The enduring legend of Virat Kohli

Kohli scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests to stand fourth in India’s all-time list of Test run-scorers after Tendulkar, Dravid and Gavaskar. (FILE/AFP)
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Updated 24 May 2025
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The enduring legend of Virat Kohli

  • Kohli’s cricketing persona has been one of aggressiveness and intensity, always eager to join the fray and whip up his team to greater heights, more in the manner of soccer than cricket

Some cricketers possess an unmistakable presence when they walk out to bat. Vivian Richards of the West Indies was one. He swaggered, smiled, oozed confidence and menace, chewed gum and eschewed a helmet in favor of a cap. His style of entrance may have set a precedent for others to build their own individual brands as cricketers in an era of universal television coverage. 

Chris Gayle, another West Indian, the self-styled “Universe Boss,” was one who did that across all formats. An imposing presence as soon as he stepped onto the cricket field, Gayle took to the T20 format very quickly, establishing himself as a free-scoring, aggressive batter to be feared. He also proved himself at Test level, capable of batting at length. In 2010, he batted almost 10 hours in scoring 333 against Sri Lanka, becoming only the fourth batsman to score two Test triples. Both Gayle and Richards now live out of the limelight, their cricketing reputations intact.

In previous eras, the great and charismatic players of the time did not have the media exposure that is available to current players. In the immediate years after 1945, Denis Compton of England and Keith Miller of Australia were two players who excited crowds with their charisma, becoming icons at a time of national recovery from war. Compton was one of the first cricketers to be used in consumer advertising, as the face of Brylcreem, a hair cream. 

It is now commonplace for cricketers to endorse consumer products, other than cricket equipment. A number of them have developed their own brand values. An outstanding example of this is Virat Kohli, who has transcended his ability as a cricketer to become an international icon. His decision to retire from Test cricket, announced on Instagram on May 12 to 271 million followers, has sparked a deluge of tributes. These have focussed on his place in the game and his contribution to it, especially to Test cricket, for which he has been an outspoken champion. 

In this respect, it is a disappointment to many that Kohli will not be a part of the Indian team that will play five Tests in England between June 20 and Aug. 4. Neither will his successor as captain, Rohit Sharma, who also announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 7. Both players retired from international T20 cricket after India won the T20 World Cup in June 2024, under Sharma’s captaincy. The two were different in both batting and leadership styles but have been instrumental in guiding India to recent trophy success.

Sharma retires with 4,301 runs in 67 Test matches, averaging 40.57. His recent form has been poor, having made only one 50 in 15 innings since his last Test hundred against England in Dharamsala in March 2024. Sharma was captain in 2024, when India was surprisingly beaten 3-0 at home by New Zealand and 3-1 away by Australia, where he sat out the decisive fifth Test in Sydney. In the same series, Kohli, although scoring a hundred in the first Test, endured a dip in form. His frustrations at what appeared to be waning abilities surfaced in an unseemly incident during the fourth Test at Melbourne. 

At the end of the tenth over of Australia’s innings, 19-year-old debutant, Sam Konstas, walked toward his opening partner at the non-striker’s end. He was looking at his gloves, when Kohli, who was walking in the opposite direction from his fielding position, made shoulder contact with Konstas. Commentators remarked that Kohli had walked one whole pitch over to his right and appeared to have instigated the confrontation.

Kohli was sanctioned for a breach of conduct and fined 20 percent of his match fees, which he accepted. Perhaps the act was that of an aging lion attempting to curb a rising cub, of whose talent he was envious. Kohli’s cricketing persona has been one of aggressiveness, intensity, always eager to join the fray and whip up his team to greater heights, more in the manner of soccer than cricket.

This has not endeared him to opposition supporters. I have witnessed and heard comments by English supporters that have been uncomplimentary — not that Kohli has been afraid to take on opposition supporters with words and provocative gestures. There has always been a sense that he has escaped censure for transgressions and acts for which others would have received punishment.

On the field, whether fielding, captaining or batting, Kohli’s presence and actions were ones that demanded attention. His passion for Test cricket shone through, as evidenced in his retirement statement in which he said, “I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for. I’ll always look back at my Test career with a smile.”

