Sportstar-Cover-December-26jpg

Virat Kohli’s men need a fresh talisman behind and in front of the wickets, and the first few weeks of December will hint at what lies in store and whether K. L. Rahul will fit the bill while the distant gaze is upon the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

In this issue

26-12-202015 STORIES

Much of India’s performance in the Test series will depend on how Virat Kohli and Ajnkya Rahane, in Kohli’s absence, handle the pressure situations.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy: A mouth-watering series in the offing

Virat Kohli has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI after the first Test in Adelaide and Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Test team subsequently. Rah

In this year’s IPL, K. L. Rahul not only captained Kings XI Punjab, but also played the role of a stumper-batsman; he ended up taking 10 catches from behind the wickets.

Limited overs, unlimited opportunities for KL Rahul!

While keeping wickets at the international level is a new assignment for K. L. Rahul, the dual role of stumper-batsman isn’t something new for him.

Rishabh Pant is blessed with the ability to hit the ball long and hard, and has in the past given a strong account of his dynamic and refreshing style of play.

Waiting in the wings: Three contenders for the wicketkeeper-batsman spot in India's limited-overs teams

K. L. Rahul remains Team India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in white-ball cricket, but with three back-to-back World Cups around the corner – two World

Ayan Acharya

K. L. Rahul kept wickets for India in the opening bouts against Australia, and though India was humbled in Sydney, he showed that he can be persisted with as a wicketkeeper.

Big gloves to fill: India's search for Dhoni's replacement in limited-overs cricket

Virat Kohli’s men need a fresh talisman behind and in front of the wickets, and the first few weeks of December will hint at what lies in store.

K. C. Vijaya Kumar

“The player that plays one game for you is as important as the man who plays 18 or whatever the number of matches,” says Owen Coyle.

ISL 2020: Jamshedpur FC playoffs challenge excited me, says Owen Coyle

In an interview with Sportstar, Coyle talks about his move from Chennaiyin FC, the challenges as the head coach in a bio-bubble-secure ISL tournament,

Aashin Prasad

Rohan Bopanna with the students and coaching staff. The Coorg native concedes that he missed out on “tennis-specific fitness” in his formative years. “In the juniors, you just focus on fundamentals, strength and movement. I had the game style to compete with the best, but was relatively slow on my feet,” he says.

Rohan Bopanna, building tennis champions the right way at 40

The vision of Rohan Bopanna’s tennis academy in Bengaluru is to develop players the way it is done in countries that have a good structure for the gam

Kamesh Srinivasan

Anirudh Thapa’s goal against Jamshedpur FC in match five of the season was the fourth-fastest in the tournament’s short history, scored in just 52 seconds.

ISL 2020-21 Player of the Fortnight: Anirudh Thapa, crucial to Chennaiyin’s chances

Anirudh Thapa’s appointment as one of the vice-captains, alongside Eli Sabia, is proof of how much faith new manager Csaba Laszlo has in him.

Hardik Pandya (right) had an electric series as a batsman, but there were reasons to be worried about Virat Kohli despite his two fifties.

Not a promising return to ODI cricket for India

Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell were the heroes for Australia as India struggled to hit the deck running in its return to international cri

Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya

Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya

Maradona wooed an audience of around 100,000 that had packed the Salt Lake Stadium to have a glimpse of their favourite footballer in December 2008.

Diego Maradona: Welcoming the god of football to Kolkata

A visit to Kolkata provided a glimpse of what the Argentine legend meant to his fans there.

Amitabha Das Sharma

The historic city of Kannur in northern Kerala had never seen such a frenzy as Maradona’s fans arrived from distant places.

Diego Maradona: Adored more than any other footballer in Kerala

A visit to Kerala in 2012 provided a glimpse of what the greatest football legend of his time meant to the state.

P. K. Ajith Kumar

Harry Kane set up Son Heung-min for Tottenham’s opener in the 13th minute, while Son returned the favour at the stroke of half-time against Arsenal.

Harry Kane, Son Heung-min power Spurs to the top

Tottenham’s seventh win of the campaign took it to the top of the Premier League standings with 24 points from 11 games, with defending champion Liver

Shyam Vasudevan

Shyam Vasudevan

Fifty years after Pedro Rodriguez took the second of his two wins in F1 at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez became the second Mexican to stand on the top step of the podium.

Sakhir Grand Prix: Perez's 10-year wait for an F1 win ends

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, who is without a seat for the 2021 Formula One season, took his first victory in the sport in his 190th race start.

Many, including former Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala, feel Durant is going to be named the 2021 MVP, but the 32-year-old isn't too worried about individual honours.

Kevin Durant on Achilles recovery: Had to learn to walk, run and jump again

The Brooklyn Nets power forward talks about his recovery post an Achilles injury, James Harden transfer rumours and his goals for the upcoming season.

Santadeep Dey

Babar Azam believes in keeping his batting philosophy uncomplicated. Will the same formula help him as he now leads his country in all three formats?

Babar Azam: Being compared to big players helps set big goals

Pakistan captain Babar Azam talks about his batting philosophy, leading the country in all formats and cricket returning to the nation.

Vijay Lokapally

Diego Maradona holds the trophy after leading Argentina to victory in 1986 World Cup final.

Diego Maradona: Hasta la victoria siempre!

Maradona was the unwavering leader of his men, commanding a cult-like devotion from his team-mates and fans – all transfixed in a trance by his master

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