IPL 2024 Emerging Player of the Year Nitish Kumar Reddy has said that he is preparing to perform in the “Hardik Pandya-role” for Team India in the near future. After amassing 303 runs in the IPL at a strike-rate of 142, Reddy was set to make his debut in India’s post-T20 World Cup tour to Zimbabwe, but had to pull out at the last minute due to an injury. However, the Sunrisers Hyderabad star is certain that he will make his India debut soon.

“There’s a chance I’ll get to play at no. 7 or no. 6, most likely a Hardik Pandya role. I’m flexible to bat wherever I’m asked to, but as of now I’m preparing for the role that Hardik Pandya is playing,” said Reddy.

Reddy has showcased his ability as both a batsman, and lately as a handy pace bowler, and recently became the most expensive player in the Andhra Premier League.

The 21-year-old showed maturity beyond his years, and was realistic about the chances he would get in the India setup.

“If you ask me to open, I’ll open as well. In the near future, I won’t be getting the chance at the top order because there are more experienced players,” said Reddy. “I have to adapt to whatever role I’ll get, and I’ve been prepared to adapt this way by domestic cricket,” he added.

Reddy was selected for the five-T20I Zimbabwe tour alongside a bunch of new faces, in a side that will be led by Shubman Gill.

“I’m happy that there is a progression for youngsters who are performing well. After Rohit bhai (Rohit Sharma), Virat bhai (Virat Kohli) and Jaddu bhai (Ravindra Jadeja)’s retirements, there will be opportunities for youngsters. We need to grab them,” said Reddy.

At just 21, Reddy already has the world at his feet, and expressed delight to become a brand ambassador for Puma, the same brand as his idol, Virat Kohli.

“My inspiration is Virat Kohli, so I’m really proud to be a part of Puma. Puma really supported me through the IPL, and the greatest thing is that they’re providing opportunities to youngsters like myself and Riyan Parag,” Reddy said.

Nitish Kumar Reddy is expected to be retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of next year’s mega auction, after a successful IPL 2024.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir believes while there is no such thing as an ‘unplayable’ delivery, he feels that Mitchell Starc managed to fire one in the IPL 2024 final against SunRisers Hyderabad. KKR pacer Starc bowled the ball of the tournament to dismiss SRH opener Abhishek Sharma in the IPL 2024 final last week. While Starc had a below par season with the ball for KKR, he managed to perform in the key matches for KKR, including the final.

KKR bought the veteran Australian pacer for INR 24.75 crore at the auction, making him the costlies ever buy in the IPL.

During a recent interaction, Gambhir labelled Starc as an X-factor, saying that players like him save their best for the big games.

“We always knew he was the X-Factor and he will become one at the right time. I mean, what other big matches could be there in the IPL? It was the Qualifier 1 and the Final. That is why I say that the big players wait for such occasions, they thrive on these occasions. Money is irrelevant. What Starc brings to the team was more important,” Gambhir told Sportskeeda.

Starc’s out-swinger to Abhishek in the IPL 2024 final kickstarted the downfall of SRH, who were bowled out for 113 after batting first. Gambhir termed the delivery as nearly ‘unplayable’.

“You expect a bowler of this quality to bowl this kind of a delivery. When you bring these kinds of players, they step up when you need them the most. KKR needed Mitchell Starc in the Qualifier 1 and the Final, and he put his hand up and he delivered. I don’t know whether I should say that was an unplayable delivery or not, because we were taught that no delivery is unplayable, but it was certainly very close to unplayable,” he added.

SRH was magnificent at the business end of the tournament as he ended up with 17 wickets, including five in the two knock-out games, to engineer a dominant title-triumph for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team.

He was named Player of the Match in the final as KKR lifted their third IPL trophy, and first after a decade’s wait.

Former Australia World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting predicted that Baggy Greens star opener Travis Head will be the highest run-scorer of the upcoming T20 World Cup. Ahead of the marquee event starting on June 1 in the USA and the West Indies, Travis Head has been enjoying a purple patch with the bat. Ponting has backed Head to emerge as the top run-getter in the highly anticipated tournament. He believes that the southpaw’s performance over the past couple of years in all formats of cricket has been of the highest quality.

