Mustafizur Rahman (Agency Photo)

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has found himself at the centre of attention, both for his cricketing milestone and a growing controversy around his IPL participation. Amid the ongoing debate, Mustafizur took to social media to celebrate a personal achievement and his recent performance in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

After a strong outing against the Sylhet Titans, Mustafizur shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) that reflected gratitude and calm amid the noise.“Alhamdulillah for another milestone. 400 T20 wickets and a solid win against the Sylhet Titans. Always grateful to perform. Thanks to everyone for the love and support,” Mustafizur Rahman wrote on X.While Mustafizur continues to perform on the field, things have taken a different turn off it. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release the Bangladeshi pacer ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League season. This decision came after political pressure and public debate following KKR’s move to sign him at the IPL auction.KKR had bought Mustafizur for Rs 9.20 crore, well above his base price of Rs 2 crore, after a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals. The franchise saw him as an experienced overseas bowler who could strengthen their attack. However, soon after the signing, objections were raised by sections of the Bharatiya Janata Party and some religious groups. Their concerns were linked to the current strain in India–Bangladesh relations and reports of violence in Bangladesh. What began as a cricketing decision quickly turned into a sensitive political issue.BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the board’s decision and clarified that KKR would be allowed to sign a replacement player.“The BCCI has asked Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from its squad. They can ask for a replacement if needed, and upon request, the BCCI will allow a replacement player,” Saikia told PTI on Saturday.When asked about the reason behind the call, he added, “Because of recent developments all across.”Despite the controversy, Mustafizur continues to make an impact in the BPL. He recently took three wickets for Sylhet Titans, showing that his focus remains firmly on cricket.

India’s Sumit Nagal (AP/PTI)

Bengaluru: Sumit Nagal dropped his kit bag and stared at it for a moment before reaching for his rackets. He could barely look at the graphite sticks. A part of him wanted to obliterate them. The 28-year-old had just lost in straight sets to Frenchman Geoffrey Blancaneaux in the first round of an ATP Challenger in Lyon in early June. It was a defeat that stung — Nagal hadn’t dropped a set in four previous meetings with Blancaneaux.

Sensing the storm brewing inside India’s No.1, coach Sascha Nensel stepped in. He grabbed the bag and told Nagal to take a break, to simply get away from the tennis court. “Those back-to-back tournaments in Heilbronn and Lyon were bad,” Nagal says six months later, leaning forward in his seat at a luxury hotel in Bengaluru. “I was playing such bad tennis. I was missing, making a lot of errors. I’m hitting the ball, but I don’t know where it is going. It’s the worst place to be for a tennis player. Lyon was rock bottom.” From there, Nagal and Yash Pandey, friend and sports physiotherapist, drove nearly 370 km to the Swiss resort town of Interlaken. Over the next five days, the duo hiked through the Bernese Alps. They spoke occasionally, and slowly the weight Nagal had been carrying through the first half of 2025 began to lift. The slump had consequences. Nagal’s ranking fell out of the top 300 in the second half of last year, pushing him out of even the qualifying fields of Grand Slams. The slide felt steep because it came on the heels of his best season yet, when he had climbed to a career-high No.68. In a sport where the number beside a name becomes the player’s identity, the drop has meant that, for the first time in two years, Nagal, ranked No.277 this week, will miss the Australian Open from Jan 18. Instead, he will start his 2026 campaign next week in Bengaluru at an ATP 125 Challenger, where he’ll hope to kickstart his return to the top 100. “You are top 100, you don’t play well and in four months you are 180,” Nagal says. “Nobody likes to be 300 whatever. The tournaments are very different, prize money is different. The hardest part for me was that I wasn’t playing at the level I wanted to play. The mental part too is a challenge; you struggle with motivation.” A low-grade temperature early in 2025 disrupted Nagal’s schedule. It didn’t help either that he didn’t have much of a pre-season. “Going forward, I will do pre-seasons for four to six weeks, playing a maximum of one league, because that’s what works best for my body and my game,” he says. Some of the missteps, Nagal admits, came down to inexperience at that level. “This was the first time I was 68 in the world,” he says. “There were some matches when I was 80 or 90 that I could have done better in. It was a learning experience.” At 5 ft 11, Nagal relies heavily on his legs and all-round consistency. In hindsight, he feels he should have put the rackets away even for a week the moment mental focus began to slip. “I should have come home, for some love and ghar ka khana — mooli parathas, cheeni roti…” he says, laughing, his eyes lighting up.