In it, Kohli scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests to stand fourth in India’s all-time list of Test run-scorers after Tendulkar, Dravid and Gavaskar. He also captained India in 68 of his Tests, winning 40 of them, which makes him the country’s most successful leader in the format. Such a record is a reflection not only of his hunger for runs, but his desire to win and for those around him to strive for excellence. His own commitment to physical fitness has become legendary and aspirational for young Indians, who seek to emulate his appearance.

It is not clear if there was any single reason for Kohli’s decision to retire. One consideration is form. The Test hundred in Australia last November was his first in 15 innings in the previous 16 months. In Australia, he scored 190 runs in nine innings, averaging just 23.75, which compares with a final Test average of 46.85. Since January 2020, he has averaged 30.72, scoring only three centuries in 39 Tests. Another consideration was the curbing, by the national board, of the size and composition of the support groups for players while on tour. One factor that does not seem to have been widely discussed is the impact of Sharma’s retirement.

Of course, Kohli has not slipped into the shadows. In IPL 2025, he has scored more than 500 runs and he still wishes to play ODI cricket for India. His retirement appears to be a carefully managed process. Off the field, his brand value and product endorsement strategy has been carefully curated to mirror his fitness-oriented lifestyle, fashion sense, family orientation and appeal across the whole Indian demographic. Kohli has also invested in a number of start-up ventures to ensure exposure outside of mainstream advertising. Unlike other famous cricketers, he will not be living quietly in retirement. 

There is little doubt that Virat Kohli has an aura about him on and off the pitch. He leaves a huge gap in the Test arena and there is a worry that his advocacy of it may not be continued by his successors. Kohli has said that, “There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no-one sees but that stay with you forever.” Self-reflection is not a characteristic that springs immediately to mind about Kohli, who admits that the journey has “tested me, shaped me and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life.” He leaves an indelible mark on both Indian and global cricket in which his stature was invariably imperial, not just when going out to bat.       


India look to maintain momentum against faltering England in third Test

Updated 09 July 2025
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India look to maintain momentum against faltering England in third Test

  • Shubman Gill has enjoyed a stunning start to his reign as India captain, with a remarkable 585 runs in his first two Tests as skipper
  • So prolific has Gill been, he could now threaten Australia great Donald Bradman’s record of 974 runs in a single Test series

LONDON: An in-form India will continue their quest for just a fourth series win in England when the third Test at Lord’s starts on Thursday.

India levelled this five-match campaign at 1-1 with a 336-run rout of England in last week’s second Test at Edgbaston.

Here are several key talking points ahead of what promises to be a fascinating encounter:

Shubman Gill has enjoyed a stunning start to his reign as India captain, with a remarkable 585 runs in his first two Tests as skipper after replacing the retired Rohit Sharma.

At Edgbaston, thanks to innings of 269 and 161, the admirably composed and elegant Gill became the first batsman in Test cricket to make scores of 250 and 150 in the same match.

So prolific has Gill been, he could now threaten Australia great Donald Bradman’s record of 974 runs in a single Test series, after the 25-year-old also made 147 in India’s five-wicket defeat in the opener at Headingley.

“You’ve got got to give your opposition credit when it’s due and for him to bang out as many runs as he has done in this game has been pretty special,” said England captain Ben Stokes.

One encouraging thought for Stokes, however, as he ponders how to get the better of Gill, is that Bradman’s mark has stood for 95 years.

Many batsmen have made blistering starts, only for the runs to dry up later on.

South Africa’s Graeme Smith started his captaincy reign with back-to-back double hundreds in England, at Edgbaston and Lord’s, in 2003.

Opening batsman Smith, however, managed just 93 more runs in the remaining three Tests of that series.

It has been over four years since fast bowler Jofra Archer last played a Test but the injury-blighted express quick now appears set to return at Lord’s, where in 2019 he marked his debut by felling Australia’s Steve Smith with a fearsome bouncer.

Doubts remain over whether Archer can be the bowler he once was after such a lengthy lay-off.

But England coach Brendon McCullum said: “He’s obviously been through his injuries and his time out of Test cricket, but we all know what he’s capable of achieving and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he’s able to recapture and improve on what he’s been able to do already.”

Archer at his best would certainly give England a much-needed cutting edge.

Chris Woakes has taken just three wickets at a hugely expensive average of nearly 97 apiece so far this series, despite being given the new ball.