“My prediction for the leading run-scorer will be Travis Head. I just think everything he’s done, whether it be red-ball or white-ball in the last couple of years, has been of the highest quality. I think he’s playing fearless cricket at the moment,” Ponting said in the ICC Review Podcast.

In last year’s ODI World Cup, Australia showed faith in him by including Head in the squad despite carrying an injury. Head was added to the playing XI when he regained fitness and repaid the management’s faith by scoring a ton in his comeback match. He also won the Player of the Match award in the semi-final and the final of the tournament.

In the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), Head featured for Sunrisers Hyderabad and emerged as the highest run-scorer for the franchise.

Overall, he was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the tournament with a whopping tally of 567 runs in 15 matches scoring at an average of 40.50 and a mouth-watering tally of 191.55. En route to the final, SRH were buttressed by Head’s explosive start in the opening slot.

He struggled to put up runs at the backend of the tournament but overall showed his destructive potential in the opening front of the shortest format of the game. In the final three games, he registered two ducks and a 34-run knock.

Despite his sub-par performance towards the end of the cash-rich league, Ponting expects fireworks from Head’s bat in the World Cup.

“His IPL had its ups and downs, but when it’s been good, it’s been very good. And it has won games of cricket for his team,” Ponting noted.

“And it’ll be exactly the same for Australia. So, look, he might not be the most consistent on the way through this tournament, but he’ll be right up there, I’m sure, with the leading run scorers. And as I’ve said, if he spends any amount of time at the wicket for Australia, he’ll win more games than ever,” Ponting added.

Australia are placed in Group B alongside England, Namibia, Oman and Scotland. They will begin their campaign against Oman on June 6 at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Celebrations are not stopping anytime soon in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp as the Shreyas Iyer-led side lifted the coveted IPL 2024 trophy. The Kolkata-based franchise played phenomenal cricket throughout the season, bringing out some extraordinary knocks and breathtaking spells. In the summit clash, they easily dominated Sunrisers Hyderabad with both bat and ball and registered a big eight-wicket victory. After waiting for a decade, KKR finally added the third IPL trophy in their cabinet. They earlier clinched the title in 2012 and 2014.

Amid all the celebrations, KKR batter Rinku Singh gave fans a hilarious moment to cherish. As everyone from the KKR camp was celebrating at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, Rinku tried his hands at vlogging.

In a video going viral on social media, Rinku welcomed his viewers and requested them to subscribe his channel and press the bell icon. However, he fumbled while saying all this, which left Nitish Rana, his wife, and Anukul Roy in splits.

“Hello guys, welcome to new vlog. Subscribe kar lo. Ghanta button daba do. We have won the final trophy. My dream has come true. This my didi (Rana’s wife), bhaiya (Rana) and Anukul,” Rinku said. 

Rinku singhpic.twitter.com/3LC7WVH39B

— Gambhir (@Karn975) May 26, 2024

“Outstanding feeling right now. Dream has come true – I have been here for 7 years and we are so happy. Credit to GG sir. I will finally lift the IPL trophy. It was God’s plan,” said Rinku after KKR’s victory.

As the IPL 2024 has ended, everyone’s eyes are now set on the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will kick-start from June 1, co-hosted by United States and the West Indies.

Rinku, who stunned everyone with his blistering knocks in IPL 2023, had an average outing with the bat in this edition. Resulting which, he was snubbed from Team India’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup.

However, Rinku has been named as the travelling reserve, along with Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed.

First batch of the India squad reached New York on Monday, where they will be squaring off against Ireland in their campaign opener on June 5.

Kolkata Knight Riders clinched the IPL 2024 title after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the summit clash by eight wickets. Asked to bat first, SRH had a horrendous day as they were bundled out for 113 with Andre Russell and Mitchell Starc scalping three and two wickets respectively. Later, KKR chased down the target in just 10.3 overs and lifted their third IPL trophy. After the victory, celebrations began in camp KKR but the mood was exactly opposite in camp SRH as their owner Kavya Maran could not hide tears.

