By Nitesh Mathur, Broken Cricket Dreams, 04/01/2022
Actor Shreyas Talpade, from Iqbal fame, is back to portray this inspirational story of a man who realized his dream of playing cricket on the national stage at the age of 41.
Can Pravin Tambe’s unlikely journey capture the imagination of the public like other sports movies? Today we review this latest cricket movie released on Disney+Hotstar—Details, Summary, Verdict, and most importantly, Life Lessons We All Can Learn from Pravin Tambe. There is also a section of most popular Pravin Tambe videos, his playing career, and stats at the very end.
Kolkata Knight Riders just posted an emotional video on social media regarding a special screening of Kaun Pravin Tambe?, celebrating Pravin Tambe who is on KKR’s support staff in IPL 2022 (video of KKR’s special screening linked below).
Kaun Pravin Tambe Detail & Information
Title Name: Kaun Pravin Tambe? (Who is Pravin Tambe?)
Hotstar Summary:Relentless effort can make an underdog rise to the top, and cricketer Pravin Tambe’s extraordinary journey proves why age is just a number.
Language: Hindi (English subtitles available, also dubbed versions available in Telegu & Tamil)
Rating: 4.5/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Kaun Pravin Tambe Summary and Review
Kaun Pravin Tambe? begins with a clip of a Rahul Dravid, who is portraying Pravin Tambe as the embodiment of passion (full speech below). The movie then tries to answer the question for the audience, who is this Pravin Tambe that Dravid is talking about? Cricket fans have heard about with his exploits with the Rajasthan Royals between 2013 and 2015, but how did he start his career? Why did he have to wait for 20 years?
The film begins in the early 2010s, when Tambe is juggling his life as a construction supervisor, father, husband, and cricketer. After brief introduction of the Shreyas Talpade, the movie rewinds to Tambe’s childhood and develops chronologically. We see that at the age of 12, Tambe finds his life purpose—to play Ranji cricket for Mumbai. The essence of the plot is to fill the gap between ages 12 to 41.
The Stories
There are several mini-stories within the larger movie. Tambe begins his career as an all-rounder and specifically, a medium-pace allrounder. How does he then turn into this leg-spinner? (Don’t worry, will not spoil that for you here). Another plotline is the various jobs Tambe takes upon for the sake of financial stability, while still trying to give time to cricket. This is my favorite part of the movie.
Finally, the portrayal of the Mumbai grassroots cricket, Shivaji Park maidaans, and gully cricket is cherry on top of the cake. The actual cricket has the perfect screen time—not too much (like 83’s highlights reels), not too little, just right.
The Acting
What makes this a neat watch is Shreyas Talpade’s bowling action. I loved his bowling action in Iqbal and since Tambe started as a medium pacer, Talpade was a perfect fit. His acting is brilliant as usual, but the minor characters (older brother, childhood friend, wife Vaishali, Abey Kuruvilla, and Arif Zakaria as Jamil) are the heart of the film. Special mention to Ashish Vidyarthi, who does an excellent job portraying Vidyadhar Paradkar sir (influential coach for Zaheer Khan and other great Indian cricketers).
Finally, a note on Parambrata Chatterjee, who is a wonderful actor (you might know him as the police officer in Kahaani & Aranyak). However, his minor negative character as a journalist did not suit him or the script well.
Verdict: To Watch or Not to Watch?
At this moment, there is loads of cricket going on—2022 Women’s World Cup, IPL 2022, Australia Vs Pakistan ODIs, Bangladesh Vs South Africa Tests, Netherlands Vs New Zealand limited overs series, and the 2022 County Championship will begin in a week as well.
On top of this, I am sure you are busy with work, family, or school.
But if you can make time for two hours in this busy world, I hope you can set everything aside and give Kaun Pravin Tambe? a sincere watch. Good, light-hearted movie that will rejuvenate your belief in cricket, specifically grassroot & gully cricket.
My review for Kaun Pravin Tambe? is 4.5/5. Great watch. The only thing that took away from the film for me was the minor conflict with the journalist, which seemed a bit forced.
Before we move on to “Life Lessons we can learn from Pravin Tambe”, check out BCD’s social media pages and consider subscribing to our newsletter. It would really help support this website.
Pravin Tambe symbolizes Broken Cricket Dreams. His journey has broken dreams, but his story is also full of inspiration, passion, hard work, modesty, and determination.
Tambe is one of the great stories of the IPL. Got his big break before playing a Ranji Trophy match. And guess what? After all his toil, results were evident – hat-trick vs KKR, highest wicket taker for Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and the Golden Wicket taker for RR in 2012 Champions League.
And he played till he was 49 across IPL, CPL, Abu Dhabi T10 leagues. I am sure he still plays a few gully cricket games here and there. Dedication to the max. Here are some of the other life lessons from Pravin Tambe we can apply to our lives.
1. Age Is Just a Number
After almost 30 years of toil, Tambe finally got selected for the Rajasthan Royals in 2013. A few months later, he would get his beloved Ranji Trophy cap.