England great Geoffrey Boycott suggested the 36-year-old was now “past his sell-by date” but all-rounder Woakes has a fine record at Lord’s, with 32 wickets in seven Tests at a miserly average of 12.90, as well as a batting average of 42.50.

Akash Deep proved a more than capable stand-in with a 10-wicket haul in Birmingham — a return that will surely see him keep his place— but it is hard to see how India can be anything but stronger with a refreshed Jasprit Bumrah in their side after resting the world’s top-ranked Test bowler at Edgbaston.

“He (Bumrah) jogs in, you will be thinking ‘this will be 70 miles an hour’ and it hits you at 90,” former England paceman Stuart Broad told his ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast.

Overseas players often raise their game at Lord’s and Bumrah is unlikely to be an exception as the 31-year-old fast bowler bids to gain a coveted place on the dressing room honors board for the first time in his career.


Cricket stars confirm return to DP World ILT20 for season 4

Updated 07 July 2025
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Cricket stars confirm return to DP World ILT20 for season 4

  • Salt, Hales, Hasaranga, Powell, Curran, Ferguson, Farooqi, David, and Sikandar will take part in the UAE-based T20 league
  • DP World International League T20 season 4 will feature 6 teams across a 34-match tournament, with the final on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026

DUBAI: For the fourth consecutive season, some of the biggest T20 superstars from around the world will feature in the DP World International League T20.

England’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 winners Alex Hales, Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Phil Salt and Sam Curran (Season 3 Red Belt Winner — Most Valuable Player) will again display their talent in the Gulf region’s biggest T20 tournament.

Besides the star-studded England lineup, West Indies mega stars Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sherfane Rutherford and Shai Hope (season three Green Belt Winner — Best Batter of the Tournament) will also return to their respective franchises.

Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza and Afghanistan’s premier new-ball bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi (Season 3 White Belt Winner — Best Bowler of the Tournament) will ake part in the month-long competition. Australia’s big-hitting batter Tim David and New Zealand’s fast bowling duo Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee have also declared their availability for Season 4.  

The teams have now completed the halfway stage in the squads’ selection process for Season 4 (eight players each). The first phase for the squad selection included the retention window for players from Season 3 and the new signings window which finished on June 16 and 30, respectively.

In the second phase of the Season 4 squad selection process, the teams will complete their respective squads at the DP World ILT20 Season 4 Player Auction, with date and details to be announced in the next few days.

Defending champions Dubai Capitals have added more depth to their bowling stocks by including Season 2 White Belt Winner — Afghanistan left-arm-wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil as a new signing (previous team MI Emirates) alongside left-arm pacers Luke Wood (previous team Desert Vipers) and Muhammad Jawadullah (previous team Sharjah Warriorz).  

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders have added firepower to their batting with three explosive T20 batters Alex Hales (previous team Desert Vipers), Liam Livingstone (previous team Sharjah Warriorz) and Sherfane Rutherford (previous team Desert Vipers).

The Desert Vipers have included former ADKR opener Andries Gous as their new signing; the Season 1 and Season 3 finalists have retained the core of their Season 3 squad. Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Max Holden, Sam Curran and Wanindu Hasaranga will be rejoining the Vipers for Season 4.

Season 1 winners Gulf Giants have signed Afghanistan’s globally recognized all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, who will be making his DP World ILT20 debut this season while donning the Giants kit as one of their new signings. England’s Moeen Ali (previous team Sharjah Warriorz) returns to the DP World ILT20, the T20 great will be playing for the Giants as a new signing. Dashing Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the other new Giants’ Season 4 signing.

Gurbaz’s earlier DP World ILT20 stints were with Sharjah Warriorz (Season 1), Dubai Capitals (Season 2) and Desert Vipers (Season 3).

Season 2 winners MI Emirates have added all-round strength to their squad by including the all-format all-rounder — Chris Woakes (previous team Sharjah Warriorz) as a new signing. Sri Lanka’s upcoming all-rounder Kamindu Mendis is the other MI Emirates new signing for Season 4. Mendis will be making his DP World ILT20 debut.

Sharjah Warriorz have added Sikandar Raza (previous team Dubai Capitals). The globetrotting Zimbabwean all-rounder was the Season 2 Red Belt Winner — Most Valuable Player. Sri Lanka’s star white-ball spinner Maheesh Theekshana returns to the side as a new signing. He had appeared in eight games for the Warriorz in Season 2 of the DP World ILT20.

