Sandeep Dwivedi Newsletter

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SANDEEP DWIVEDI NEWSLETTER NEWS

As the Argentines hugged Maradona, the world, including the recent converts from Rajkot, wanted to jump into the television to be part of the happy huddle. (AP File Photo)

That Summer of '86 when Maradona, Socrates changed our sleepy town forever

June 13, 2026 8:12 pm

Remembering the Rajkot tales about a cobbler who fell in love with Germany because of Schumacher, how the Joshis ended up supporting Brazil and Socrates taught young minds the definition of 'Cool'

FILE - From Shane Warne’s casual drag to Riyan Parag’s vape, how cricket’s dressing room smoke cleared, but the culture still lingers. (AP/Screengrab- Jiostar)

Riyan Parag vape row: It's not the smoking, it's the culture at Rajasthan Royals

May 02, 2026 5:50 pm

There was a time when cricket's dressing rooms smelled of cigarettes and no one cared but now when a captain vapes in the dressing room as casually as players sip tea this is a certain red flag.

L-R: Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant fell to deliveries that Test batters would normally negotiate with ease. (CREIMAS FOR IPL)

Batsmen playing like golfers and dead tracks are hurting IPL with a thousand cuts, and killing Tests

April 25, 2026 10:27 am

IPL's flat pitches and golf-swing gospel are producing batsmen who can't leave a ball. A Mohammed Shami spell in Lucknow showed the damage. The WTC table shows the cost.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are among the Indian cricket stars who have redrawn their surroundings. (BCCI/File Photo)

Samastipur ka Lara, Najafgarh ka Nawab, God's Bandra home: Cricketers change a place's identity

April 18, 2026 5:47 pm

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar have redrawn their surroundings. A small town has found fame, badlands outside Delhi have got a new hero and an up-market Mumbai suburb has turned into a pilgrimage for the faithful.

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Sooryavanshi plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati, India, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo)

Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi changing Bihar? His mama, despite clearing UPSC, feels second-best in the family

April 12, 2026 10:32 am

The 15-year-old who has taken the IPL by storm retains his teenaged carefree, unstressed approach to the game and life, even as a state that prizes academics falls hopelessly in love with cricket

Macclesfield FC club owner Rob Smethurst built the team brick by brick, player by player. (PHOTO: Reuters & Rob Smethurst/FB)

The drunk, the dead football club, and the giant they killed

March 21, 2026 7:59 am

Rob Smethurst was on the floor of an empty house when alcohol nearly killed him. The football club he bought drunk, saved his life — and then beat Crystal Palace.

India's Jasprit Bumrah, right, appeals successfully for the wicket of Pakistan's Saim Ayub, center, during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo)

Saim Ayub lbw Jasprit Bumrah: The India-Pak short story with a twist that will worry South Africa

February 22, 2026 9:37 am

While batsmen have devised myriad ways to counter vanilla yorkers of other bowlers, Bumrah's well-disguised bolts from the blue invariably leave them all scrambling in futility

For once India isn't talking up their team that is ironically the clear favourite to win this World T20 at home and even the players are missing the hype. (PTI Photo)

No buzz, no hype around India this T20 World Cup. And this isn't a complaint.

February 07, 2026 10:11 pm

India's fandom is too fragmented and distracted by politics and selection debates this time around to whip up the usual hype, so captain Suryakumar Yadav isn't exactly facing cloying pressure like past captains did.

Harlem Globetrotters didn't win World Championships, but conquered hearts and ruled the minds of the world. (AP Photo)

Harlem Globetrotters @100: Inspired Obama, stopped war, were ridiculously talented and slap-stick funny

December 06, 2025 8:24 am

In their storied journey, the Harlem Globetrotters didn't just shoot hoops and wowed fans, but integrated the race divide at home and became America's trusted soft power at the height of the Cold War.

India needs to warm up to all-rounders like Axar Patel, value their worth and not dismiss them as utility cricketers. (AP Photo)

Axar Patel, the goofball with gumption: Winning like a skilled all-rounder - baaki gayu tel leva

October 25, 2025 8:52 am

Indian cricket's hype-machine might not get excited by cricketers like the utility all-rounder, but the Nadiad talent will retain his unapologetic confidence.