Sanju Samson has been the new talk of the town after his incredible knock of an unbeaten 97 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata helped India complete the chase of 199 runs by five wickets against the West Indies during the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 as they qualified for the semifinal of the competition and will be up against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Sanju Samson was not guaranteed to be part of the playing eleven at the start of the campaign, having failed badly during the five-match home series against New Zealand. But it was India’s late game plan that saw the management bring Samson into the side, and he delivered at a stage when they needed him the most.

See Also: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to return in ODIs as BCCI announces home schedule after IPL 2026

Meanwhile, a video has gone viral showing the 19-year-old Sanju Samson receiving a grand welcome at his college after he got the first contract in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The wicket-keeper batter, aged 31, played his first season of the league in 2013 for the Rajasthan Royals.

Sanju Samson’s grand welcome in college at 19 goes viral

Samson entered the college amidst a massive crowd who were holding the placards of the batter and cheered for him as he became one of the rare players to be part of the league at such a young age. The boys and girls were so happy to get inspired by Samson, who will now feature for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2026. 

Watch the video here: 

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Samson played a fine knock of unbeaten 97 runs in 50 balls at a strike rate of 194 with the help of 12 boundaries and four sixes as the other players also made small contributions. Tilak Varma nailed a fine knock of 27 runs in 15 balls at a strike rate of 180.

“I think this is one of the greatest days of my life. (on the crowd support here) Yeah, definitely they do bring a lot of energy, and they do bring a lot of support. But I think on the other end, there is always a question, what if not?  definitely that keeps on playing in your mind.” Samson added.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has shared a special video on their first signed player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni, who came as their local player in the 2008 season of the tournament. The rest has been history as they went on to win five titles, with the first one coming in 2010.

MS Dhoni has created several memories for the Super Kings franchise. With the bat, he has smashed 5439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45 with the help of 24 half-centuries and the best score of unbeaten 84 runs. The right-handed batter has nailed overall 375 boundaries and 264 over boundaries in the process, which has been a fabulous landmark.

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Dhoni’s best season with the bat came in 2018 when he drilled 455 runs in 15 innings at an average of 75.83 and a strike rate of more than 150 as they went on to claim the title. The wicket-keeper batter celebrated three half-centuries in that edition at the best score of unbeaten 79 runs.

CSK releases special video on MS Dhoni’s 18 years with yellow franchise

However, the last few seasons have given a different story for Dhoni, who also handed over the leadership skills to Ruturaj Gaikwad. In 2025, he had to step up when their opener was injured and later got ruled out of the campaign due to a wrist injury. Dhoni ended up with 196 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of 135.17 with the help of an undefeated 30 runs.

Watch the video here: 

Once upon a time in Chennai, a lion arrived! 🦁🔥
The rest became his story!#WhistlePodu #OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/qb8VSGd11D

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) February 20, 2026

The last time he crossed the 250-run mark in a season of the IPL was way back in 2019, when he slammed 416 runs in 12 innings at an average of 83.20 and a strike rate of 134.62 with the help of three half-centuries.

However, Dhoni, as many predicted, could retire from the league after the 2026 season of the tournament. The wicket-keeper batter hinted the same last year when they finished at the bottom of the points table.

Mumbai Indians (MI) are set to start their own ultimate fan experience festival, The MIX, in March 2026, ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). Similar to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Unboxing event, The MIX will allow fans to have a two-day experiential festival, featuring live music, food, exclusive merchandise drops, immersive brand experiences, and more on a single platform. 

The franchise has revealed the dates for the 2-day event, starting on March 21 and ending on March 22, 2026, at Jio World Garden in Mumbai. It is a part of the MI #OneFamily universe and is co-produced and promoted bythe  Mumbai Indians and BookMyShow Live. Fans can book tickets on MI's official website. 

The lineup for the two-day show consists of global sensations CamelPhat, along with some of India's performers like Divine, Nucleya, Sanju Rathod, and Mr. Belt & Wezol. The entire purpose of the experience is to create a connectivity between fans, culture, sports, and creativity. 

