
‘I have to do two times better than what I have done': Vaibhav Suryavanshi on his targets in next year's IPL
14-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who became the second fastest centurion in IPL history in the recently concluded season, said that next year, he wants to contribute two times better for Rajasthan Royals. The 35-ball century also helped him become the youngest T20 centurion in men's T20 cricket at 14 years and 32 days.
'Playing in the IPL is like a dream for everyone and I got a lot of positives from my first season and I also learnt a lot in terms of what I can do for the team in the next season,' Suryavanshi said in a video shared by IPL's official website.
'Next year, I will work on areas where I made mistakes and try to do much better for the team,' he added.
Debut #TATAIPL 🤩Learnings for the future 🙌Being part of India U19 squad for Tour of England ✨
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the rising talent, opens up after a successful season
WATCH 🎥🔽 #Final | #TheLastMile | @rajasthanroyalshttps://t.co/V2CtCLXpzB
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) June 5, 2025
The youngster, who was one of the bright sparks in Rajasthan Royals season this year, was given the IPL Super Striker of the Season award after the final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings.
'My learning is that I have to do two times better than what I have done so that my team also plays in the final next year and how much I can contribute to my team, I will focus on that.'
Given his exploits, Suryavanshi was also named in the India Under-19 squad for a multi-format tour of England along with Mumbai's Ayush Mhatre, who made a successful debut for Chennai Super Kings.
'It is a new tournament. I am going to the UK for the first time so it will be a new experience. I will experience how the game goes on there,' Suryavanshi said.
'Ayush Mhatre, who played for Chennai Super Kings this time, is our captain. The preparations are going well and it will be a good experience of playing in England and will try to return with the trophy,' he added.
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India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Karnataka: HC to hear petition of Nikhil Sosale challenging arrest in Bengaluru stampede today
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 10 (ANI): The Karnataka High Court will hear the petition filed by the Marketing and Revenue Head of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Nikhil Sosale, on Tuesday. The petition was filed to challenge the legality of his arrest in connection with the stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives during RCB's IPL victory celebrations on June 4. During the hearing, the lawyer representing RCB sought interim relief for Sosale, arguing that his arrest was illegal. However, the Attorney General, representing the state government, opposed the request for interim bail, stating that such relief cannot be granted until the court conclusively determines the illegality of the arrest. The bench reserved its decision and scheduled the matter for further hearing on Tuesday. Earlier on Friday, the Karnataka HC granted interim relief to the office bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), who had approached the court seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against them in connection with the stampede case. In an interim order, the court directed the state police not to take any coercive action against them until further orders. The High Court adjourned the case to June 9. Meanwhile, Sosale was arrested by the Bengaluru Police in the early hours of June 6 (Friday). He has contended that the arrest was illegal, arbitrary and not in accordance with the law. He claimed that he was arrested without any materials and even before the police had conducted a preliminary enquiry. He has thus sought to declare his arrest illegal. On Thursday, the Bengaluru police registered an FIR against the RCB franchise; DNA Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., an event management company; and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for culpable homicide, illegal assembly, and other serious charges. A day after the stampede that claimed the lives of 11 people, the Karnataka police suspended multiple IPS officers, including the Bengaluru city police Commissioner, B Dayananda. (ANI)


India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
"He has got hands faster than a pickpocket": Ravi Shastri hail MS Dhoni's wicketkeeping skills
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With 17,266 international runs, 829 dismissals and 538 matches across formats for India, Dhoni's numbers reflect not just excellence but extraordinary consistency, fitness and longevity. Reacting to his presence in the august company, the former India skipper stated that this honour would stay with him forever. 'It is an honour to be named in the ICC Hall of Fame, which recognises the contributions of cricketers across generations and from all over the world. To have your name remembered alongside such all-time greats is a wonderful feeling. It is something that I will cherish forever,' said Dhoni as quoted by ICC. Dhoni's strongest format is the ODIs. In 350 ODIs, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He scored 10 centuries and 73 fifties for India, with the best score of 183*. He is India's sixth-highest scorer in ODIs (with Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 18,426 runs). The fact that he managed to score 10,000-plus runs at an average of over 50 while coming down the order makes his statistics even more interesting. He led India in 200 ODI matches, winning 110, losing 74. Five matches were tied, while 11 failed to produce a result. He has a winning percentage of 55. Dhoni has won ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013 for India as a skipper. Dhoni, known as Chennai Super Kings' 'Thala' (leader), played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56. He was the winning captain of India's ICC T20 WC 2007 winning team. Coming to his long-format career, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He scored six centuries and 33 half-centuries, with the best score of 224. He is the 14th-highest scorer for India in Tests. As a captain, he led India in 60 Test matches, out of which they won 27 matches, lost 18 and drew 15. With a win percentage of 45.00, he is one of India's most successful skippers across all eras. He led Team India to the number one ranking in ICC Test Rankings. He is also the only Indian skipper to whitewash Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, doing so in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 series. The people's favourite 'Mahi' led India in 72 T20Is, winning 