Perth Scorchers’ Jhye Richardson and Melbourne Renegades’ Brendan Doggett will lead their teams in the game on Dec. 12.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

The Cambridge Dictionary defines introspection as the examination of and attention to your own ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Introspection must be a ruthlessly honest endeavour. It’s not an exercise to impress others but to look inwards, reflect on what one is and what needs to be done to become the best version of oneself. It calls for taking ownership of one’s actions, of accepting mistakes and errors, if any, and of zealously working towards eradicating those mistakes and making amends, if so required.

There is no better example in Indian cricket of the use of introspection as a self-betterment tool than Ishan Kishan, the pocket-sized dynamite who has embarked on a sensational journey of reinvention that has made him one of the hottest properties, if only in the white-ball ecosystem for the time being.

To say that, at the beginning of 2026, his international career was at a crossroads will be a mild understatement. The destructive left-hander had worked himself out of favour as he allowed frustration, if not petulance, to get the better of him.

Overlooked from all three international playing XIs in the interest of team requirements and balance despite having done little wrong, Kishan took a leave of absence midway through the tour of South Africa in 2023-24, citing the need for a mental reset.

In choppy waters

But when he refused to obey the diktats of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and made himself unavailable to play domestic cricket for Jharkhand despite practising for IPL 2024, which was imminent, he found himself in choppy waters. In an unequivocal warning, the BCCI stripped him of his central contract – as it did with current T20I captain Shreyas Iyer. The unsaid message was clear – don’t take anything for granted.

Kishan had one of two paths to choose – wallow in self-pity, rail at the injustice of it all and allow himself to go to seed, or smell the coffee, accept that he had done himself no favours and wake up to the reality that if he aspired to represent the country again, he would have to not just produce the runs expected of him but to reiterate without any scope for doubt that he had learned his lesson.

The Jharkhandi did all that and more. He was outstanding in domestic cricket across formats, not just batting with flair and keeping with assurance but also slipping effortlessly into the role of a leader. His tactical acumen revealed itself time and again, manifesting in a maiden domestic title – the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – last season with the captain himself starring in the final with a brazen century.

As India grappled with opening woes ahead of the home T20 World Cup, where they would be defending the title won in Bridgetown under Rohit Sharma in June 2024, Kishan suddenly emerged as a very obvious and viable option. That the mandarins occupying the corridors of power had forgiven him became obvious when Suryakumar Yadav, the skipper, called up the younger man and asked him if he would win the team the World Cup.

Clearly, it wasn’t a call Suryakumar made on his own. He would have consulted his bosses before approaching Kishan during a brief but very pithy chat. “Chhotu, World Cup jitayega?” the captain asked the wicketkeeper-batter, who responded with, “Bharosa karogey?” (Will you trust me?). Suryakumar’s reply was instantaneous — “Chal, kiya” (Done). And just like that, Kishan was back in favour, back in business, back doing what he loves the most.

Celebrating the reintegration

Needless to say, Kishan kept up his end of the bargain. He celebrated his reintegration with international cricket with scores of 76, 28 and 103 in his second, third and fourth outings back, against New Zealand in India’s final engagement before the World Cup. All these knocks came at No. 3, but with Sanju Samson suddenly blowing cold, he was thrust into the role of the opener-wicketkeeper at the World Cup, where he reeled off 20, 61, 77, 18 and 0 in the first five fixtures.

However, India were unable to get off to meaningful starts as opponents started to exploit the all-left opening salvo with off-spinners of varying quality.

Abhishek Sharma was in the middle of a horror run and therefore to break up the monotony of two left-handers, the think-tank took a punt on Samson, brought him back as opener and stumper and pushed Kishan down to No. 3 from the Super Eight fixture against Zimbabwe onwards. Samson came to the party with breathtaking knocks in the last three matches, including in the semis against England and the final against New Zealand, but Kishan didn’t seem the drop to one-down with 38 (24b), 10 (6), 39 (18) and a whirlwind 25-ball 54 in the title clash.

Chhotu did help Suryakumar lift the World Cup, but while his fortunes have continued to be on the upswing, the man who created history by becoming the first to oversee a successful title-retention campaign was immediately dumped without so much as a thank you.

His T20I heroics have brought Kishan back into the ODI mix as well. In June, he marked his comeback with a frenetic 125, off a mere 79 deliveries, against Afghanistan in Lucknow, in what was just his second 50-over international in 32 months. By this time, he had led Sunrisers Hyderabad for the first half of IPL 2026, with regular skipper Pat Cummins travelling with the squad but not cleared to enter the fray by Cricket Australia.

Even though he knew that he was only keeping the seat warm for the Australian Test and ODI skipper, Kishan wasn’t a stand-in captain in the strictest sense. He brought his tactical acumen and man-management skills into play, led from the front and left the team in a good space – and handily placed to make a charge for the playoffs – when the Aussie reassumed charge.