Teenage opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius smashed an unbeaten 98 before Ottniel Baartman held his nerve in the final over as Paarl Royals edged MI Cape Town by one run in a gripping SA20 derby. Baartman’s late strikes and Sikandar Raza’s three-wicket burst proved decisive.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius ignited his SA20 Season 4 campaign with a superb unbeaten 98, guiding Paarl Royals to a dramatic one-run win over MI Cape Town in a pulsating Western Cape derby at Boland Park on Friday night.With 15 to defend in the final over, Royals seamer Ottniel Baartman found himself under severe pressure after Kagiso Rabada launched the third ball for a six over long-off. The momentum appeared to have shifted, but Baartman struck back immediately, having Rabada caught on the boundary with the very next delivery.

That left MI Cape Town needing six off the final ball. George Linde struck a length delivery sweetly over cover, only for the ball to drop inches short of the rope, triggering wild celebrations among the home supporters.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!After a quiet start to the season, Pretorius rediscovered his touch at his favourite venue. The teenage opener was back to his attacking best, striking 10 fours and two sixes during a commanding 65-ball innings. Although the Royals crowd urged him towards a maiden T20 hundred, Rabada’s final-ball dot denied him the milestone.

Ottniel Baartman of Paarl Royals celebrates getting the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen of MI Cape Town during Match 10 of the SA20 Season 4. (SA20)

MI Cape Town were under pressure from the outset as Pretorius and Asa Tribe dominated the powerplay. The opening pair added exactly 100 in 10.4 overs before captain Rashid Khan (2/31) dismissed Tribe for 51 off 34 balls.The visitors responded strongly with the bat, as Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton (36) put on 77 for the first wicket in 7.5 overs. However, new Royals signing Sikandar Raza (3/27) turned the contest, removing Rickelton and Nicholas Pooran before cleaning up Tom Moores with his first delivery.

MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan hits over the top for six during Match 10 of the Betway SA20 Season 4 between Paarl Royals (PR) and MI Cape Town (MICT). (SA20)

Baartman then delivered the decisive blow, claiming both Van der Dussen (59) and Jason Smith (1) within three balls to derail MI Cape Town’s chase and seal a memorable win for the Royals.Brief Scores Paarl Royals: 181 for 3 in 20 overs (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 98 not out, Asa Tribe 51; Rashid Khan 2/31)MI Cape Town: 180 for 8 in 20 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 59, Ryan Rickelton 36; Ottneil Baartman 4/51, Sikandar Raza 3/27)

Rishabh Pant (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)

New Delhi: The current Indian team management’s go-to word has been ‘flexibility’. Now, it remains to be seen whether the selectors continue to experiment or opt for continuity. At the centre of this debate is Rishabh Pant. By standard team-building logic, Pant’s place in the 15-member squad shouldn’t be in doubt. He has warmed the bench as KL Rahul’s backup wicketkeeper for the last 18 months. Since coming back from a car accident, he has played only one ODI — on a rank turner in Sri Lanka in Aug 2024. Before the accident, Pant averaged over 41 with a strike rate close to 110 while batting at No. 4. Much has changed since. Gautam Gambhir has consolidated his influence as head coach. Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Shubman Gill as captain. ‘Flexibility’ and an aversion to superstar culture have become core principles of selection.

