Sambit Bal

1 week ago | espn.in | Osman Samiuddin |Sambit Bal

The ICC is considering a change to the existing two-ball playing conditions in ODIs in a bid to restore some balance between bat and ball in the format. A recommendation was made at the ICC meetings in Harare this week to use only one ball from the 35th over of an innings. The recommendation was made by the ICC men's cricket committee, headed by Sourav Ganguly, to board chief executives. Each innings will start with two new balls, as is the case now.

Oct 1, 2024 | espn.co.uk | Vishal Dikshit |Sambit Bal

Sunil Gavaskar had a hall full of people in splits recently at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai. Gavaskar turned 75 in July this year, and to celebrate this milestone, senior journalists Debasish Datta and Shyam Bhatia - the latter owns a cricket museum in the UAE - launched a book called Sunny G, an anthology of tributes and anecdotes on Gavaskar. When he was called on stage though, Gavaskar reeled off even more previously unheard stories from his early days in the Indian team.

Jul 10, 2024 | newsbreak.com | Sambit Bal

I was not 20 when I was forced to confront a future of sporting darkness. Sunil Gavaskar had just retired, out of nowhere, without a warning, without saying goodbye. Just like that, he would be gone. Never in a skull cap again. Cricket is the only sport I really knew, and cricket to me - apologies to Kapil Dev and the 1983 heroes - began with, and I feared then would end with, Gavaskar. No exaggeration, contemplating watching cricket without him was impossible. His leaving felt like a betrayal.

Jun 19, 2024 | newsbreak.com | Sambit Bal

Gifts are sweeter when they arrive in unexpected ways. There were so many imponderables about this T20 World Cup that it was hard to anticipate which way it would go. A new host country, new venues, unused drop-in pitches, a new format, and so many new teams: it was always going to be the biggest World Cup, but what if it turned out to be the dullest?

May 4, 2024 | espn.co.uk | Sambit Bal

Over the years I've learnt that for every upside in an idea - no matter how good - it's guaranteed there'll also be a downside. Consequently there's some disillusionment with the growing amount of six-hitting involved in the T20 game and particularly in the highly successful IPL tournament. Big hitting has dramatically increased. At the present pace IPL 2024 will comfortably set the record for the number of sixes clouted in a match.