Cummins was quick at every opportunity to laud Kishan’s leadership skills in his absence, their mutual respect apparent from the repeated discussions the nominated captain had with the man who had led in his absence when the two were reunited on the field of play for the second half of the season.

Distinct and stated desire

Kishan isn’t merely content with white-ball laurels, though. At least among Indian batters, there is a distinct and stated desire to represent the country in Test cricket. Tilak Varma, the gifted 23-year-old, said as much on the eve of the ongoing Duleep Trophy final, where he is leading South Zone against Kishan’s East.

Tilak has made a name for himself as an exuberant, new-age T20 player, a reputation that has landed him the vice-captaincy of the national side, and it won’t be long before he becomes a 50-over certainty too. But he is consumed by the ambition to play for the country in the five-day format.

Since debuting in the Ranji Trophy for Hyderabad when he was only 16 years old, the rangy left-hander has stacked up an average of 55.77 from 24 First Class matches. He has often been unable to represent his state in the red-ball game because invariably, India’s players are involved in some T20 outing or the other during the Ranji Trophy, but it’s only a matter of time before Tilak gatecrashes the Test side as well.

In that race, he has Kishan for company and competition. Obviously, the shorter man is considerably older than Tilak and has greater experience of first-class cricket – 66 matches before the Duleep final, an average of just under 40 and nine hundreds with a best of 273. Kishan’s red-ball quest is anything but straightforward.

The effervescent Rishabh Pant is the designated wicketkeeper-batter who is relishing his second coming at the international level after a long break following his terrible car accident in December 2022, while Dhruv Jurel has stolen a significant march as the gloveman-in-waiting.

Jurel’s Test debut came when Pant was recuperating from a series of surgeries, and he immediately caught the eye with his agility and compactness behind the sticks and his composure and technique in front of it. In only his second Test, he steered the team to a tense victory in Ranchi in the company of current skipper Shubman Gill and has stacked up two centuries in his last seven Tests.

How highly he is rated by the leadership group is evidenced by the fact that he is in the Test XI as a specialist batter, occupying the No. 6 position so that he can split left-handers Pant and Ravindra Jadeja.

His last Test knock was a flowing unbeaten 115 in Colombo a fortnight back and even though he is widely regarded as a terrific player of spin, it is hard to see him being dislodged when India play their next Test, in seam-friendly Wellington in November.

Work cut out

Kishan knows therefore that he has his work cut out, but no one also knows better than him that hard work can take you places you had never imagined were accessible. His statement-making double-hundred in the Duleep final in Chepauk is exactly the kind of start to the domestic First Class season he would have envisaged, and one can rest assured that when he is not on India white-ball duty, he will torment bowlers whilst masterminding Jharkhand’s fortunes in a leadership capacity.

Listening to Kishan speak over the last few months is a refreshing, eye-opening experience. One can see the deep impact of losing the central contract and finding himself in the dumps, but one can also easily make out that he has now become a more mature, grounded and realistic human being who has still retained his innate impishness and the slant towards mischief. Clarity of thought is evident every time he opens his mouth, a clarity that is a spillover from his awareness in the middle.

In Ishan Kishan’s fall from grace and his willingness to not just climb back on the horse but become a champion jockey again is a shining example of the wonders self-belief and commitment to the cause can catalyse. The intelligent young man is no longer chasing shadows or slaying inner demons. More power to him.

Chaminda Vaas was never purely about raw pace or theatrical intimidation. He was about craft. A left-arm seamer with immaculate control, subtle movement and relentless accuracy, Vaas could make a new ball swing, seam or move sharply inward into a batsman before settling into the kind of pressure that eventually broke them.

Vaas took 355 wickets in 111 Tests and 400 in 322 ODIs, becoming Sri Lanka’s most prolific fast bowler in both formats. He could bat too, scoring more than 3,000 Test runs – which includes a century. But his defining quality was simple: he made precision feel dangerous, and that came to the fore at the 2003 World Cup, where he emerged as the leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets.

Now 52, and sporting a striking silver mane, Vaas remains closely involved with the game as a coach and mentor. He was recently in Hyderabad for a mentorship stint with the Palamuru Strikers in TG20. In an interview with The Hindu, he talks about the evolution of fast bowling, the demands of modern cricket, his coaching experiences around the world, and memories of Sri Lanka’s iconic 1996 World Cup triumph. Excerpts:

You have worked across the world with various franchises as a mentor and coach. How has that experience been?

With subcontinent players, their maturity takes some time to develop, and their game understanding can be a bit limited early on. But once they mature, they learn quickly. I always tell youngsters that discipline and fitness are the two things you cannot compromise on in this sport. If you’re committed to becoming a cricketer, you have to sacrifice a lot — but if you commit to yourself, I’m sure you can succeed. The way youngsters in India have stepped up and delivered for Indian cricket has been amazing.

