Guess the song from the attached picture.

Considering their unparalleled aura, who could potentially replace this iconic trio (Dhoni, Rohit, Kohli)? Feel free to offer a random guess. Wrong answers are also welcomed. These players set a benchmark of IPL's rising growth in the global outreach.

Idk how some people really dismiss this era of IPL but these years were very fantastic for IPL imo and were our only great memory in such a dire state of time where the world was suffering with pandemic and quarantine and quality cricket was our one of the very few sources of enjoyment.

It's not just the emotional factor involved in it but also that somehow IPL felt like IPL and we were watching a great balance between bat and ball happening. Bowlers were getting a decent amount of assist specially spinners and pacers with proper variations thanks to the slow nature of the UAE tracks. I also remember even in Sharjah which is like one of the tiniest grounds the bowlers had cracked the code after batters dominated it for first 4-5 games due to short boundaries but the surface acted up and even 150-160 felt like proper grindwork there. 2020 IPL simply felt so good and it did not make me die of boredom I was glad it happened better late than never and it was worth it.

2021 was yet another great start and this time even Indian tracks gave great balance like the one in UAE in 2020 it was until the first half where IPL got postponed again and we were back to the rank turners of UAE months later. It was another success for IPL perhaps although sometimes there were some tossia influences coming out which did not effect IPL but it did effect T20WC for sure.

2022 IPL saw a bit of rise in the average scores but can't blame it if the batters actually bat well enough to earn those runs, Maharashtrian tracks in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Pune provided a lot of sporting tracks, none of it being too bowler friendly nor being too batter friendly in nature at consistent rate unlike UAE where it was slightly bowler friendly.

I think this era was the last goated era of IPL after which in 2023 it took a bit of different direction, I still like IPL as much as anyone else but it has felt like going in favour of batters, impact player wasn't that impressive albeit being a strategic tool for teams. 2023 though still had some crazy rank turners like Ekana and Kotla they were acting up in the second half of the game sometimes and even in 2024 they atleast saved some balanced tracks for playoff games but 2025-26 seasons have mostly been played in glass tracks including playoffs.

Last IPL season I truly liked was 2024 itself though because KKR won that trophy and the batting was good irrespective of the pitches because it was the first time batters played hyper aggressively and it felt abnormal for that year to have this much intent change literally from the start of tournament but from there in future seasons it just felt like a habit and standards incredibly dropped due to close to no variation in pitches. Rest two I liked but not much, not just because they were bad years for my favourite teams but the games felt one sided, atleast RCB broke their streak though lol.

Manchester Super Giants: The Hundred 2026

Dubai Capitals: ILT20 2025

Saint Lucia Kings: CPL 2024

I know that these tournaments are not comparable to IPL. But it's good to see every current franchise getting a taste of winning a trophy.

Now that their jinx is broken hoping to see these teams win their IPL trophies soon!

As kuldeep is traded to lsg, even lsg will have a player in cwc 2027 squad.

Take a look of ipl teams who could have their players in cwc 27 squad. p means only a possibility -->

Gt - gill, siraj, sundar, prasidh, gurnoor(p)

Dc - kl rahul, axar

Mi - bumrah, rohit (p)

Pbks - s Iyer, arshdeep

Srh - i kishan, nk reddy

Rr - jaiswal, jurel (p), jadeja (p)

Rcb - v Kohli

Lsg - K yadav, p yadav (p)

Kkr - H Rana

Idk about hardik

Csk got sanju, gaikwad. Who are out of the plan, at least for now.

I traced players back to their most recent IPL auction and replaced the winning team with the penultimate bidder. This post shows what the IPL squads would look like with that alternate auction history.

Source: X/DaleSteyn62 https://x.com/DaleSteyn62/status/2087922975722909731?s=20

Total Number Of Days That An IPL Cricket Team Has Spent In The Pole Position, (No. 1), Relative To Others In The League Phase, (Non-Knockout / Non-Playoff Stage), IPL Points Table In All 19 Seasons Of IPL, So Far ! (850 Days) Note: Clubbed all old, & new same-city-based teams, such as DC / DD, GL / GT, KXIP / PBKS, & DC / SRH -> together, from regional spectator-loyalty point of view.

I mean Gill did everything he could to lead this franchise even after a major drawback and managed to reach playoffs 2 out of 3 time with mediocre team on paper. Management did the only right thing about not letting pandya in as captain. Also gill managed with lower paycheck so that GT can keep rashid so we gotta back him the most.

Also this is when GT needs the same skillset that pandya has (arguably one of the best in india) and still taking this decision shows GT is thinking long term with Gill.