In this day and age of the internet and focus on fitness, anything is possible. Tom Brady, Pravin Tambe, Brad Hogg, and Chris Gayle can still play professional sports at 42. With resources online, you can obtain a new skill, learn new things, change careers, or start a business. At any point in your life, age is no barrier.
2. Balancing Dreams with Practicality of Life
As Tambe entered his twenties, he assumed more responsibilities. He got married, had two kids, and had to pay bills. Usually, people give up dreams during this time for financial security.
Pravin Tambe did not. He worked multiple jobs instead.
Life is all about moderation and balance. And to survive, money is needed. If you can develop multiple streams of income, while still being within reach of your dream goal, that is the ideal zone.
3. Be Open-Minded
Pravin Tambe reluctantly switched from medium pace bowling to leg spin. And boy, did it pay dividends.
There is a fine line between persistence and inflexibility. Quitting should always be your last option, but if things are not working in your favor, be open to change. Being open minded in the micro can have large positive effects on the macro.
4. Passion Makes Perfect
Dravid’s speech illuminates on Pravin Tambe’s work ethic. Although he did not play much the first year, he attended every optional practice session, every gym session, and was always discussing how to improve his game with other players in the squad.
After his first man of the match award in the IPL, “he was weeping.” He cherished every moment of this journey. Although he has now assumed coaching roles, he still plays for his company (Kanga League, Time Shield) and still bowls 15-20 overs a day in three-day-games.
We usually say ‘Practice Makes Perfect.’ That is true, but what is more is that ‘Passion Makes Perfect.’ If you combine your love or passion for a certain activity and put in the practice and the hard yards, then you will be happy with all your effortsand gradually get closer to your dream.
5. All You Need Is One Good Over. Never Give Up. Dreams Really Do Come True
Themain theme of Kaun Pravin Tambe can be summed up by one quote in the movie.
“Whether it is life or match, all you need is one good over.”
Pravin Tambe was in the 40 Probable’s List for a number of seasons, even as early as 2000.
But he had to wait. And Wait. Almost gave up. And had doubts cast upon from friends and society, but he kept on working relentlessly and kept on dreaming a dream till he got his big break that changed his life.
In Tambe’s own words, “Just never give up on your dreams. Really dreams do come true.”
Try, Try, and Try Again Until You Succeed.You may take rest but never quit. The light at the end of the tunnel may be bleak, but there is light, nevertheless.
Here are some of my favorite Pravin Tambe videos. In his interview with Aakash Chopra, Tambe reveals that his IPL cap was not his biggest moment. Getting the Ranji cap for Mumbai from legend Wasim Jaffer was his most memorable moment.
Here below is one of his best innings of his career. So much spin! Beautiful.
Here is Tambe’s hat-trick and 5-wicket hall in a T10 match that featured wickets of Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan, and Kieron Pollard (Bowled!), Upul Tharanga – as a 47-year old. Wow!
Sounds okay but could be better. Let us try again.
Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami—The Eternal Legends? Scratch that. How about
Goswami & Raj: Stalwarts that Let the Flame Burning for India’s Women Cricket.
I have to be brutally honest here. I had a tough time finishing this article.
It took me weeks. I mean how could I summarize such long careers, awe-aspiring legacies, and inspirational stories with a mere couple of phrases? In fact, it took me an entire day just to research just the sheer number of records and awards these two possess (all of them listed below).
103 days away from the 2022 Women’s ODI Cricket World Cup Final, let us look back at the glorious careers of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami—Where Did It all begin? Statistics and legacies, ups and downs, the final hurrah, and of course what can we learn from the lives of India’s best women batter and fastest bowler?
It has been 8216 days and 7291 days since Mithali Raj’s and Jhulan Goswami’s debut respectively. That is a really long time, let alone for a sporting career. Let us trace back to where it all began.
Jhulan’s Inspiration
Jhulan Goswami did not actually start playing cricket till the relatively late age of 15. It was the 1997 ODI World Cup Final between Australia and New Zealand that sowed the seeds of cricket deep into her roots.
She was a ball picker in that World Cup final at the Eden Gardens when Australia’s World Cup winning celebrations ignited her passion to take up the sport.
It was now her dream to lift the World Cup trophy for India.
Mithali Raj’s talent was picked early, and she was in the national radar by the time she was 14. However, actually devoting her career to cricket was not such an easy decision.
Early Decisions, Discipline, and the Passion to Excel
In their interviews with Gaurav Kapur in Breakfast With Champions and Mithali Raj’s chat with Ravichandran Ashwin in DRS With Ash, we gain a bit of insight in their lives—Raj’s early interest & training in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, her fascination with books, and what obstacles both Goswami & Raj had to overcome during their journey.
Although both of their parents were supportive of their decisions to play cricket, there was backlash from extended family and the rest of society, especially when women’s cricket in India was in its infancy. Raj states that her toughest decision was to choose World Cup selection games over her 12th grade board exams. In any case, they both started training in cricket academies, disciplined their routines, and woke up around 4 AM to get ready for practice.