You played over 100 Tests and 300 ODIs. Those are remarkable numbers for a fast bowler, given how brutal the game is on the body. With today’s focus on nutrition and fitness science, players still seem to break down more often. Is there anything about modern training or diet that makes you think, “We never needed that to play this much cricket”?

I’m not going to argue with the science. A lot of new methods and logic have come up. But one thing I do believe is that the amount of cricket today’s youngsters play can sometimes be too much. As I said earlier, fitness is the most important thing. If you’re physically strong enough to support your mindset, that matters most. You need to look after yourself, time things right, and stay focused, especially fast bowlers. If you want to play longer and perform well, fitness comes first, along with proper rehab and the right diet.

You were known for your late in-swingers, especially to right-handed batters. What are your thoughts on swing bowling in the current era?

After watching the last edition of the IPL, most bowlers don’t swing the ball much anymore. The game has become a batsman’s paradise. But I still believe bowlers who can swing the ball and hit the right areas can take wickets. The number of balls going for boundaries is higher than bowlers might expect, but I’m confident that bowlers who focus on swing can still take plenty of wickets.

Left-arm fast bowlers seem to carry a certain aura that right-arm bowlers don’t quite have…

Left-armers are unique; they are a special breed. When they start bowling and try to perform, they always focus and give their best. I’m not saying right-armers don’t, but left-armers bring something special, and they tend to do things the right way.

The game has become batsman-dominated, thanks in part to T20 cricket. If you were coaching an up-and-coming 18-year-old left-arm pace bowler today, would you tell him to focus purely on swing, or on developing variations? What’s the right balance?

As a bowler, you have to keep it simple. My philosophy as a coach – for bowlers or batters – is not to complicate the game. If you overcomplicate things, they won’t go your way; if you keep things simple, the game itself is simple. Especially in fast bowling, I always say: do the right things. The batter will come after you, but remember, you have six balls to his one chance. If you bowl good areas and good lines consistently, you’ll get your wickets and keep the batter under pressure.

You spoke about your relationship with Muralitharan. When you trained together, how many times did you face him, and did you ever figure him out by the end of your career?

It was always very difficult for me to read him. He’d bowl the off-spinner or the doosra, and I never quite got the better of him. Nor he of me! But yeah, he was very hard to face. I could see why he became such an important bowler. Every time he practised, he’d bowl right until the end of the session. That’s the kind of dedication and potential that made him the number one bowler in the world.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of the 1996 World Cup win. Did the team have a group chat to reminisce, or do friends and family bring it up with you on the anniversary?

We celebrated in Malaysia this year. One of the Sri Lankan community groups organised it there. We went as a team and had a really good time. Even though Sri Lanka is a small country, a group of us — three or four guys at least — meet up regularly and share memories. We had a great time in Malaysia, even played a game together.

It’s been 30 years, and you’ve spoken about that campaign a lot. But is there one behind-the-scenes story that not many people know?

Nothing specific comes to mind, but if I have to mention something, then I will say that we had a tough time in 1996. After touring Australia, we had a terrible tournament there, and then there was the Motera incident and a few other setbacks. We went into the 1996 World Cup as underdogs, but we played as one family. I remember our captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, telling us that it was a very important tournament. He told us not to show off, but to play well from game one. He always encouraged the youngsters, and that’s how we came together as a team and won the World Cup.

You’ve had a 30-year career across various franchises, and interest in the sport has only grown. Tell us about dressing-room life, something fans never really get to see or understand, especially with the national team.

It depends on the format. A Test match is totally different from a one-day game. In Tests, you get up every morning and come back to the dressing room, whether things are going well as a team or not, you have to face it together. There are ups and downs, but as a player, you deal with all of that in the dressing room.

In one-day cricket, it’s similar, we always support and encourage each other and try to give our best, whether we’re representing our country, playing county cricket in England, or playing franchise cricket. You need a good rapport with your teammates wherever you play.

On a lighter note, during your time with the Sri Lankan national team as a player or coach, who was the most fun or chaotic player to have around?

There are a few, like Akila Dananjaya and Lasith Malinga. They’re all so interesting, always asking questions. Even before going to bed, they ask about how to face a particular ball. I loved working with them, and I have a lot of experience with that group. It’s great to see them doing so well now.

You played in the Indian Premier League with Deccan Chargers. What’s your most striking memory from that time with the franchise?

There were so many exceptional cricketers in that dressing room – Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma (who’s gone on to do wonders for Indian cricket), VVS Laxman. Learning and sharing with them taught me so much. We won the IPL title in 2009 in South Africa, playing as a true team. Everyone gave their best when it mattered. Coming from different countries, we became like a family, sharing everything.