Three ODIs against New Zealand may not seem significant. But India will play only 20 or so ODIs before the 2027 World Cup. “The team management and selection committee did a good job when they started the transition process. But constant chopping and changing doesn’t help stability. If Pant has been your No. 2 wicketkeeper and is dropped without playing, you are challenging your own selection process. There needs to be consistency in selection, otherwise it doesn’t send a good signal to players coming up the ranks,” former national selector Devang Gandhi told TOI. It is understood that the selectors wanted to rotate Pant and Rahul as wicketkeepers in the six home ODIs this season. However, the continued reluctance to play Pant suggests a lack of trust in his abilities. Similar situations have played out in Test cricket with Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy, when the management and captain did not appear to be on the same page. “My only fear is a repeat of 2019, when you didn’t prepare backups in the middle order. Pant can still serve for another seven to eight years. If they feel they can maximise his potential, they must start working with him. He has been part of the system since 2018. If not, they must identify a definite second wicketkeeper — and not keep changing without giving the player a full run, because there aren’t many ODIs before the World Cup,” former India wicketkeeper and broadcaster Deep Dasgupta said. Pant hasn’t set the stage on fire in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on sticky Bengaluru pitches. “I won’t judge him by the runs. He hasn’t played the 50-over format for nearly three-and-a-half years. Before his accident, he had started finding his feet in ODIs. It’s about how much you want to back him,” Dasgupta added.

Team India (Pic credit: BCCI)

If only wishes were horses. After honouring his commitment to the Barmy Army and England cricket fans and gifting them with a two-day win in Melbourne in the fourth Test to make the Ashes appear a bit more competitive, dear old Santa travelled to India, sneaked into the room of a diehard Indian cricket fan and on New Year’s Day, asked him to make a fan wishlist for Indian cricket for 2026. Here’s what Santa found…Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!1. Since it’s all about the fan, can we be a bit selfish? Can you please tell the BCCI that, after the players, we are the biggest stakeholders and that if we don’t watch the games on TV or throng the stadiums, the product they show and advertise looks really bad? So, can you please tell them to provide us with cleaner toilets when we come to the stadiums and access to clean drinking water — either free or at a reasonable price? Oh, we hope we are not asking for too much.

2. We really care about Indian cricket and how it is represented globally. Can we ask for a single person in charge to run the game, rather than honorary administrators who try to do an honest job but, because of the nature of the role, often face no accountability when things go wrong?3. Can we have luminaries without agendas as director of cricket or CEO and give them the freedom to run the show? Let them plan the ‘A’ tours, run camps for junior and senior players before major home or away series, decide on player workloads and have the power to pull players out of lucrative franchise leagues to keep them fresh for important red-ball assignments. Doesn’t Indian cricket deserve that level of efficiency and accountability? Doesn’t the Test cricket fan deserve to see the game played in six or seven fixed venues that have a history of watching and appreciating the nuances of Test cricket? Also, can we please say goodbye to Test-match pitches where wickets and wins are delivered faster than quick-commerce apps deliver our goods?

4. We know leaks in bathrooms and water tanks often result in discoloured walls and damaged foundations. Please tell players, coaches and the administrators, of course, to avoid leaking information to select media outlets just to level scores with people they do not like. The past year saw too many dressing-room rumblings, with the head coach and the players taking veiled potshots at each other through the media.5. Can we see more players being rewarded for performances in domestic cricket? The likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan, despite toiling away earnestly in the domestic circuit, haven’t been rewarded with steady international opportunities. A first step has been taken with the selectors rewarding Ishan Kishan’s success in domestic cricket with a recall for the T20 World Cup. Now can we see some fresh faces for the Sri Lanka Test series in August? As great as the Indian men’s team was in T20Is, we as fans still care about red-ball cricket. Ask any of us what our favourite moment of 2025 was and, apart from Harmanpreet Kaur’s leap in the air at cover to dismiss Nadine de Klerk off Deepti Sharma that sealed the women’s ODI World Cup final for India, it would be Mohammed Siraj uprooting Gus Atkinson’s off stump at the Oval. That wicket resulted in a thrilling six-run win as India levelled the series 2-2 in England. We thought that would signal the start of a red-ball renaissance after a disappointing 2024, but what unfolded against South Africa at home was nothing less than a horror show.