Warriorz have also bolstered their batting prowess for Season 4 with the inclusion of Australia’s big-hitting batter Tim David as a new signing. David played for MI Emirates in Season 1 and the Gulf Giants in Season 2. USA left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Netravalkar has also joined the Warriorz.

The DP World International League T20 Season 4 will begin on Tuesday, Dec. 2 — UAE National Day (Eid-Al-Etihad) with a blockbuster opening, the six-team, 34-match tournament will conclude with the final on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.

 DP World ILT20 Season 4 — players rejoining their Season 3 teams:

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Alishan Sharafu, Andre Russell, Charith Asalanka, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine.

Desert Vipers: Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Max Holden, Sam Curran and Wanindu Hasaranga.

Dubai Capitals: Dasun Shanaka, Dushmantha Chameera, Gulbadin Naib, Rovmann Powell and Shai Hope.

Gulf Giants: Aayan Afzal Khan, Blessing Muzarabani, Gerhard Erasmus, James Vince and Mark Adair.

MI Emirates: AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kusal Perera, Romario Shepherd, Tom Banton and Muhammad Waseem.

Sharjah Warriorz: Johnson Charles,  Kusal Mendis, Tim Southee and Tom Kohler-Cadmore.

DP World ILT20 Season 4 — new signings:

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Alex Hales, Liam Livingstone and Sherfane Rutherford.

Desert Vipers: Andries Gous.

Dubai Capitals: Luke Wood, Waqar Salamkheil and Muhammad Jawadullah.

Gulf Giants: Azmatullah Omarzai, Moeen Ali, Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

MI Emirates: Chris Woakes and Kamindu Mendis.

Sharjah Warriorz: Maheesh Theekshana, Sikandar Raza, Saurabh Netravalkar and Tim David.


Shubman Gill, the ‘Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king

Updated 06 July 2025
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Shubman Gill, the ‘Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king

  • The 25-year-old’s second century of the match took his overall tally for the game to 430 runs

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom: India captain Shubman Gill continued to give fresh meaning to the phrase “leading from the front” with a stunning innings of 161 in the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston on Saturday.
The 25-year-old’s second century of the match took his overall tally for the game to 430 runs, a figure bettered by India great Sachin Tendulkar, Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorer, just three times in a series, let alone a match, during his celebrated career.
Following his commanding 269 in the first innings, Gill also became the first batsman in 148 years of Test history to make score of 250 and 150 in the same match.
All that came after Gill’s 147 in his first Test as captain, India’s five-wicket loss in last week’s series opener at Headingley.
But beyond the statistics, it is the way Gill has played that has impressed seasoned observers.
In the first innings at Edgbaston, he batted in near flawless-fashion for eight-and-a-half hours, with his offside driving standing comparison with cricket’s most elegant batsmen.
But in the second innings, with quick runs required to set up a declaration, Gill made 161 off just 162 balls, including 13 fours and eight sixes.
India are now well-placed given England, with seven wickets standing, still need a mammoth 536 more runs on Sunday’s final day to achieve what would be a Test record fourth-innings victory chase of 608.
“Gill is outrageous,” England fast-bowling great Stuart Broad, well used to working out world-class batsmen during a career that yielded 604 Test wickets, told Sky Sports after Saturday’s close.
“As a bowler, I’d be looking for technical things so I could expose him, but he’s not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he’s played stylishly. He’s played with huge responsibility, under big pressure.
“It’s breathtaking... He deserves all the applause he will get.”
Gill was drafted into India’s under-19 side as for their victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, shortly after scoring a century for Punjab in just his second first-class Ranji Trophy match.
He made his one-day international debut in 2019, but it was in his first Test series, in Australia in 2020/21, that he came to the fore, notably with a fluent 91 in India’s thrilling series-clinching win at the Gabba.
His first Test hundred came a year later, in Chattogram. A month later, aged 23, he became the youngest to make an ODI double-century, smashing 208 off 149 balls against New Zealand.
Born in Fazilka, near the border with Pakistan, before moving to Mohali aged eight to be nearer better cricket facilities, the nickname ‘Prince’ has clung to Gill to the extent of sometimes appearing on his bat-stickers.
An opener and then a number three, Gill now occupies the number four position held by childhood hero Virat Kohli, with his 269 surpassing Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019 as the highest score by an India Test captain.
As a boy, Gill wanted to know what Kohli’s scores and achievements were when he was his age.
And when Kohli first saw Gill in the nets in New Zealand in 2019/20, he said he didn’t even have 10 percent of the talent when he was Gill’s age.
Yet last year, when England went 1-0 up in Hyderabad, a second-innings duck saw Gill’s Test average fall below 30 for the first time.
But then India coach Rahul Dravid, himself an outstanding batsman, resisted the temptation to drop Gill, who then made a second-innings century in a 106-run win in Visakhapatnam and another, in Dharamshala, during a series India won 4-1.
Gill succeeded Rohit Sharma as India captain after the latter announced his retirement from Test cricket in May, with ‘King’ Kohli calling time on his Test career just a few days later.
A few months ago,when asked about potential leaders, Rohit said “the boys aren’t ready yet.”
But Gill, who started this series with a modest Test average of under 36, looks as if he might be now.


