krbuzz

By K.R. Nayar From Dubai International Stadium With the heat and the no-handshake incident looming large, India and Pakistan trained hard at the ICC Academy on Tuesday. The Indian players looked calm, unshaken by all the happening around as this reporter managed to take a few close photos of them walking in for training. A large number of fans cheered for Shubman Gill, who walked in with Tilak Varma, followed by strike bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel. Almost all batters ended their batting sessions with lofted shots. Every few minutes, screams of “watch out!” filled the air—not from the players, but from scribes trying to protect their laptops, cameras, and skulls.   Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma arrive for training at the ICC Cricket Academy. Photo by K.R. Nayar  Cartons of water and fruits, especially bananas, were being taken to the dressing room as the players sweated it out in the heat. The UAE team practiced at the adjacent ICC Cricket Academy ground from 5 p....

By K.R. Nayar  From Dubai International Stadium It is said that ‘Behind the success of every man is a woman’. Is that the reason Sri Lankan women supporters turned up in large numbers to outnumber the men during the Sri Lanka-Hong Kong match? They cheered more loudly than the men from the stands and danced to the music continuously. Could it be that these lady fans were behind Hong Kong dropping 11 catches, which helped Sri Lanka win the tense match by four wickets with only seven balls to spare? Following the butter-fingered fielding by the Hong Kong team, there can now be only one solution: Hong Kong players should not be served butter for breakfast during the entire series, because they don’t have enough time to train and sharpen their catching skills. A few Sri Lanka fans wore the Lasith Malinga wig, which has been dwindling in numbers over the years. Sri Lanka women fans at the Dubai International Stadium for the match against Hon Kong. Photo by K.R. Nayar  Staking clai...

By K.R. Nayar From Dubai International Stadium   Is it a big thing if two skippers do not shake hands after or before the match? Although it’s a convention that has been followed in cricket, it did not happen during the India-Pakistan match on Sunday due to the political tension between these two nations. Cricket is not a body-contact sport like rugby or soccer, and hence can easily pass without any touch. In boxing, they don’t shake hands, but they touch each other’s gloves before both try to hit the hell out of each other. It looked like Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav was merely following instructions from above and hence indulged only in hitting the ball that came out of the Pakistan bowlers’ hands!   Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav walks away without shaking hands with Pakistan players along with Shivam Dube  When Pakistan skipped the presentation ceremony   The match was a one-sided affair with India beating Pakistan emphatically. It’s time that India...

By K.R. Nayar From Dubai International Stadium Team India cricketers are always under the microscope. There is no scope for them to miss the roving eyes of the Indian media. When Shubman Gill was hit on the hand during practice on Saturday evening, that news became viral within minutes, even before his pain subsided. Some of the news-hungry reporters, who hover around the practice area, gave a detailed description of all those who were next to Gill after the injury and how team colleague Abhishek Sharma offered him some water even before the physio reached him. It was also reported that he sat on an ice box with a worried look, although not sure how scribes caught that look since they are positioned at quite a distance from the practice area. Whether he was worried or not could be seen only with a zoom camera.  Shubhman Gill warming up. Photo ACC This prompted many to rush to the practice venue, with photographers trying to capture his mood. Interestingly, within m...

By K.R. Nayar From Dubai International Stadium At a time when calls to boycott the India-Pakistan Asia Cup match on September 14 are rampant, some fans in the UAE are keen to watch not just one group-stage match but they also hope for an India-Pakistan final! So, only time will tell whether it will be a double dose or not. A UAE cricket fan who never misses India-Pakistan matches even said that the least those who protest can do is close their televisions during the match and remain silent during that span. However, there are many Indian fans here, who, as a mark of protest, have decided to give this match a miss. Hence, for the first time, tickets are still available on the eve of the match. Organisers have put out a release on Friday saying a fresh batch of match tickets would be available. Sheila Razdan, who worked at the International Cricket Council for 17 years as an administrator and was also the Executive Assistant to Abdulrahman Bukhatir, who organised the first Asia Cup i...

By K.R. Nayar From Dubai International Stadium At a time when people prefer smart watches, smart appliances and smart phones, Bangladesh decided to play ‘smart cricket’ against Hong Kong at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. They beat Hong Kong by seven wickets with only 14 balls to spare, labelling it as ‘smart cricket’. Bangladesh’s middle-order batter Towhid Hridoy, who hit an unbeaten 35, while speaking at the post-match press conference said: “The goal was to play ‘smart cricket’ and win the first game instead of focusing on the run rate.” He hit out at the media, adding: “You (the media) would have had something to say had we lost today.”  Though Hridoy stated they preferred smart cricket, the fact is that they were cautious because in May 2025, Bangladesh had lost the series 2-1 to the UAE at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. So frankly, it was not smart cricket, as most likely the toppers in this group (called the group of death) with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka as the other...