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By K.R. Nayar There is something wonderfully satisfying about watching cricketers who once played simply for the joy of the game earn the rewards that their passion, perseverance and performances deserve. When that reward comes in the form of thousands of dollars in a major franchise league, it becomes more than an auction result—it becomes a beautiful chapter in a cricketer’s journey. The moment Muhammad Waseem earned the highest ever price paid to a UAE player. Photo by K.R. Nayar  For UAE cricket, the DP World ILT20 Player Auction at the ICC Academy on October 1, 2026, was exactly that. UAE cricketers Muhammad Waseem, Alishan Sharafu, Vriitya Arvind, Aayan Khan and Muhammad Rohid - players whose exploits I have had the privilege of reporting from their early days - saw their hard work translated into impressive auction prices. When Alishan Sharafu got sold for $110,000.   The UAE’s hard-working cricketers collectively pocketed around US$1 million from the auction...

By K.R. Nayar Five centuries and 811 runs in the second ODI at Guwahati made batters look like a firing squad. It was sheer massacre of bowlers on a pitch that seemed like it was meant only for batters. It is likely that bowlers from both the teams may need counselling before the third ODI. When the West Indies posted 405 for 7, it looked like an unscalable mountain. Indian batters, led by captain Shubman Gill’s unbeaten double century and Rohit Sharma’s century, made the score look like a molehill. Winning the second ODI of the series by eight wickets, with 39 balls to spare, makes one wonder whether India could have chased a target of over 500 runs as well.  The West Indies scored their highest total with centuries from John Campbell, Shai Hope and Amir Jangoo, and yet could not win. An ODI match like this could dissuade  youngsters from wanting to be a bowler. There was a time when a score close to 380 was a sure shot victory for that team, and the captain would be prep...

By K.R. Nayar  Kohli is a blessed cricketer. Hence, it is no coincidence that he produced another historic feat in Kerala, known as God’s Own Country. In the process, the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram and its cricket-loving fans were blessed too. They were all treated to a royal exhibition by King Kohli, who marched past the 15,000-run mark and became the fastest to reach the landmark, doing so in his 303rd ODI innings—74 innings quicker than Sachin Tendulkar, who reached the mark in his 377th. Kohli was not content with merely making history. He decided to adorn it with a spectacular unbeaten century. For the first time in his international career, he reached both his half-century and century with sixes. And, if that was not enough, he hit nine sixes—the most he has ever hit in an ODI innings. Thiruvananthapuram also witnessed something truly special: two of India’s finest ODI batsmen of the present generation, skipper Shubman Gill and Kohli, produced match-winning cent...

By K.R. Nayar Though India won their only T20 International match at Sano by a nail-biting two runs, it was a morale-boosting defeat for Japan, who took on the giants of world cricket. It was a match reduced to five overs per side following a delayed start due to a wet outfield. But that did not dampen the excitement as Japan turned the match into a thriller and got Team India to sweat for their win.  The fact that Japan tightened India to only 32 for 4 in five overs in their first big match is itself a huge honour. Japan did lose the match, but they walked off holding their heads high, winning the respect of a cricket giant and catching the attention of the cricketing world.  Had Japan won, it would have been labelled a historic upset. Those who tuned in late and saw the scoreboard reading 14 for 3 would not, in their wildest dreams, have imagined it to be India’s score. For India, it was another victory, but for Japan, it was a cricketing fairy tale that they can rec...

By K.R. Nayar When the Japan cricket team takes on India in a Men’s T20 International cricket match on September 22, 2026, at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture for the Suzuki Cup, it will make cricket enthusiast and Dubai-based businessman Shyam Bhatia a very happy man. To encourage cricket in Japan, way back in 2011, he had distributed cricket kits to children in Japan through his Cricket for Care charity. What started as a selfless gesture has travelled a remarkable distance - from a cricket kit in the hands of a Japanese child to an international match against one of the world’s cricketing giants. Fifteen years later, when Japan takes on India, Bhatia will have every reason to smile. It is a moment when a small seed planted with kindness has grown into a tree of opportunity. The journey may have taken years, but the reward is a historic occasion for Japanese cricket. Japanese children with the Shyam Bhatia's Cricket for Care charity kits during th...

By K.R. Nayar Indian opener Abhishek Sharma’s meditation celebration after hitting the fastest T20I century ever scored by a player from an ICC Full Member (Test-playing) nation, in New Delhi against Afghanistan in 30 balls, seems to reveal a lot more than his record-shattering feat. The fact that a man who played the most violent knock in T20 cricket celebrated it by sitting cross-legged, closing his eyes and adopting a meditative posture says a lot. Abhishek’s thirty-ball century, during the course of his knock of 108 in 34 balls, with 11 sixes and nine fours, was aggressive, and his decision to opt for a few seconds of tranquillity after the feat, was unexpected. In fact, Abhishek has revealed that through the practice of meditation, which he does regularly, the body can be explosive while the mind remains calm. As a result, he has beaten the previous Full Member batters’ record of reaching a century in 33 balls, jointly held by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and New Zealand’s Finn Al...