Rashid Khan’s star continues to shine

Updated 03 July 2025
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Rashid Khan’s star continues to shine

  • The 26-year-old bowler’s meteoric rise to prominence has contributed to outstanding performances by the Afghan national men’s team

Rashid Khan is a cricketing superstar who will play for the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred this summer. Before joining the team, he added brand ambassadorship to his cricketing prowess — on July 3 in Dubai, he was revealed as the face of leading real estate company, MH Developers.

This exemplifies the opportunities for sponsorship and brand endorsement now available to top cricketers and is a far cry from some 70 years ago when the best they could hope for was their signature on the face of a bat.  

Khan’s cricketing rise to prominence has been meteoric and has contributed to outstanding performances by the Afghan national men’s team, which included reaching the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final.

This is even more remarkable given that the team is effectively in exile. At least it gets to play, unlike the women’s team; most of those players fled the country in fear of their lives and many are now in Australia, desperate to play cricket. They have lobbied the International Cricket Council about their plight, but the ICC, along with much of the international cricketing community, has been tight-lipped about expressing support or making proposals to alleviate the situation.

Their male counterparts have been more fortunate. A contributory factor has been the UAE, with Khan quick to recognize that it “has been like a spiritual home for Afghan cricket for many years, providing a safe haven and platform amid the challenges back home.”

Hence, the collaboration with MH Developers holds tremendous significance for him personally and professionally, having experienced an itinerant lifestyle shuttling between the eastern border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

In the early 2000s, Khan’s family, which owned a tire business, left war-torn Afghanistan for Pakistan. Rashid was the sixth of 11 brothers and competed with them in tape-ball cricket — a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape — which is played on concrete strips in corridors. In order to achieve greater zip off the surface, he developed his characteristic fast-arm action and ability to flip the ball out of his fingers to spin and flight his leg breaks sharply.

This, coupled with his batting abilities, marked him out to experienced observers, including coaches at the Islamia College in Peshawar where he studied computer science until 2013. When the Afghan team toured Pakistan in 2014 he performed outstandingly in Peshawar. It was on Dec. 7, 2016, that he made his debut for Afghanistan against the England Lions in Abu Dhabi, taking 4 for 48 and 8 for 74, along with 25 not out and 52, a rich return for one so young. The path was set.

Currently, Khan captains Afghanistan’s T20 men’s team. He has also captained the Test and One Day International teams. In March 2018, aged 19 years and 165 days, he became the youngest player to captain an international side. Then in September 2019, aged 20 years and 350 days, he became the youngest person to captain a Test match team, leading Afghanistan against Bangladesh. He also played in Afghanistan's first Test match against India in June 2018.

Prior to that, in February 2018, he became the youngest player to top the ICC Player rankings for bowlers in ODIs. He immediately followed that by topping the ICC T20I bowler rankings, where he is currently number nine; he is also number five in the ODI bowler rankings and seventh in the ODI all-rounder rankings, having once been number one.

Along the way, he became the fastest and youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in ODIs, needing only 44 matches; the previous record was 52. In June 2018, he reached 50 wickets in T20Is in two years and 220 days, the fastest bowler to achieve this feat. This was followed in October 2021 when he became the fastest bowler in terms of matches, his 53rd, to claim 100 wickets in T20Is. Currently he has taken 161 T20I wickets, the second highest number, and is likely to regain top place.