In Raj’s case, the discipline stemmed from an army family background. For Jhulan, originally from the small town of Chakdaha, it was the two hours travel by train for practice.
Debut
It was an evident in their early days of international cricket that these two were going to make an indelible impact in Indian cricket.
Opening the batting, Raj scored 114* against Ireland in her debut ODI on 26 June, 1999 just at the age of 16. Goswami would follow suit on January 5th, 2002, opening the bowling against England and returning with figures of 7-0-15-2. Her high arm release, bowling speed, and the beautiful smooth action would be a breath to behold in the years to come.
Records and Statistics of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami
In these tributes, I usually like to add a statistics section to paint the whole picture of the cricketer, but this one is a bit unique. Since Raj & Goswami have played so much cricket & have been consistently excellent, they practically have all the individual records to their name.
Slowly scroll down, sit back, and just reflect how dominant these two legends have been for two decades.
Joint Records Held by Raj & Goswami
2nd – Joint Longest Test Careers (debut 14 January, 2002)
157 – Highest Partnership for the 7th Wicket in Test Cricket (Aug 14-17, 2002)
Mithali Raj Stats
Matches
Runs
Best
Average
100s
50s
Tests
12
699
214
43.68
1
4
ODIs
220
7391
125*
51.32
7
59
T20Is
89
2364
97*
37.52
0
17
Mithali Raj Career Statistics
Mithali Raj Records
Leading scorer in women’s cricket across formats (10454+)
Only Indian captain to lead the country in two ODI World Cup finals
Tests
3rd Youngest Test Captain (At 22)
Youngest Player to score 200+ (19)
2nd Highest Individual Score (214)
ODIs
Most Runs (7391* and counting)
Longest ODI Career (Debut: 26 Jun 1999)
Most Career Matches (220)
Most Consecutive Matches (109 – Between April 2004-February 2013)
Youngest Player to score 100+ (16)
Hundred on Debut (114*)
Most consecutive 50s (7 between 7 Feb-25 June 2017, 70*, 64, 73*, 51*, 54, 62*, 71)
Mithali Raj became a core member in the early 2000s. Two of her most prominent innings in this phase was the 214 against England in Taunton and 91* vs New Zealand in the 2005 World Cup semi-final.
Jhulan Goswami’s best days came between 2006 & 2008. Her all-round form (3-46 & 2-62, 69 at #3, 5-33 & 5-45) helped India win a Test series in England on her way to become the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.
World Cup Dream
Although Raj & Goswami have accomplished almost everything in the sport, there is one elusive achievement they have yet to realize—the World Cup dream.
Bright Promises
Mithali Raj has played in 5 ODI World Cups, dating back to the 2000 Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, when India made the semi-finals. Next time in 2005, both Jhulan & captain made the team. It would be India’s first run to the World Cup final, losing to Australia. Raj was India’s highest scorer with 199 runs (5th overall), and Jhulan was at #3 in the wickets (13 wickets).
Then followed two World Cups of relative disappointments.
Rock Bottom of 2009 & 2013
In 2009, India did not make it past the Super Six stage, but Raj made it into the Team of the tournament (247 runs, 2 – 50s, best of 75*). Goswami, who did not have a great time with the ball, was India’s captain during the tournament.
The 2013 Cricket World Cup, however, was arguably the lowest moment as India failed to get out of the qualifying stage. This time captaincy was back with Mithali Raj while Jhulan had a decent tournament with 9 wickets in just 4 games. Raj did score a 103* against Pakistan for the 7th Place Playoffs.
Around this time, Jhulan & Raj graduated to become the seniors in the Indian national setup. In the 2010 T20 World Cup, Goswami recalls a conversation with Raj,
“I think we should take women’s cricket to such a platform where the young girls can get inspired…People won’t recognize women’s cricket until we do something at the World Cup.”
2017 World Cup and the Broken Dream
The moment came in the form of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup, which was the watershed moment for world cricket and eventually lead to the grand success of the 2020 T20 World Cup final.
Post-2017, media coverage, funding, and women’s cricket grew in leaps and bounds. Mithali Raj herself reflects that she had more interviews after 2017 then in the first 18 years of her career.
India’s successful march to the finals was another great storyline of the tournament. By this time, a good core had formed around Raj & Goswami with Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, and Punam Raut all contributing with match -winning performances.
Raj followed up her consistent scores of 71, 45, 53, 69 with a 109-run knock against New Zealand. She ended up as the second highest run getter of the tournament with 409 runs (1 run behind Tammy Beaumont). Goswami had a decent run herself, taking 10 wickets overall with the best of 3/23 and providing India with miserly opening sells.
Despite the golden run, it was not to be as Anya Shrubsole’s magic deprived India of the World Cup victory.
So close, yet so far. Broken Cricket Dream.
T20 World Cups
India has not had the rub of the green in the T20 World Cups in T20 World Cups either. After qualifying for the semi-finals in 2009 & 2010, they crashed out in the group stages in 2012.