A Mumbai Indians spokesperson said, "The MIX represents the next chapter of MI’s fan engagement journey. Cricket will always be at our core, but today's young fans connect with brands through culture, lifestyle, and experiences first. The MIX allows us to meet them where they are – creating a space where sport, music, and culture collide in authentic and exciting ways."

When will IPL 2026 start?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is all set to start from March 26, and continue upto two months. The tournament will conclude on May 31. The complete schedule of the league is not out yet, but the IPL committee might release it soon after the T20 World Cup 2026. They have not decided the groups yet, so all the information might come at once. 

The defending champions, RCB, are most likely to play the first match, but their opposition is yet to be decided. This season also ten teams will compete and keep their eyes on the prize. The mini auction ahead of the tournament took place in December, where the teams bid for their players. Now, they are set for the tournament to start in March. 

Players from the Pakistan side have not featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009, following the diplomatic relationships between the two countries. Heading into the 2026 season of The Hundred, four of the eight franchises- Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds- are part of the IPL teams, which will be a concern for the Pakistan players.

The senior official of the BBC from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) indicated to an agent that the Pakistan players’ availability would be limited to the sides lined with the IPL. The situation has been addressed as an unwritten rule across the T20 leagues with Indian investment.

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“The Hundred welcomes men's and women's players from all over the world, and we would expect the eight teams to reflect that. Almost 1,000 cricketers from 18 nations have registered for The Hundred auction, with representation on the longlist of over 50 players respectively from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, and West Indies.” The ECB spokesperson expressed.

Reports claim Pakistan players’ absence from The Hundred 2026

No Pakistan players have featured in South Africa’s SA20, which launched in 2023, as all six of the six franchises have now been involved in The Hundred. In the UAE’s International League (ILT20), franchises controlled by the MI London and Southern Brave have not signed a Pakistan player across four seasons.

“Every player should have the right to fair and equal opportunity. While employers have autonomy in recruitment, those decisions should always align with principles of fairness, equality, and respect.” It was revealed by Tom Moffat, who is the chief Executive of the World Cricketers’ Association, that the global players’ auction.

The American-owned ILT20 side, Desert Vipers, has signed eight Pakistan players over the same period. In January this year, the three-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), released the Bangladesh bowler, Mustafizur Rahman, after being instructed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to the political tensions between India and Bangladesh in recent times.  

Jaskaran Singh, the right-arm pacer for Canada, who featured during their opening clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad against South Africa, is a former member of the Indian Premier League (IPL), as the Mohali-born player was part of the Decca Chargers during the 2009 and 2009/10 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

It was not a great evening for Jaskaran Singh, who was smashed for 49 runs in his four overs without any success against the Proteas. In 11 innings of the T20Is, the right-arm pacer has overall bagged 12 wickets at an average of 22.50, a strike rate of 16.60, and an economy rate of 8.10, thanks to the best bowling figures of 3/11 in an innings.

See Also: Pakistan Government issues official statement on India vs Pakistan clash in T20 World Cup 2026

Jaskaran, who hasn’t only represented India A as a young fast bowler on the tour to England in 2010, played the early season of the league. He has been playing in the Ranji Trophy for the last 13 years, having made his first appearance for the Punjab side along with some of the notable members of the Indian side, under the leadership of Manan Vohra.

Know Canada’s Jaskaran Singh who featured for Deccan Chargers in IPL 2009

Jaskaran took three wickets on his List-A debut for the Punjab side against Haryana in 2009, before marking his first-class debut for India A against Yorkshire the next year. He had a forgettable game, conceding 77 runs for no wickets in 22 overs. His first-class debut came after six matches for the Chargers in which season he bagged six wickets.

Out of the six wickets, Jaskaran dismissed the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Kieron Pollard. In 26 innings of first-class cricket, the right-arm pacer has picked up 30 wickets at an average of 37.73 and a strike rate of 71.1, with 332 runs at a strike rate of 75.80, thanks to two half-centuries.

Jaskaran will hope to impress the fans with his skills during the T20 World Cup as they will meet some strong sides, including Afghanistan and New Zealand, deep into the competition.