It is therefore no surprise he has been in demand around the franchise circuit. His teams have included the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s Big Bash League, MI New York in the USA’s Major League Cricket, Quetta Gladiators and Lahore Qalanders in the Pakistan Super League, the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Barbados Tridents, for whom he took the first hat-trick in the history of the Caribbean Premier League. Khan did play in the only edition so far of the Afghanistan Premier League, in 2018. This was for Kabul Zwanan, who were beaten by Balkh Legends in the final at Sharjah. Despite this, Rashid Khan was the player of the tournament.

It is easy to forget that Khan is still only 26, having made his full international debut on Oct. 18, 2015, in an ODI match against Zimbabwe in the UAE. His T20I international debut followed a week later. He has crammed a lot of professional cricket into the past 10 years.

Khan, who graciously gave a “big thank you to Trent Rockets for the three seasons I spent at Trent Bridge,” says he is “really excited to be joining Oval Invincibles and calling the Kia Oval my home this August. It’s great to be joining the back-to-back champions; hopefully, I can contribute to more success this season.”

The first match at the Oval will be on Aug. 9 against the Manchester Originals. Khan’s move is also an indication of the reality of global franchises — he has played in New York for the Mumbai Indians, who now own 49 percent of the Invincibles.

Khan’s cricket career has been on a consistently upwards path. His brand ambassadorship coincides with a time when Dubai’s real estate market is witnessing a significant upward trend. First-half 2025 figures show a 15 percent year-on-year increase in average property prices and a 20 percent surge in transaction volumes. MH Developers is looking to engage with a wider audience and strengthen their foothold in this thriving market. The global sporting reputation of Rashid Khan, the focus, commitment and talent identified by his first coaches, will be an integral part of this strategy.

Rashid Khan’s legacy in international cricket is already assured but there should be more chapters for him to write.

After The Hundred, there is the prospect of the six-team Asia Cup. Since the recent hostilities between India and Pakistan, the tournament has been in doubt. There is now renewed optimism for it taking place, though the location is uncertain.

It was originally due to be hosted by India. Under new arrangements, whenever it is India or Pakistan’s turn to host the tournament, a neutral venue will be chosen. Afghanistan is a non-starter, which leaves Bangladesh, Sri Lanka — where the monsoon season is due — and the UAE.

If the latter is chosen, there could be some instant returns on Rashid Khan’s brand ambassadorship.


‘Home of cricket’ faces new challenges

Updated 26 June 2025
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‘Home of cricket’ faces new challenges

  • Lord’s symbolizes the sport’s rich heritage, but has also moved with the times

During the World Test Championship final at Lord’s, a previously unthinkable discussion opened up among friends from a variety of backgrounds: Does Lord’s still justify its cachet as the home of cricket? The very question will be regarded as heresy in many quarters, but the heavy thought hung in the air.

At a meeting of the International Cricket Council’s executives committee in April 2025, the Board of Control for Cricket in India expressed its desire to host future WTC finals.

India’s motivations are clear. Hosting the event would cement its position as the powerhouse of international cricket. The BCCI argues that viewership and commercial revenue would be boosted, along with tourism. However, these would be jeopardized if India failed to reach the final. Attendances for matches in India which do not involve the Indian team are notably low. If the final continues to be scheduled for June, there is also the issue of the monsoon season. In order to hold it in another month, the existing crowded international and domestic schedules would have to be disrupted. It is probably too late to change the dates of the current two-year cycle and maybe for the two which follow.

In response to this challenge, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Marylebone Cricket Club launched a charm offensive before and during the WTC final.

In January, the MCC invited the ICC’s Chair Jay Shah to join a new advisory board of its World Cricket Connects initiative. Launched in 2024 at Lord’s, the initiative gathers together over 100 people, including administrators, former and current players, coaches, players’ association leaders, media and broadcasting personnel.

The advisory board, comprising 13 members, has replaced the MCC’s World Cricket Committee. After its inaugural meeting at Lord’s, it will meet virtually throughout the year. How much Mr. Shah’s busy schedule allows him to participate remains to be seen.

