India still in labour pains, before new growth emerges: Aakash Chopra on team’s transition struggles in Tests

IANS | November 18, 2025 11:16 AM

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra spoke in depth about India’s transition struggles in the red-ball format and how the Shubman Gill-led side has been trying different permutations and combinations to get a settled long-term XI. He said that while India drawing the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar trophy in England earlier this year was encouraging, the team is still experiencing ‘labour pains before new growth emerges.’

WPL 2026 could start from early January, final call on venues to come soon: Sources

IANS | November 17, 2025 9:50 PM

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) The 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is likely to begin in early January, with a final decision on venues set to come soon, sources close to the development said to IANS on Monday. Lucknow, Bengaluru, Vadodara, and Mumbai hosted WPL 2025, which was won by Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians (MI) for the second time at the Brabourne Stadium earlier this year.

Indian batters actually aren't that good players of spin on a surface like that, says Haddin

IANS | November 17, 2025 4:10 PM

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin has criticised India’s reliance on playing Tests on turning pitches, stating that Kolkata Test is the second such instance of this backfiring in Gautam Gambhir’s tenure and has exposed that the batting unit doesn’t have players who can play spin bowling well on such surfaces.