It’s been a long-time question for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise and their fans on whether they would eventually invest in women’s cricket, with the other big franchises, including Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), doing it and winning titles successfully. For the growth of the game, that side needs to get a new women’s side. 

The franchise Chief Executive, Kasi Vishwanathan, who is one of the most humble cricket administrators, was present at the Tamil Nadu Global Tourism Summit and revealed their plan to invest in women’s cricket under MS Dhoni’s vision in the future. He also confirmed that Dhoni would remain a part of their system forever.

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“MSD will surely play this season and will be with CSK forever. And the very next step for us will be to invest in women’s cricket. You can be sure of it.” Vishwanathan expressed in an interview with Revsportz.

CSK CEO confirms MS Dhoni's presence for franchise forever 

The story of Dhoni and the CSK franchise is a long-time moment where the franchise won the event under the wicket-keeper batter five times, with the latest coming in the 2023 season when they got the better of the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Dhoni’s association with Chennai was not straightforward at the start, but it later grew over the years.

“We picked MSD in the auction in 2008 and must say he will forever stay our best investment. Most other teams had an icon player. Mumbai had Sachin, Kolkata Sourav, Bengaluru Rahul, and so on. We did not, and we went for Dhoni, for VB Chandrasekhar had mentioned him to N Srinivasan, saying he would make a fantastic leader. How correct he was!” Kasi Vishwanathan addressed.

“We in CSK have known from the very start that cricketers and administrators think differently. It is better that cricketers are allowed to take on-field calls while the administrators focus on things off the field. MSD had our fullest support in shaping the team and the way we played. The bond was organic, and you can see the results.” The CSK CEO shed light during the same interview.

India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain, Rohit Sharma, is on a break after the end of the three-match home ODI series against New Zealand as he prepares himself for the upcoming 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he will feature for the Mumbai Indians (MI). He is also the brand ambassador of the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Rohit Sharma was born on 30 April 1987 in Nagpur. A post on X (formerly known as Twitter) has gone viral, where an astrological prediction of the right-handed opening batter has been made. Being an Aries, Rohit Sharma is going through the first phase of his Shani Sadhe Sati.

See Also: Pakistan confirmed to boycott T20 World Cup 2026? PCB plans domestic tournament

It has been reckoned that this is the reason why the veteran had gone through a very lean phase in his career. His first assignment will be the upcoming IPL, in which he is going to give a sub-par season, despite recording several positive starts with the bat, but only three significant performances will happen, where the strike rate will again be an aggressive factor.

Rohit Sharma's astrological prediction till 2027 drops shocking future 

In the second half of the year, India will play a lot of ODIs as their preparation for the next World Cup in 2027 in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia, where those games will give a new chance to prove Rohit’s form and fitness, in which he will not get many fruitful results and perhaps will manage only a couple of centuries.

Heading into 2027, there is a great chance that he will miss either a good length or the entire 2027 season of the Indian Premier League due to some mental break, as he will not play all the matches for sure, but will also not announce his retirement.

The former Indian captain will not get his captaincy back despite many predicting that factor ahead of the World Cup. He will perform enough to book his slot in the ODI World Cup 2027, but his World Cup campaign will be average apart from a few flamboyant starts to help the team's cause.

The former Indian and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, MS Dhoni, has started his first practice session ahead of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ranchi, as the video went viral on social media platforms. He returns to the field, nearly two months before the start of the 19th edition of the 20-over franchise event.

The Jharkhand State Cricket Association shared the clip on their social media as the former wicket-keeper batter, MS Dhoni, was seen enjoying the session. He was also seen to be having a chat with the former JSCA honorary secretary, Saurab Tiwary, while gearing up for the nets session.

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The 44-year-old retired from all forms of cricket in 2020 across the three international formats, except for the IPL, where he continues to be part of the CSK franchise. There was a rumor in the 2023 season of the tournament that Dhoni was reported to be playing his last season, but he has extended his stay in the side for the next three seasons since that period.

MS Dhoni returns to CSK’s practice session in Ranchi

CSK is now under the leadership of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took over the responsibility in the 2024 season of the tournament. Despite this, Dhoni remains the most important member of the side, as he returned to captain the team when Gaikwad was out of the side when the Maharashtra-born was ruled out due to an injury in 2025.