He was very much in evidence at Lord’s, where he was feted by the ECB’s leaders. Together with the MCC, they ensured that the full pomp and circumstance associated with a Lord’s Test match was brought to bear. This included an invitation to ring the bell prior to the start of the match. As mentioned last week, rumors now abound that Shah was sufficiently impressed to the point where he will recommend to the ICC’s Annual Conference in July that Lord’s should host the next three WTC finals. If this motion passes, it will burnish the claim of Lord’s to be the home of cricket. It will also be a test of Shah’s omnipotence since the BCCI is likely to be disappointed.

His power and presence were encapsulated in the ICC’s 45-second video of the match highlights released after the final. This has not gone down well on social media. Fans expressed their disappointment by trolling both the ICC and Shah, who features in 11 of the 23 frames. A common reaction is that the video is a PR piece for Shah, to the exclusion of key players and moments. Other reactions have been even more uncomplimentary. There has also been adverse reaction to reports that he did not attend the World Cricket Connects forum, an event he also missed last year.

Topics for discussion this year included fan engagement, franchise cricket, growth in women’s cricket, sustainability issues, social impact and shortage of willow. All of these are topical issues for the game. Gathering together “the most influential voices in the sport” alongside a major match is perhaps something that only the MCC and Lord’s can achieve. An interesting aspect of this was that the heads of the main franchise leagues met together in person for the first time. One hopes that they talked about scheduling clashes.

This is a matter which should vex Shah and the ICC. His voice is indisputably influential. The World Cricket Connects forum and its advisory board have no power. Its purpose is to make recommendations to the ICC, which is under no obligation to address them. Inviting Shah to join the advisory board — and his acceptance of the invitation — looks a little odd. Should he be part of a board which will present recommendations to the governing body of which he is the chair? Perhaps his non-attendance reflects an acceptance of this duality and potential conflict of interests. Either way, neither party appears to have made a public statement.

If Lord’s does retain the honor of hosting the WTC final, the ECB and MCC’s overtures will have been successful. It is relevant to wonder what quid pro quo may be in the offing. Perhaps the imminent influx of Indian shareholding of The Hundred franchises, including the one held by the MCC at Lord’s, is playing a part in the decision-making.

The MCC retains a privileged position within cricket. It has been the maker of the laws of cricket since its formation in 1787. Although it maintains this position, law changes will only be made after discussion with the ICC. Until 2005, Lord’s was the home of the ICC, when it moved to Dubai. Both of these pillars underpinned Lord’s as the home of cricket.

Despite the partial removal of the pillars, players say that it remains an ambition to score 100 or take five wickets at Lord’s, for which the reward is to have their name etched on the honors board. There are famous players who have not achieved this feat. Sachin Tendulkar is one of them, along with Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. On their way to the field of play, each player walks through the Long Room, lined with MCC members, oil paintings and other cricketing artifacts, representing over 200 years of ritual, legacy, shaping and preservation of the game.

The ground symbolizes cricket’s rich heritage and tradition. It has moved with the times, choosing more modern structures to sit alongside the pavilion of late 19th-century vintage. These may not be to everyone’s liking, but spectator viewing has improved along with ground capacity. Unique among Test match venues in England, spectators are allowed to bring alcohol into the ground, but no fancy dressing-up is allowed, or musical instruments.

There is no other cricket ground quite like it. Sydney has a number of similar characteristics and a rich history; the Melbourne Cricket Ground has three times the capacity of Lord’s; the newly built stadium in Ahmedabad has four times more; Eden Gardens, Kolkata, is much noisier; and Newlands at Cape Town sits iconically in the shadow of Table Mountain. Cricket’s governing body now resides in Dubai, UAE, which has become the place to go for countries that require a neutral venue or an emergency outlet.

Compared with these and other venues, Lord’s continues to hold sway over them. MCC membership and ethos is idiosyncratic. The ground and its architecture reek of history and tradition. There are no crumbling facades, and plans for redevelopment of stands are constantly under consideration. The sloping playing area provides another unique characteristic and an additional test of a player’s skill set.

London’s multicultural population means that big matches that do not involve England are able to attract sizable crowds, unlike arenas in other countries.

Lord’s has evolved and endured, while maintaining its essence, grace, dignity, prestige and tradition. These characteristics and its place in shaping the game combine to support its accolade as the home of cricket.

In concluding the discussion with my friends, they were of the view that Lord’s still holds its status. They, along with many others, hope that the uniqueness of Lord’s is strong enough to ward off the competition from India for future WTC finals.