They did not get far in 2014 & 2016 either except that Mithali Raj was the 3rd highest run getter with 208 runs in 2014.
In 2018, India had a bright run with 4 wins in 4 matches in the group stage before crashing out in the semi-finals again. Mithali had retired by the time 2020 T20 World Cup came around and Jhulan did not play in a T20 World Cup since 2016.
Jhulan Goswami was India’s captain briefly from 2008 to 2011, captaining India in 25 ODIs (W: 12, L: 13).
Mithali Raj, on the other hand, has had a couple of captaincy stints. First was around the 2005 ODI Women’s World Cup, the second stint during the 2013 World Cup, and the final one around the 2017 Women’s World Cup. In all, she captained India in 8 Tests (W:3, D: 4, L: 1) and 143 ODIs (W: 85, L: 55), the most by any Indian captain.
The Captaincy-Controversy Complex
These days India’s captaincy is synonymous with controversy. The same applies here as well.
Although Ramesh Powar is back as India’s head coach now and the relationship has reconciled, in 2018, a public battle of words between Raj & coach Ramesh Power took place. There was discussion on Raj’s strike rate and batting position during the 2018 T20 World Cup and she was eventually dropped from the 2018 semifinals, which India lost.
Eventually, Mithali Raj retired from the T20Is in 2019 and Harmanpreet Kaur replaced Mithali as captain.
Women’s IPL Without Goswami & Raj Already a Failure for BCCI
However, it has already failed before it began. In order to cultivate a strong fan base, Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami would have been wonderful ambassadors as players. I am sure they will still be invovled in some way or the other, but without creating a team around them, the BCCI has already lost a golden opportunity.
They have given everything for Indian cricket. They deserve one final farewell, preferably in front of their home crowd.
What Can We Learn from Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami?
Just like the 1997 World Cup moment inspired her, Jhulan herself has inspired numerous other cricketers like Pakistan’s Kainat Imtiaz (who was a ball picker when India toured Pakistan in 2005).
The legacies of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami are far beyond the numbers. They have not only changed cricket but have also changed the perception of fans towards women’s cricket.
When they debuted, Indian women’s cricket was not at a great place. BCCI had not taken over women’s cricket yet, lots of the early tours required self-sponsoring, practices were on turf wickets, and the facilities/physios were not as prominent back then.
The fact that India has reached so many semi-finals & finals and a trophy seems to be right around the corner is credit to their work over the years. Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami have not only contributed by their own skills but have also mentored and brought others along the way.
Life Lessons
Longevity & consistency, coming back from disappointments, breaking barriers, mentoring others, staying focused on your goals, and always, always daring to dream—This is what Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami teach me.
I hope their magnificent careers and lives teaches you some valuable life lessons as well.
Quotes on Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami
Here is some advice in their own words.
“Young boys and young girls saying – We saw your match, we want to play cricket, where can we go, and enroll ourselves? So that’s a success for me, because getting the girls to watch cricket is a big thing.’
– Mithali Raj on Breakfast with Champions
“”Be committed and persistent in what [you] do. Channel your energy and be consistent”
– Mithali Raj advice to young girls in DRS With Ash
“But winning the World Cup was a dream. You chase that dream. You wake up every day and think about lifting that trophy…But that blot will remain unless you win the World Cup. Irrespective of me being in the team or not.”
-Jhulan Goswami on the World Cup dream
“I live with this dream. I live with this passion and want to do something for women’s cricket.”
-Jhulan Goswami on Women’s Cricket
“You have been a trendsetter…an inspiration…and a role model.”
– R Ashwin on Mithali Raj
Final Hurrah for the Iconic Duo?
Raj & Goswami are still fit and raring to go as we saw against Australia series this year. Goswami redeemed herself from a high pressure last over no-ball with a match winning shot in the very next game. They still have it in them.
On March 5th, 2022, India begins its journey to the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup against Pakistan. Who knows, these might be the final 7 games that we might see of these legends.
We all hope that they can go two steps forward and achieve their World Cup dream. But even if they do not, it has been two delightful careers sandwiched in one that have mesmerized the fans for two decades.
On the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s first ODI since international readmission on 10th November 1991 against India, we review Netflix’s Fallen Idolepisode of their series ‘Bad Sport.’
This is Hansie Cronje’s story & his fall from grace during the infamous match-fixing scandal. What was going in Cronje’s mind? How did his teammates and family feel? What about the South African public? And most importantly, what was the investigation like?
Netflix Summary:Hansie Cronje captivates South Africa as the nation’s charismatic cricket captain, but allegations of match fixing besmirch his sterling reputation
Protagonist: Hansie Cronje
Major Characters: Allan Donald, Herschelle Gibbs, Jonathan Agnew, Cronje’s brother, sister, and wife, and Marlon Aronstam, bookie that started it all.