India’s Ishan Kishan. File
| Photo Credit: AP

India’s Ishan Kishan. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Riyan Parag. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Going into the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, it was a safe bet that India would field Washington Sundar as the third all-rounder – alongside Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel – considering he was the Player-of-the-Series against Zimbabwe just a few days ago.

But Gautam Gambhir had other plans in his mind in his debut series as a coach as he opted to go in with the part-time spin of Riyan Parag as his sixth bowling option.

The call to go with Parag has been a fruitful one, as he employed his bag of variations with success against Sri Lanka. He claimed three wickets in the first T20I and bowled an economical spell in the second to help India seal the series.

Parag’s ability to spin the ball away from the batters of both kinds with his assortment of sliders and cutters has come to the fore in this series.

In the first game, he rattled the stumps thrice in the death with some fired-in deliveries to help India close out an easy win.

On Sunday, he was entrusted with the full four-over quota by skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Parag varied his pace and length to good effect, conceding just 30 runs in his spell.

Parag’s defensive bowling helped the other Indian spinners, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi, to get on the wicket column.

Despite getting to bat just once – a six-ball seven in the first T20I – Parag would not be a disappointed man, courtesy of his performances with the ball.

For anyone who follows Indian domestic cricket, Parag’s bowling prowess shouldn’t come as a shock.

The 22-year-old is a regular presence with the ball for Assam across formats. He has taken the most T20 wickets (34) for the state in the last five years while going at just 6.44 runs per over.

Parag was also a consistent part-time option for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, until the arrival of the Impact Player rule in 2023. Only three of his 29.1 overs in the tournament have come in the last two seasons.

In his mentorship spells with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Kolkata Knight Riders, Gambhir has preferred batters who can also pitch in with the ball.

Parag’s bowling performance this series, along with his ability to bat across the middle order, should augur well for the youngster as India zeroes in on a stable T20 line-up.

T20 Captain Suryakumar Yadhav. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

It was expected for India to win the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, considering the chasm in quality between the two teams and the winning momentum brought in by the away side.

But, the ease with which India outplayed the home team in the first two games and clinched the series would have surprised even the newly installed Indian coach unit, led by Gautam Gambhir.

On Tuesday, Sri Lanka will aim to salvage some pride in the third T20I at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, while India will be looking to flex its squad strength.

Sri Lanka will hope for a better performance from its middle order, which has abjectly surrendered all the momentum gained by its top three in the first two games.

Opener Pathum Nissanka has been punchy with the bat, and along with Kusal Mendis, has provided Sri Lanka with spirited starts.

One-down batter Kusal Perera followed suit in the second T20I with a stroke-filled fifty.

But in both matches, the Indian bowling unit has scythed through the rest of the Lankan batting order, resulting in the home team settling for mediocre scores.

Skipper Charith Asalanka has failed on both occasions, while the experienced Dasun Shanaka is yet to score a run in the series.

Meanwhile, the Indian batting has chugged along with urgency. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav has led by example, scoring a team-high 84 runs at a fiery strike rate of 221.05 in the series so far.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has taken down the Lankan opening bowlers with a range of attacking shots. Shubman Gill looked silky in the first game before missing the next one due to a sore neck.

Calling the shots

On the bowling front, the Indian spinners have called the shots. Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi have out-bowled their Sri Lankan counterparts, while part-time spinner Riyan Parag has offered the requisite backing.

With the series already in the bag, India may look to offer game time to Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Khaleel Ahmed, who have been warming the bench.

Also likely in the fray could be Sanju Samson, who replaced the injured Gill in the second match, only to be bowled first ball by Maheesh Theekshana.

With the Sri Lankan men’s team not scheduled to play another game here this year after Tuesday, the passionate cricket fans of Kandy will be hoping for a better exhibition from their side in the third T20I.

Image for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Five sports, including cricket and squash, were included in the 2028 Los Angeles Games on Monday after gaining the approval of the International Olympic Committee.

Cricket makes its return to the Olympics after more than 100 years after the sport was approved for inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Games by the International Olympic Committee’s executive board.

IOC president Thomas Bach, speaking after the second day of an executive board meeting in Mumbai on October 13, said officials had accepted a proposal by LA organisers for Twenty20 cricket to be included as one of five new sports together with baseball/softball, flag football (non-contact American football), squash and lacrosse.

But the final choice of which sports are on the 2028 programme was voted today at the IOC session in Mumbai. Each host city, under IOC rules, can request the inclusion of several sports for their edition of the Games.

The LA Games proposal is for a six-team Twenty20 cricket tournament for men and women. T20 is a short format of the game.

The IOC hopes cricket’s inclusion will activate and engage a large, new Olympic audience, especially among Asian fans of the sport.

Cricket has been played in the Olympics only once before, in Paris in 1900, when England defeated France.

(With inputs from Reuters, PTI)