41, losing 28, one being tied and two failing to produce results. His win percentage is 56.94. When Dhoni broke into the national team in 2004, few could have foreseen just how profoundly the then 23-year-old would go on to redefine the role of a wicketkeeper-batter. It wasn't a question of talent, that was evident, but rather how much of an outlier he appeared compared to his predecessors. His glove work defied convention. Dhoni's technique behind the stumps was unorthodox, yet extraordinarily effective. He turned wicketkeeping into an art form of its own, affecting run-outs off deflections, completing stumpings in the blink of an eye, and pulling off catches with a style all his own. With the bat, he brought brute force and power-hitting to the wicketkeeper-batter's role that was traditionally reserved for steady, lower-order contributors. At a time when Indian wicketkeepers were expected to play it safe, Dhoni came out swinging, both literally and metaphorically. It was not the smoothest of starts in Dhoni's international career; his ODI debut in December 2004 ended with a run-out for a duck, but it didn't take long for him to make an impression. Promoted up the order against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam in April 2005, he lit up the stage with a blistering 148 off 123 balls, a knock that announced his arrival to India and the world. Just a few months later, in October, Dhoni delivered another unforgettable performance. Once again promoted in the batting order, this time against Sri Lanka in Jaipur, he unleashed a whirlwind 183* off 145 deliveries, studded with 15 fours and 10 sixes. The innings remains the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper in men's ODIs to this day. It was also the highest score in a successful run chase at the time, offering an early glimpse into the calm, calculated finisher Dhoni would go on to become. And thus began the story of one of Indian cricket's most iconic careers, a journey marked by unconventional brilliance, unflinching composure, and an uncanny ability to deliver when it mattered most. MS Dhoni's early performances had already marked him out as a player of composure and clarity. It was enough for the selectors to take a bold call and hand him the captaincy for the inaugural ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2007. The timing was delicate. India had endured a disappointing exit in the group stage of the 50-over World Cup earlier that year, and the squad for the T20 edition was a young, largely untested group, missing many of the senior stalwarts of Indian cricket. Expectations were modest where India were far from tournament favourites. But under Dhoni's leadership, a new generation of players emerged - Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, among others - all playing fearless cricket That approach paid off spectacularly. India went on to lift the trophy, beating arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling final and etching their names in history as the first T20 World Champions. India came close to victory in the subsequent editions under Dhoni's captaincy, including an appearance in the final of the 2014 edition and semi-finals of 2016. The victory not only sparked a new era of Indian cricket but confirmed that the future of its leadership was in safe hands. What followed was a period of sustained success across formats and the rise of Dhoni as one of the most influential captains the game has ever seen. India's rise under Dhoni's leadership wasn't limited to white-ball cricket; it extended seamlessly into the red-ball arena as well. Under his captaincy in December 2009, India reached the summit of Test cricket, claiming the No.1 spot in the ICC Men's Test Team Rankings for the first time since its inception in 2003. As a batter, Dhoni continued to defy convention, even more so in the Test format. His unorthodox technique and aggressive instincts seemed ill-suited to the patience and precision Test cricket demanded. Yet, time and again, he found a way to make it work. He did not take long to stamp his presence in the longest format. In just his fifth Test match, against arch-rivals Pakistan in Faisalabad, Dhoni hammered a counter-attacking 148 off 153 balls. A year later, he proved he could thrive in testing conditions too. At Lord's, Dhoni walked out early on the final day with India reeling at 145/5. In challenging conditions, he scored a gritty 76* and stitched together a crucial 86-run partnership with VVS Laxman. Even after Laxman's dismissal, Dhoni stood firm with the tail to secure a hard-fought draw, which helped India seal a rare series win in England, their first in the country since 1986. Among Dhoni's many memorable batting contributions in whites, none stood taller than his lone double-century, which came in 2013 at his adopted home ground in Chennai. Australia had posted a formidable 380 in the first innings, and India found themselves under pressure at 196/4 when Dhoni walked out to bat. But what followed was one of the most iconic innings by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter where Dhoni unleashed a brutal 224, his highest Test score. Built on vital century partnerships with Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dhoni took India to a decisive 192-run lead, and his innings proved to be the turning point of the match. Throughout his Test career, Dhoni faced numerous trials and tribulations both as a batter and captain until he called it quits in 2014. Yet, time and again, by fight or flight, he always found a way. Few in Indian or world cricket can lay claim to having redefined the ODI format quite like MS Dhoni - whether as a finisher, captain or wicketkeeper. It didn't take long for him to make his mark. In just his 40th ODI, Dhoni rose to the top of the ICC Men's ODI Batting Rankings, becoming the fastest player to ever achieve the No.1 spot, a record that still stands today. Dhoni's ODI legacy is studded with records, including the most stumpings in the format (123), the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper (183*), and the most matches as captain for India (200), to name a few. But the crowning moment of his career came in 2011, when he led India to World Cup glory after a 28-year wait. Despite a relatively quiet tournament with the bat, Dhoni rose to the occasion when it mattered most. On the night of the final against Sri Lanka, he made a bold call to promote himself to No.4, a decision that would go down in Indian cricketing folklore. Walking in at 114/3 with the final delicately balanced, Dhoni joined forces with Gautam Gambhir to stitch a vital 109-run stand, steadying the chase and taking India to the brink of glory. Then, in trademark MS Dhoni fashion, he sealed the win with a towering six over long-on, a shot now etched in Indian