Release Date: October 6, 2021
Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Rating: 4.5/5
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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Other Episodes: Hoop Schemes (USA college basketball), Need for Weed (Auto Racing), Soccergate (Juventus scandal), Gold War (2002 Winter Olympics), Horse hitman (Show Horses)
The episode begins by the dramatic introduction of Marlon Aronstam, the bookie himself, who admits that
“I should never have been able to get close to him.”
The addition of bookmaker, journalists, as well as Allan Donald & Herschelle Gibbs, Fallen Idol goes to the next level. With a series of interviews, we get to know who Hansie Cronje really was and the circumstances of that time.
The documentary traces it step back and walks us through the brief history of South African cricket circa 1992. Violence, apartheid, Nelson Mandela, and the reinstatement of South African cricket. Where did Cronje fit in this complex society?
Cronje’s character is painted as this prominent unifying figure of post-apartheid South Africa, whose stature is only next to the great Nelson Mandela.
Next, the series dives into the details of his rising captaincy & career. We swiftly get into the backdrop of India’s illegal betting environment along with Delhi police’s investigation into the matter of match-fixing.
Hansie Cronje’s untainted heroic figure comes crashing down as allegations surface. The film ends with his unfortunate death in a plane crash, but not before it all comes together at the end with the live jury video and Cronje’s confession.
“I cannot tell you the huge shame that it’s caused me, the great passion I have for my country, great passion have for my teammates, and the unfortunate love I have for money…Yes I accepted money from bookmakers. Yes, I was trying to feed them information. But I promise you every time I walked onto the field, I gave my all for South Africa.
Without a doubt, this is a must watch documentary episode on one of cricket’s most polarizing figures.
Think of this as extended YouTube highlights meshed into a professionally made documentary. There are highlight packages for the casual cricket fan to enjoy – SA vs Australia (Cronje’s captaincy debut), England vs SA (The infamous double forfeited Test feat Nasser Hussain), and SA’s tour of India.
What makes this a beautiful heartfelt documentary is the first hand experience of those closest to Cronje. How did they feel during the investigation and when he confessed? The fans and administrators were crushed for sure, but what is so revealing in the documentary is how his trusted friends and family felt.
I even had a couple of teardrops at the end. Keep a tissue nearby while watching this. Emotions Galore.
How will History Judge Hansie Cronje and Life Lessons We All Can Learn From Him
We can now reflect on South Africa’s readmission to cricket. 30 years on, wounds have not healed. They may have even become exacerbated. With Quinton de Kock & the knee affair in the T20 World Cup, the quota system, and racist allegations within the team surfacing in recent hearings, the fabric of South African cricket society is unraveling. The documentary hints that even though Cronje was a symbol of unity, he did pressure Herschelle Gibbs & Henry Williams, players of mixed and colored origin.
When the match-fixing saga happened, I was too little to remember anything. Later when I grew up, I always had a negative image of Cronje.
Objectively, Cronje damaged international cricket’s credibility and hurt fans all around the world.
However, what this documentary revealed to me is that there are several layers to consider before making a naive judgment. Hansie Cronje (and for that matter, Mohammad Azharuddin) were influential cultural icons of their time, beyond cricket.
Hansie Cronje was human. Humans have flaws. He confessed that he always gave it his all for the country, but money got the better of him. And that was his Achilles’ heel.
His brother mentioned towards the end that although South Africans have been through a lot, they are a forgiving society especially in context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Politicians with criminal background have been forgiven and are now parliamentary members.
Forgiveness is an important life lesson in all of this. At the end of the day, we can only come together and live peacefully, both internally and externally, if we forgive.
Will history forgive Hansie Cronje? Will you?
I will leave you all with this quote.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Martin luther king jr.
Who Was Hansie Cronje?
Hansie Cronje was without doubt one of the greatest captains in cricket, especially for South Africa. You probably remember the semi-final drama that ended South Africa’s WC dreams under his captaincy, but he was much more than that. Here are some stats and figures.
Born: 25 September, 1969
Died: 1 January, 2002 (32 years old)
Hansie Cronje Stats
Tests: 68 matches, 3714 runs, best of 135, 36.41 average, 100s/50s – 6/23, 43 wickets, Best Inn – 3/14, Best Match – 5/34
Captained: 53 Tests, Won 27, Lost 11
ODIs: 188 matches, 5565 runs, best of 112, 38.64 average, 100s/50s – 2/39, 114 wickets, Best – 5/32
Captained: 138 ODIs, 99 Wins, 1 Tie
Most consecutive matches as captain of an ODI Team (130 ODIs – and you guessed it right, the 2nd on this list is none other than Mohammad Azharuddin)
Test series win in India
Test series victory against all countries not named Australia
Indian Premier League Auction 2021 – It is time for yet another iteration of the IPL.
The IPL held just last September provided joy to many amidst the pandemic, provided several life lessons, and had its share of Super Overs. Now, in the final season before the overhaul and big auction (may expand to 9 or 10 teams in 2022), a short auction was held last week.
The auction had its moments—Chris Morris, the most expensive player EVER, RCB splurging on lower order allrounders, and Sunrisers just present for the participation points (only bought 3 players).
