stage, an 89 off 42 in the semifinal against England, and another 89 off 46 in the final versus New Zealand. Had the pleasure of hosting India's pride and Kerala's own, Sanju Samson, at Cliff House yesterday. Conveyed the profound love and joy of the people of Kerala. May he draw strength from his recent achievements and continue to scale new heights. Wishing him the very best!… pic.twitter.com/rFaZxLo8Pp — Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) March 17, 2026 Sharing the moment on X, Vijayan wrote, “Had the pleasure of hosting India's pride and Kerala's own, Sanju Samson, at Cliff House yesterday. Conveyed the profound love and joy of the people of Kerala. May he draw strength from his recent achievements and continue to scale new heights. Wishing him the very best! Samson’s journey in the tournament was not without challenges. He had initially been left out of India’s playing XI for their opening match, with the team management opting for Ishan Kishan as the wicketkeeper alongside opener Abhishek Sharma. His place in the squad had also come under scrutiny after he managed only 46 runs across five matches in a home T20I series against New Zealand ahead of the global event. Despite the early doubts, Samson turned the narrative around with a string of match-winning performances, emerging as one of the standout players in India’s successful campaign. Following the celebrations, the Kerala batter has now turned his attention to the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, where Samson will make his debut with Chennai Super Kings, five-time champions of the tournament. They will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Samson’s former franchise, the Rajasthan Royals, to whom they traded Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, in Guwahati on March 30. The side will then face Punjab Kings at home on April 3, travel to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 5, and return home to play Delhi Capitals on April 11. Chennai will be looking to bounce back strongly this season after finishing at the bottom of the table in IPL 2025 with just four wins from 14 matches. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 March,2026 09:00 AM IST | New Delhi | IANSIt eluded him in academics but on the cricket field, Suryakumar Yadav has finally got his 80 per cent score. Basking in the glory of leading India to a historic defence of the T20 World Cup title just a few days ago, Suryakumar has an 80 per cent winning rate as national captain in the format. The Mumbaikar was expectedly chuffed about the numbers that he he just could not manage academically. "I feel that the percentage I tried to achieve in school and college by studying, I'm getting that today in cricket here," he quipped when asked to reflect on the success rate since taking over as T20 captain in 2024. Out of 52 games played in that period, the two-time T20 world champions have won 42 matches. "There (in school or college), I could never cross (50-60 per cent). But definitely, it feels good to hear this (80 per cent winning rate) here. Although, I don't pay much attention to stats. But nobody likes to lose in any game. I also love winning all the games," he said. Suryakumar's father Ashok Kumar Yadav was an Electrical Engineer at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). But Suryakumar never felt inclined towards academics and his family was supportive enough to back his cricketing ambitions. "...my family tried a lot to educate me first....(but) in a short time they got the idea that this boy is not interested in studies. Ye ladka haath mein nahi aayega (this boy can't be controlled)," he remembered. "But their support was always there in sports because they could see that I was enjoying it, I liked playing. So they said, 'Okay, go play. If nothing happens later, then we are here to take care of it'," he said. But the ever-smiling big-hitter from Chembur made sure that he never had to fall back on that 'Plan B'. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 March,2026 08:34 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIADVERTISEMENT
-1773824154590_d.png "Ricky Ponting (Pic: BCCI)")
