Let us take a look at some interesting sidenotes, behind-the-scenes action and comments around Indian Premier League 2025 in the past 24 hours
We are 11 matches into Indian Premier League 2025, and a number of trends and viral narratives are emerging. Royal Challengers and Delhi Capitals are the only teams to have won two games on the bounce so far, while the likes of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are yet to hit the ground running. (Schedule | Teams | Points Table)
Let us look at some interesting sidenotes, behind-the-scenes action and comments ahead of the face-off between MI and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium:
Despite a dream start to his IPL 2025 campaign, seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been vocal in his demand for pitches that have something in it for the bowlers. After winning the Player of the Match award for his figures of 4 for 34 that helped Lucknow Super Giants beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, Thakur had said that "bowlers get very little on these kind of pitches", adding that "it's not fair on the bowlers if a team scores 240-250 runs."
He has reiterated that view in the run-up to LSG's first home game of the season against Punjab Kings. "It is not what I want, but it is what the bowlers want," he said at the pre-match press conference.
“A lot of them might not be outspoken or they might not get a chance to speak in front of media or give interviews about the pitch conditions. All that the bowlers are asking is to prepare the pitch in such a manner that the game hangs in balance and it should not be just one-sided where batters are coming and smashing us, because all we want is a fair chance and fair opportunity in the game,” Shardul added.
Rajasthan Royals' stand-in skipper Riyan Parag led the side to their opening victory of the season against Chennai Super Kings, but earned the wrath of some fans soon after it. A video has gone viral of Parag tossing the phone back to Assam Police representatives after clicking a selfie with them. You can watch the video below:
A number of social media users questioned the act, wondering why he needed to throw the phone in that manner. On top of that, Parag was also fined INR 12 lakh for maintaining slow over-rate during the match.
Days before the start of IPL 2025, former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had wholeheartedly praised MS Dhoni's fitness standards at age 43, stating that he "must be doing something better than the others". But after CSK's lacklustre start to the season, 'Bhajji' has questioned Dhoni's batting tactics.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan put forth: "I would like to present some stats. Dhoni sahab bahut bade khiladi hain, par jab who aaye hain, match khatam ho chuka tha (Dhoni is a big player, but by the time he came out to bat, the match was all but over). Whenever Dhoni has chased since IPL 2023 in winning causes, he has scored just 3 runs in 9 balls, without a single boundary or six.
"But in losing causes, Dhoni has scored 166 runs in 84 balls with 13 fours and 13 sixes. This means that Dhoni averages just 8 in matches CSK have won while in the games lost, his average is 49. Who wants to look at matches where they lost? And this, I think, is a major issue CSK needs to fix."