Here is our review of Indian Premier League Auction 2021: The winners, the losers, early predictions, and expected starting XIs.
Here is a quick review of all the international players sold by country.
Afghanistan (Afg): Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Australia (Aus): Steven Smith, Ben Cutting, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christan, Riley Meredith, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jhye Richardson, Moises Henriques
Bangladesh (Ban): Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman
England (Eng): Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone
New Zealand (NZ): Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham
South Africa (SA): Chris Morris, Marco Jansen
West Indies (WI): Fabian Allen
Australia were the big gainers with 8 picks (even though the likes of Aaron Finch and Marcus Labuschagne did not find a team), while Sri Lanka had 0 picks. It seems that the era of West Indies T20 freelance monopoly is coming to an end. England is snatching this tag given their marvelous limited overs depth.
Indian Premier League Auction 2021: Auction Highlights, Starting XI, and Early Predictions
*Note: The prices are in Indian Rupees as in the auction (Conversion: $1 U.S. dollar = 73 Rupees)
*Teams highlighted in their respective jersey colors
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Auction Highlights
Indian Internationals: Cheteshwar Pujara (50 lac)
Indian Uncapped: Krishnappa Gowtham (9.25 crore), Harishankar Reddy (20 lac), Bhagath Verma (20 lac), C Hari Nishanth (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Moeen Ali – Eng (7 crore)
Verdict: Pujara finally gets an IPL deal while Gowtham & Moeen Ali can add the much needed zeal in the CSK lineup. Balanced bowling line up, local Chennai lads in the squad who lifted the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy, and experience in the batting. Final round for Dhoni, Bravo, Uthappa, and Tahir?
Early Prediction: Barely miss the top 4 due to net run rate (The irony)
Squad:Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, R Sai Kishore, Cheteshwar Pujara, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, KM Asif, C Hari Nishanth, Harisankar Reddy, K Bhagath Varma
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Auction Highlights
Indian Internationals: Umesh Yadav (1 crore)
Indian Uncapped: Ripal Patel (20 lac), Vishnu Vinod (20 lac), Lukman Meriwala (20 lac), M Siddharth (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Steven Smith – Aus (2.2 crore), Tom Curran (5.25 crore), Sam Billings (2 crore) – Eng
Verdict: Good buys for the reserves with Umesh, Steve Smith, Tom Curran, and Billings (Smith most likely to warm the bench). Settled XI, great balance, but can they capture the big moments and maintain momentum?
Early Prediction: The 2020 finalists go one step further? Champions?
Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Sam Billings (WK), Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Avesh Khan, Lukman Meriwala, Lalit Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Praveen Dubey, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod (WK)
Indian Uncapped: Sheldon Jackson (20 lac), Vaibhav Arora (20 lac), Venkatesh Iyer (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Shakib Al Hasan – Ban (3.2 crore), Ben Cutting – Aus (75 lac)
Verdict: Shakib & Ben Cutting big steals for KKR, but not too sure about Harbhajan Singh & Pawan Negi? Envious finishing prowess, inexperienced Indian fast bowlers the concern, but the real question is—will Brendon McCullum’s notes produce the correct line-up?
Indian Uncapped: Yudhvir Singh (20 lac), Arjun Tendulkar (20 lac)
Foreign Recruits: Adam Milne (3.2 crore), Jimmy Neesham (50 lac) – NZ, Nathan Coulter-Nile (5 crore), Marco Jansen (20 lac) – SA
Verdict: Backups in the form of Chawla, Milne, Neesham & Zaheer Khan the mastermind behind the 20 year old left arm pacer, Marco Jansen. IPL 2021 is just an exercise to see how many different ways Mumbai Indians can come with to win the trophy.
Early Prediction: Just to change things a bit, they fail to qualify for the Top 4. Champions in the reverse direction (Who am I kidding?)
Foreign Recruits: Jhye Richardson – Aus (14 crore), Riley Meredith – Aus (8 crore), Dawid Malan – Eng (1.5 crore), Moises Henriques – Aus (4.2 crore), Fabian Allen – WI (75 lac)
Verdict: Dawid Malan, current word’s best T20 batsman, & Fabian Allen were quite the deal. Looking forward to Shahrukh Khan, the finisher, and hopefully Jalaj Saxena, the first class veteran. Definite contenders this time around. The change of name to PBKS to bring the luck?
Early Prediction: Top 4 Finish
Expected Starting XI
KL Rahul (C/WK), 2. Mayank Agarwal, 3. Dawid Malan/Chris Gayle, 4. Nicholas Pooran, 5. Deepak Hooda, 6. Shahrukh Khan, 7. Fabian Allen/ Moises Henriques, 8. Arshdeep Singh, 9. Chris Jordan/ Jhye Richardson, 10. Mohammad Shami, 11. Ravi Bishnoi
Foreign Recruits: Chris Morris – SA (16.25 crore), Mustafizur Rahman – Ban (1 crore), Liam Livingstone (75 lac)
Verdict: All weak points from IPL 2020 fixed. With Shivam Dube and Chris Morris, the double Rs may not have to rely on Tewatia magic alone. The foreign 4 pick themselves, but Miller, Livingstone, the Fizz, and Andrew Tye are T20 specialists themselves.