Sarfaraz Khan (AP Photo)

6. While we’re at it, can we ask for a proper No. 3 batter instead of players who are not yet ready for the big stage being handed that position on the basis of success in white-ball cricket? After all, many of Indian cricket’s greats have batted in that position.7. Can you quietly whisper in Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav’s ear that he is allowed to hit the ball on the off side, too, and that he has a range of stunning strokes, not just the pick-up shot in the arc between mid-wicket and long leg? Also, can you ask him if all is okay with his right wrist? And if not, can you provide him with a magic potion that heals it quickly and allows him to play the T20 World Cup without any problems? A lot of people’s jobs could be on the line if India do not win that tournament, Surya included. And the Indian team cannot carry passengers in the top four in a competitive multi-nation tournament.8. Since head coach Gautam Gambhir made a passionate plea about people needing to “stay in their domain” — and not comment on whether India would benefit by splitting the coaching role for redball and white-ball formats — can you tell him to tell the players too to stay in their domain and not make emotional speeches in press conferences or prize distribution ceremonies about patriotism and nationalism? Especially before the team plays Pakistan in Colombo on Feb 15? After all, fans don’t care whether a player is looking at politics as a post-retirement career option!

Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir (BCCI Photo)

9. Can we ask you to tell all cricket lovers not to be as angry and toxic on social media, and not run trends and hashtags to make ‘Player Ro’ appear bigger or greater than ‘Player Ko’?10. Santa, we know we have already gone overboard with our demands, but if it is not too much of a bother, can you also locate the Asia Cup trophy that we won last Sept in Dubai? It would be great if we could have it before the 50-over version comes around next year. That just about does it. Thank you. Happy New Year.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. relish their big moment with the trophy (Pic credit: BCCI)

INDIAN CRICKET: 2025’S UNIQUE NUMBERS

—Stats: Rajesh Kumar

Sachin Tendulkar and his son Arjun

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Yograj Singh has surprised fans with his comments about Arjun Tendulkar, the son of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Yograj believes that Arjun is actually a better batter than people think, but coaches have mostly focused only on his bowling.

Speaking to Ravish Bisht on YouTube, he questioned why coaches were not paying attention to Arjun’s batting.He said, “You are focusing only on his bowling. What are you doing? What has happened? There are so many coaches, what are they doing? He is basically a batter. When he came to me, he was there for around 12-13 days.“I welcomed him. They told me to take care of him, and I told them not to worry. One day, he was hit by a ball, and we took him to a doctor, and he was fine. So, I told him to put on his pads instead to do some batting.” Yograj revealed that Arjun himself felt his batting was being ignored.He added, “He told me that they don’t focus on his batting. So, I said that we would see because I hadn’t seen him bat before. In the nets, he was hitting boundaries everywhere, and then I questioned his coach as to why he wasn’t given batting. I also told him that he is a batter of a great quality, he was batting as his father used to.”Arjun Tendulkar is often seen as a bowling all-rounder in domestic cricket.However, his batting numbers so far have not been very impressive. He averages 21.37 in first-class cricket, 18.25 in List A matches, and 13.5 in T20s. Still, he has shown promise with the bat. He scored a century on his Ranji Trophy debut against Rajasthan in 2022 while batting at number seven. He also has two half-centuries in red-ball cricket. Recently, Arjun has been given more responsibility with the bat while playing for Goa. He has been asked to open the innings in both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In Goa’s latest List A match against Mumbai, Arjun opened the innings and scored 24 runs off 27 balls before getting out to Shardul Thakur. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he scored only 70 runs in five innings, with an average of 14, which was disappointing.