Don't know what the future holds for Stokes. But I have always been in awe of his work ethics and it had a tremendous impact on me. He is a proper work horse who bowled himself to the ground irrespective of his body holding up. He took a break from cricket in the summer of 2021 because of his Dad's passing away. Returned to the Ashes but hardly had any impact. In the following series in the Caribbean he bowled 99 overs across 3 tests. 99 !! And Cricviz had rated it the 2nd most batting friendly series after 2005. And in the same year he bowled around 280 overs in test cricket. At Headingly in 2019, he bowled 18 overs on the trot across 2 sessions. Did something similar at Old Trafford in 2022 against the Proteas. Again was the only bowler who was striving in the heat of Ahmedabad by bowling 11 overs spells. He picked an injury in NZ in 2024 yet he continued to bowl and was out for months after that. In 2023 Ashes, he again put his hand up at Edgbaston and came on to bowl with an injured knee and delivered. In Pakistan in 2022 he did something similar by bowling a 10-12 over spell. I can count a number of instances like these. Whenever I don't feel like going for a run or for a ride on my bicycle I always remember these instances and it has motivated me every single time. Last year during Ind series his body had given up yet he was going hammer and tongs with the ball and he eventually had to miss the final test. His commitment is 2nd to none. What I loved about him is he can easily bag million dollar contracts in t20 leagues across the globe, he doesn't have to bowl 30 - 35 overs in a match. Hope you never stop playing Ben.
A 500 run season in IPL is considered great.
So far, 23 players hv multiple 500+ seasons.
If u score 500 runs every season from 2008 to 2025, you still end up short of Kohli’s IPL runs.
Almost a decade ago in 2016, Kohli was going neck to neck with Warner-Dhawan- Baz-Uthappa etc as the best opening bat in IPL, He is now going toe to toe with Gill-Jaiswal-Salt kinda batters while being consistent at it, salute the longevity, salute the greatness while you can
At 36, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is doing something no fast bowler should manage after 15 years of bending his back. He is reinventing himself in real time, turning the final 5 overs into his territory while still owning the first 6 like no one in tournament history.
7 of his 11 wickets this season have come between 16-20 Overs, 12 overs bowled at exactly 8 an over. The death is where bowlers go to die & he walks out with wickets in his pocket.
The story begins with a plate of food. A couple of years ago, Bhuvneshwar woke up feeling like he had swallowed stones. Bloated, heavy, slow. He started stripping things away. Coffee first, then tea, then dairy, then gluten, then anything that had ever walked or flown. Then the DEXA scans arrived. More muscle, sharper agility, a body that once kept him out for months now carrying him through 5 games in 13 days.
RCB took a punt in late 2024 after 10 years at Sunrisers, paying over 10 crore for a bowler the international cricket had buried. His final season in orange had been painful, pace down, edges not carrying, obituaries written.
But RCB saw something beyond the speed gun. A man who understood pressure like a sailor understands tides, who could stand at his mark in 17th over & know exactly which ball would break the game.
Last season he did not just bowl, he taught. Yash Dayal from one end, Josh Hazlewood from the other & in between this quiet man from Meerut led the pack, where to stand, what to expect, which delivery to hold back. RCB won their first title in 18 years. Coincidence is a comfortable word for people who do not understand mentorship.
This season the mentor became executioner again. We know he is the leading wicket taker in IPL powerplay history, the swing merchant who makes the new ball talk. But now he completes the circle, owning all three acts of a T20 innings.
The knuckleball that stops in the pitch, the wide yorker that drags the hitter toward point, the in-swinger at 135 instead of 145.
Cricket chews up fast bowlers before 35. The back goes,knee goes, pace drops, world tells you to pack it in. Bhuvneshwar heard it all. He rewrote his menu, recalibrated his training & keep evolving.
At an age when most seamers are coaching or commentating, he is chasing the Purple Cap & proving that the body will listen if you learn its language. The gut feeling, quite literally, saved him.
for competing with kohli in runs they need gaikwad
for competing with kohli in sr they need mhatre
for competing with kohli in longevity they need raina
for competing with kohli in sixes they need dhoni
this tells a lot
If you love sport and the atmosphere that it brings, you HAVE TO, once in your life, come to this venue and watch an IPL game.
It doesn’t get better anywhere in the world.
Bowlers delivered their worst performance. Massive 204 chase in Finals. Lost our hitter Grace Harris early, all hopes down and Skipper steps up to deliver like a Queen 👑
87(41) will be ETCHED IN RCB HISTORY BOOKS.♥️
Never understood why the ‘anti-football’ label that G/A beasts like Salah have still follows him slightly. This is one of the purest footballers.
Ridiculous IQ, best passer itw, press resistant as fuck, clutch etc. I can go on for ages. This is AESTHETICS.
Top 3 PL MDF OAT.