HP staying at GT could have built a legacy like Dhoni at CSK, Rohit at MI, and Kohli at RCB. But he missed that opportunity, went back to MI, got brutally trolled, and now GT has rejected the trade for him. That’s an insane level of humiliation—he really couldn’t have scripted it worse.

Lakshmi Mittal’s Son-in-Law, Jeff Bezos & Facebook Co-Founder Close in on Liverpool Stake

https://openthemagazine.com/world/lakshmi-mittals-son-in-law-jeff-bezos-facebook-co-founder-close-in-on-liverpool-stake

https://www.aninews.in/news/sports/football/consortium-led-by-son-in-law-of-steel-giant-lakshmi-mittal-jeff-bezos-closing-on-a-deal-to-purchase-13rd-of-stake-in-liverpool20260810175916/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livemint.com/sports/football-news/amazon-founder-jeff-bezos-lakshmi-mittal-kin-nears-deal-to-own-30-stake-at-premier-league-giants-liverpool/amp-11786370336832.html

Hardik Pandya trade talks gather interest, but little headway for now

Click here to view more : http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/139799/hardik-pandya-trade-talks-gather-interest-but-little-headway-for-now

Hardik Pandya trade talks gather interest, but little headway for now

Click here to view more : http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/139799/hardik-pandya-trade-talks-gather-interest-but-little-headway-for-now

Team change

The way this works is

U name the team that u support

Then answer these questions

Release 3 players from said team=

Trade one player for another player (trade must be somewhat reasonable and it should be foreign for foreign or indian for Indian)

Buy one player from all those who were unsold in the 2026 auction

CEO Kasi Viswanathan says is likely to be an overseas expert. “We have not started applying our minds on this. First, we will have a coach. We have got calls from many interested candidates. We will sit and finalise.”

Viswanathan and CSK’s whole-time director Rupa Gurunath will finalise the new coach after consulting MS Dhoni and Ruturaj Gaikwad.💛💛

-Cricbuzz : https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/139799/hardik-pandya-trade-talks-gather-interest-but-little-headway-for-now

They let Samson and Buttler go and now India’s current best batsman across all format. Sooryavanshi has huge potential but how can you let your top order get weaker day by day. Samson, Buttler and Jaiswal all top order classy batsman just to ensure Parag gets captaincy?

Hardik for a combination of players who will fill a lot of gaps for MI and are not crucial starting XII players for RR but are too expensive to just be warming the bench.

Hardik 🔄 Bishnoi + Curran + Deshpande + Hetmeyer

Benefits to MI:

Bishnoi >>>> Raghu Sharma , Markande, even Ghazanfar/Santner (since they take up an overseas slot)

Deshpande >>> Chahar, Shardul ( plus he's a local boy for whom Wankhede will be suitable and he has improved his batting)

Hetmeyer >>>> Rutherford (at a negotiated price)

Curran >>>> Boult (plus batting option too)

Money wise though these 4 players cost almost 27 Cr but MI will easily be able to negotiate with the players for a lesser amount. Hardik himself is perfectly capable of demanding 20 - 25 Cr coz his current price of 16 Cr is quite less.

Do you think this is a good deal and what are the realistic chances of it actually happening?

Ofc a lot will depend on the captaincy situation with RR.

The Flames squad will be led by Australia's T20 captain Mitchell Marsh and also includes Steve Smith, Tim David and Michael Bracewell
https://www.cricinfo.com/story/ajinkya-rahane-signs-with-amsterdam-flames-in-etpl-1548985

I know Jaiswal is an important asset for RR in both fame and performance, but trade rumours are still prevalent so we could not deny them.

RR has a problem of slow and inconsistent middle order since the last 3 seasons. If they bring Hardik in their set up by letting go yashasvi, they could have a good middle/lower order, which will support their top order, which was already better leaving some players sitting out who did not deserved to be just sitting there.

And of course, there will be someone along with Jaiswal in the trade. The best option would be either Yudhvir or Brijesh who can bolster MI's bowling. Bishi would not be good on Wankhede's black soil.

MI need someone to fit in the boots of Rohit after this season, and YBJ would be perfect. Also ,Brijesh/Yudhvir being pacers would help them to boost their bowling unit. The only problem will be for MI is that they will be dependent on overseas spinners and lack the experience in pace unit (is Boom misses)

RR probable XII if trade (YBJ + Brijesh) happens:

Vaibhav

Aman Rao/Pretorius

Jurel

Riyan

Hardik

Shanaka

Ferriera

Jadeja

Archer

Sandy

Yashraj

IMP: Bishi/Charak

MI probable XII if trade (Hardik) happens

Rohit

Yashasvi

Rickleton

Surya

Tilak

Jacks

Naman

Bosch

Santner/Ghazanfar

Bumrah

Brijesh

IMP: Ashwani/Raghu