Kavya, who always supported SRH with a beautiful smile on her face, left many hearts broken with her crying face. 

As soon the video of her crying went viral on social media, many memes started circulating. However, few fans shared some posts, apologizing her for SRH’s defeat. 

Will never forgive KKR for making Kavya Maran Cry

pic.twitter.com/wbswAh0Vrn

— Mohit (@mohit12j) May 26, 2024

Sorry Kavya Ma’am But This Was About Silencing Pat Cummins Again pic.twitter.com/zeDnzwe576

— Dr Khushboo (@khushbookadri) May 26, 2024

Feeling sad for her #kavyamaran pic.twitter.com/Dlz4gOchuI

— VIKAS JHA (@vikasnisu_007) May 26, 2024

“They bowled fantastically. Unfortunately, old mate Starcy turned it on again. Not enough tonight, totally outplayed. You hope you get a few boundaries away but they bowled fantastically well, didn’t really give us anything. Similar to last week in Ahmedabad where they bowled really well, so full credit. It was a bit of a tricky wicket. If we got 160, it would have felt we were in the game. Didn’t feel like a 200+ wicket,” said SRH skipper Pat Cummins after the heartbreaking loss. 

“Great season. It was fantastic, hadn’t worked with many of the guys before at all. It was a real pleasure to work with some of the older, experienced guys like Bhuvi. Bhuvi, Nattu, Jaydev were great and lots of young talent throughout. Really great squad, the support staff were amazing, had a great couple of months. We play a lot over here in India but it’s normally a sea of blue,” he added. 

It was one of the most memorable nights for Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League history after their title win on Sunday. The side dominated in IPL 2024 with some sensational all-round display. Be it in batting, bowling or fielding, KKR certainly ticked all the boxes and deservedly won the title that too after a one-sided victory in the final. Getting an invitation to bowl first, KKR first bundled out SunRisers Hyderabad for a paltry total of 113 and then chased it down in mere 10.3 overs to finish the game.

What followed was a grand celebration from the Kolkata-based franchise, who won its third IPL title and first in a decade.

KKR first won the IPL title in 2014 and then repeated the feat in 2014. But what followed was a trophy drought for the side that lasted for 10 years.

On Sunday, the quest for a third title ended and the entire KKR management, players, and owners were seen celebrating the success. Here is how it all took place –

On the ground, KKR players like Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh took selfies with fans and distributed their gears to the ground staff, stated a News18 report. Meanwhile, the KKR members were sporting special “Champions of 2024” T-shirts and mentor Gautam Gambhir was no expection. Even his two daughters and wife were also in the same attire.

The dressing room celebrations saw owners Shah Rukh Khan, Jay Mehta and Juhi Chawla being with the entire squad with inspiring speeches loud enough to be heard outside the area of restricted access. This all continued for 45 minutes before the players walked to the team bus to reach their hotel, stated the report.

An elated Nitish Rana had a speaker in his hand while walking out with White Brown Black by Karan Aujla being played in it. Rana was singing along the beat being joined by captain Shreyas Iyer.

The trophy got the first seat which was adjacent to KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir, who played a crucial role in the team’s dominating campaign in IPL 2024, and the cameras never actually stopped clicking pictures as it continued even on the team bus, said the detailed report.

In the team hotel, a couple of cakes and champagne were already waiting for the champion team. Sunil Narine, who turned 36 on Sunday, cut the cake before betting some part of it being applied on his face. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer opened the champagne bottle and what followed was a loud, loud celebration. It was one of the most memorable nights for KKR and a long one too!

Shah Rukh Khan and Team KKR blow flying kiss to celebrate their win© X (Twitter)

Team KKR clinched the IPL 2024 title© BCCI

Kavya Maran delivers an emotional speech after the IPL 2024 final© X (formerly Twitter)

File photo of Virat Kohli© AFP