Early Prediction: Top 4 Finish…in the first half. Then momentum is lost, and they end up in the bottom two. The usual.
Foreign Recruits: Kyle Jamieson – NZ (15 crore), Glenn Maxwell – Aus (14.25 crore), Daniel Christian – Aus (4.8 crore)
Verdict: They won the Indian Premier League 2021 Auction battle—Maxwell, Kyle Jamieson, & Dan Christian. Finishing problems fixed. With basically the entire Indian bowling lineup returning from Australia’s success, promising uncapped openers, & the golden touch of Christian, RCB may finally cross the line.
Early Prediction: Finalists.
Expected Starting XI
1. Mohammed Azharudeen, 2. Devdutt Padikkal, 3. Virat Kohli (C), 4. AB de Villiers(WK), 5. Glenn Maxwell, 6. Daniel Christian, 7. Washington Sundar, 8. Kyle Jamieson/Daniel Sams, 9. Mohammed Siraj, 10. Navdeep Saini, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal
Foreign Recruits: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1.5 crore) – Afg
Verdict: Kedhar Jadhav is a good backup choice for Vijay Shankar in case of injuries & Nabi-Rashid-Mujeeb together in Hyderabad, wow! They have the options, but can they figure their best XI in time?
Early Prediction: SRH lose several matches at the start, out of contention early, but will break the dreams of the teams in the middle at the backend of the tournament. Bottom 4 Finish.
Expected Starting XI
David Warner (C), 2. Wriddhiman Saha (WK), 3. Manish Pandey, 4. Kane Williamson, 5. Vijay Shankar/Kedar Jadhav, 6. Priyam Garg/Abdul Samad, 7. Rashid Khan, 8. Jason Holder/Mohammad Nabi/ Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. T Natarajan, 11. Sandeep Sharma
Since this is the final IPL before the big auction in 2022, this small auction was expected to have several players unsold.
Broken Dreams of IPL 2021 Auctions:
Hanuma Vihari—hero of Sydney. Unpicked in the first couple of rounds, his name was called again for the final auction round. Still unsold. Insult to injury. Literally. (The only prominent currently in the Indian setup to not have a deal since Pujara was picked).
Aaron Finch—one of the best T20I players of all-time just could not manage a consistent IPL season.
Shaun Marsh, an end of an era. Along with Shane Watson, was the bright overseas star. KXIP stalwart in the early years, Orange Cap of IPL 2008, but could not buy any buyers.
Alex Hales. Enough said.
IPL Auction 2021: Entire Unsold List
Foreign: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Evin Lewis, Aaron Finch, Glenn Phillips, Alex Carey, Kusal Perera, Sheldon Cottrell, Adil Rashid, Ish Sodhi, Qais Ahmad, Sandeep Lamichhane, Rovman Powell, Shaun Marsh, Corey Anderson, Devon Conway, Darren Bravo, Rassie van der Dussen, Martin Guptill, Marnus Labuschagne, Oshane Thomas, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jason Behrendorff, Naveen Ul Haq, Ben Dwarshuis, Thisara Perera, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglish, Scott Kuggeleijn, Wayne Parnell, Reece Topley, Chris Green, Isuru Udana, George Linda, Jack Wildermuth, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David
Your Opinion Matters: Was Maxwell Overpriced & Hales Unlucky?
Let us know what you thought about the auction by commenting here below:
Was Glenn Maxwell overpriced? Is 2021 the year or are we still carrying IPL 2014 nostalgia?
The likes of Adil Rashid and Alex Hales do not find a team. First team England ditch Hales & now after top scoring in the BBL, no buyers. Contender for the unluckiest player of All-Time?
Steal of the Auction: Shakib Al Hasan, Dawid Malan, Fabian Allen, or Ben Cutting?
KKR’s buy of Harbhajan Singh? Why?
Here were my biggest winners and losers from Indian Premier League 2021 Auction. What did you think? What are YOUR predictions? Comment Below!
During that series, Australia announced a Test & T20I squad that would have been played at the same time (before Australia cancelled the South Africa tour of course).
These two events got me thinking—Can India field two Test XIs at the same time without overlapping players? How about an additional ODI & T20I team?
Today’s Twist
Build FOUR Indian National Cricket Teams Roster: 1 Test team, an ODI, and 2 T20I XIs so that (1) each team can field a team (wicketkeeper & 5 bowling options), and (2) a player is not repeated in any of the lists.
The Catch
Would you pick Virat Kohli for the Test team, ODI, or the T20I? Bumrah?
Can you make all 4 teams balanced? The goal is that each team is just as good and competitive on the international stage. The ODI & T20I teams should be good enough for the World Cups and the Test teams for the World Test Championship.
Before we start making the list, here are all the 106 cricketers in India currently who are vying for an Indian national spot!