cricketing history, sparking celebrations across the country and ending a 28-year wait for the World Cup. He would go on to add another major title to his name, guiding India to the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. In a tense, rain-curtailed final against England, Dhoni's tactical acumen came to the fore once again, helping India lift the trophy and earning him the rare honour of being the only captain to win all three ICC men's white-ball titles. Even in his final international appearance at the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, Dhoni was, as he so often had been, India's last hope. His run-out in the semi-final against New Zealand, a moment that broke a billion hearts, would prove to be his final act on the international stage. Though his retirement came more than a year later, the silence that followed that dismissal felt like the closing chapter of an era. But by then, MS Dhoni had already etched himself into the fabric of Indian cricket, leaving behind memories and milestones that will be remembered for generations. (ANI)


The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
When triumph turned into tragedy
On June 3, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) claimed its maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. When Virat Kohli announced that night that celebrations would extend to Bengaluru the next day, the atmosphere turned electric. Fans in Bengaluru celebrated with gusto the entire night, with firecrackers and full-throated chants and slogans. The wait for the title for 18 long years led to a burst of emotions and joy. What added to this excitement and the hurry to celebrate immediately was the imminent departure of Kohli the next day to London. Unheeded advice What was missing in this tremendous build-up to the victory parade was a calm and rational response from the administrative arm of the government. Amid the frenzy, according to reports, the Police Commissioner, B. Dayananda, rightly advised restraint and suggested that the celebrations be held a few days later. But the government allegedly did not listen to his advice. There there is no clarity yet on why this was the case. It is well known that any State government would like to cash in on such an event for political gains. This government was clearly no different. A Police Commissioner can directly talk to top hierarchy of the government. He should have got a clear 'yes' or 'no' from the Chief Minister. If the Chief Minister wanted to go ahead with the function, the police would have had no choice but to make the arrangements. What actually seems to have happened is that no one took a clear decision. Thus the celebrations in the crowded metropolis were ill-conceived and the messaging unclear, which became a recipe for disaster. It was clear that the State government made the event look like a State function. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar went to the airport to receive the champions. The government invited the team to Vidhana Soudha, the seat of State Legislature and Secretariat. There, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and and Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot congratulated the team. Another function was held for fans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and Mr. Shivakumar was present at that event. The function at Vidhana Soudha gave the public adequate time to throng the stadium. More than 2 lakh people reportedly congregated at the gates, leading to the stampede that claimed 11 lives. The police were clearly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and the lack of medical and other facilities. According to reports, the passes or tickets that were to be given to fans to go inside the stadium were to be given near the gates. Communication completely collapsed. It was claimed that news of the stampede did not reach the venue of the function. The celebrations inside the stadium happened even after tragedy unfolded outside. Where were the officials? It was surprising that Mr. Dayananda was finally suspended. After all, he was the one who had apparently warned the government against holding the function at such short notice. After being out on the streets the entire night of June 3-4, the police force was hardly in a position to make arrangements for a massive victory parade of the RCB team. It is also surprising that the Chief Minister did not have the correct picture of the potential consequences of holding such massive celebrations the next day. The Intelligence chief is mandated to give such information and assessment beforehand. In this case, a massive crowd at the stadium was expected. What were the Home Secretary and Chief Secretary doing? They too must have been aware of the impending law-and-order situation surely? And what about the head of the force — the Director General of Police? Should he not have taken a stand? So, is the Police Commissioner the fall guy? Support has been pouring in for him on social media for advising the government correctly. Not one Minister has been able to give a justifiable, logical argument as to why this happened or how it was allowed to happen. We also need to ask why the government chose to be associated with this programme. This is not the Karnataka Ranji Team. It is a cricket league run by a private franchise. During the IPL, a couple of cricket teams owned by rich people select players through an auction. Money pours in from advertisers and sponsors because the public loves to see sixes flying all over the stadium. Yet the cricket mania seems to have gripped politicians too. By holding a State function and having politicians meet the players elevated this championship victory to a much higher status. The RCB management and the Karnataka State Cricket Association clearly took advantage of the government's indecision and went ahead with their plans to glorify themselves and market their achievements. The police have said that they did not grant permission for a victory parade, but the RCB management took to social media on the morning of June 4 and announced a victory parade nevertheless. The State government ignored the advice of the key official and joined in the premature celebrations. Worse, instead of owning up to it and asking one of its own to resign, it suspended the Police Commissioner, holding him solely responsible for the tragedy. As usual, the government has constituted a one-man judicial commission to probe the tragedy. As the commission goes about its work, the real issues — the unforgivable lapses in administration — will remain obfuscated and slowly get buried in the sands of time. Yashovardhan Azad, IPS officer (retd.), is former Central Information Commissioner; former Special Director, Intelligence Bureau; and former Secretary, Security, Government of India