Watch the video here: 

THALA DHONI PRACTICE SESSION FOR IPL. 💥 [JSCA] pic.twitter.com/U78LtGnwlV

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 24, 2026

CSK and MS Dhoni will be without their long-time server and the premier left-arm spin all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, for the new 2026 season of the tournament, as the Saurashtra player has made his way to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in place of Sanju Samson, who is now expected to open the batting for the yellow franchise.

“I am a part of CSK, so I can’t imagine any other team winning the IPL trophy. But it was long-awaited. They (RCB) played really well. Big congratulations to them.” Dhoni said recently in an event while responding to the query of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning their maiden IPL in 2025.

Google’s artificial intelligence platform, Gemini, has struck a three-year sponsorship agreement with the Indian Premier League (IPL) competition. The agreement, which will cover the next three editions of the competition, is reportedly worth INR 90 crore per year, which places it firmly in the upper tier of the IPL sponsors.

Well, the figure is far below what the Magnet or Tata pays for the naming rights of the league. It still places it among the top-tier sponsors of the franchise sports, such as My11Circle, digital brokerage Business Angle One, and the payments company, RuPay. The details are not yet revealed, but Gemini will likely gain the branding presence across the IPL operations of media backgrounds and pitch-side hoardings.

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Recently, Chad GPD took up a sponsorship of the IPL Associate Women’s competition for a small price of Ianna 16,00,00,000 across two years. Even though the much smaller sponsorship fee reflects that the WPL is much younger and doesn’t boost the same reach as the men’s competition, the former's willingness to cover the competition highlights how India has become a crucial arena for AI.

Google Gemini enters IPL sponsorship for INR 270 crore in 3-year deal

The AI brands are increasingly making A competition with the established brands for the high-profile cricket sponsorships, as the design platform Canva bid for INR 554 crore for the BCCI in India shirt sponsorship but was outbid by Apollo Tyres, which earned the rights for INR 579 crore. 

“AI platforms are expected to play a role similar to fantasy sports in driving sports advertising interest this year. RMG ban will impact TV and digital advertising on sports more than on-ground sponsorships.” An industry executive expressed their expectations for partnerships, with the AI platforms likely to spend around INR 300 crore on the cricket sponsorships alone.

The Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB) will start the IPL 2026 as the defending champion, having beaten the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of the previous season at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The former Karnataka and Kolkata Knight Riders’ spinner, KC Cariappa, has decided to retire from Indian cricket as he aims to feature in the overseas franchise leagues around the world. The 31-year-old featured in 23 innings in first-class cricket, where he has earned 75 wickets at an average of 23.20 and a strike rate of 55.8, thanks to his 54-wicket haul and six 5-wicket hauls.

From Karnataka, Cariappa made the move to Mizoram, where he featured in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) and picked up one wicket in his last game against Manipur, besides picking two 3-wicket holes against Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. He has always been a very fine bowler in the shortest format of the game.

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In 20 innings of the domestic 50-over format, the spinner has picked up 24 wickets at an average of Justice over 31 and a strike rate of 43.2, thanks to his economy rate of 4.38 with the best figures of 3/28. In case of the T20s, he has picked up 58 wickets at an economy rate of 6.60 at an average of 24.62.

KC Cariappa retires from all forms of Indian cricket

Cariappa was part of two IPL franchises, the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Punjab Kings, from 2015 to 2019. In his very first season, he played just one game for Kolkata, where he picked a 1 wicket before featuring in nine clashes for the Punjab side, where he picked up seven wickets in nine innings before making his move back to Kolkata, where he played just one game again in 2019.

Since then, Cariappa has not played a single IPL game. However, just like some of the other players of Indian cricket- including Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shikhar Dhawan, and others- he also aims to feature in the overseas franchise leagues around the world, having retired from Indian cricket.

With the bat, he was not a regular candidate with an average of 26.47 in first-class cricket, having celebrated 4 half-centuries. Cariappa’s unusual action of the leg spin makes it harder for the batsman to pick him from the hand, which may also help him in future franchise leagues around the world.