Batters
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Shubman Gill
Rohit Sharma
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Virat Kohli
Suryakumar Yadav
Rinku Singh
Shreyas Iyer
Abhishek Sharma
Devdutt Padikkal
Sai Sudharshan
Sarfaraz Khan
Tilak Verma
Abhimanyu Easwaran
Wicket-Keepers
Sanju Samson
Rishabh Pant
Dhruv Jurel
KL Rahul
Ishan Kishan
Jitesh Sharma
Spin All-Rounders
Axar Patel
Ravindra Jadeja
Riyan Parag
Washington Sundar
Tanush Kotian
Krunal Pandya
Pace All-Rounders
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Hardik Pandy
Venkatesh Iyer
Ramandeep Singh
Vijay Shankar
Spinners
Kuldeep Yadav
Yuzvendra Chahal
Ravi Bishnoi
Rahul Chahar
Varun Chakravarthy
R Sai Kishore
Fast Bowlers
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammad Shami
Arshdeep Singh
Mohammad Siraj
Mukesh Kumar
Deepak Chahar
Prasidh Krishna
Harshit Rana
Akash Deep
Avesh Khan
Mukesh Choudhary
Khaleel Ahmed
T Natarajan
Mohsin Khan
Kuldeep Sen
Umran Malik
Mayank Yadav
Navdeep Saini
Fringe Players
Hanuma Vihari
Rahul Tripathi
Rajat Patidar
Prithvi Shaw
Deepak Hooda
Mayank Agarwal
Rahul Tewatia
Karun Nair
KS Bharat (WK)
Nitish Rana
Shardul Thakur
Harshal Patel
Shahbaz Ahmed
Abhishek Porel (WK)
Anuj Rawat (WK)
Abdul Samad
Shahrukh Khan
Shashank Singh
Mayank Markande
Sandeep Sharma
Yash Dayal
Ashutosh Sharma
Kartik Tyagi
Future Stars
Ayush Badoni
Sameer Rizvi
Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Shivam Mavi
Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Nehal Wadhera
Vaibhav Arora
Musheer Khan
Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Raj Bawa
Yash Dhull
Vidwath Kaverappa
Vijaykumar Vyshak
Baba Indrajith
Narayan Jagadeesan (WK)
Anshul Kamboj
Past? (But have not retired yet)
Ajinkya Rahane
Cheteshwar Pujara
Jayant Yadav
Karn Sharma
Manish Pandey
Ishant Sharma
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Mohit Sharma
Jaydev Unadkat
Shahbaz Nadeem
Four Possible XIs for Indian National Cricket Team
*Note: Since our original iteration in 2021, Rahane, Pujara, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Dinesh Karthik. have dropped out of these lists.
Test XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Abhimanyu Easwaran
Hanuma Vihari
Sarfaraz Khan
Rishabh Pant (WK)
Dhruv Jurel
Axar Patel
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Kuldeep Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah (C)
Akash Deep
ODI XI
Rohit Sharma (C)
Shubman Gill
Virat Kohli
Shreyas Iyer
KL Rahul (WK)
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Mohammad Shami
Mohammad Siraj
Yuzvendra Chahal
Avesh Khan
Indian Cricket Limited Overs Teams:
T20 Team 1
Sanju Samson (WK)
Abhishek Sharma
Tilak Verma
Suryakumar Yadav (C)
Rinku Singh
Riyan Parag
Washington Sundar
Deepak Chahar
Prasidh Krishna
Ravi Bishnoi
Arshdeep Singh
T20I Team 2
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C)
Ishan Kishan (WK)
Devdutt Padikkal
Venkatesh Iyer
Ramandeep Singh
Jitesh Sharma
Krunal Pandya
Harshit Rana
Navdeep Saini
Rahul Chahar
Varun Chakravarthy
Players Who Have Retired Since the List Originally Came Out in 2021
Retired: R Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Dhawal Kulkarni, Siddharth Kaul, Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Amit Mishra
Out of Favor: Priyam Garg, Priyank Panchal, Mandeep Singh
Conclusion
Problem of plenty for Team India.
We have all criticized Indian cricket selectors at some point in time, but we can clearly see it is difficult to give every player an extended run. Gone are the days where we can find players who play 2 or 3 formats for more than a decade. Virat Kohli maybe the last of his breed in India.
Next week, we will do a similar exercise with the England cricket team. Their limited overs depth is quite something, and they are a rising force in Test cricket as well.
What will your Indian XIs be? What do you think of Indian cricket right now? COMMENT BELOW! Would love to know your thoughts!
If you like this, check out the rest of our World XIs with TwistsHere – Best Fielding XI, Best Commentators XI, and much more!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – Indian Cricket Team Squad Depth
How many Indian cricketers are there?
As of 2025, at least 100 Indian cricketers are fighting for a place in the national team. Today the Indian national cricket team player list is one of envy with its massive depth.
How many teams can Indian cricket team field?
At least four professional cricket side can be fielded with the talent of Indian cricket team depth. These includes a separate squad for Test matches, ODI tournaments, and T20 series.
