The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has announced a bonus of ₹80 lakh – the same as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) prize money – for the Mumbai squad which emerged triumphant in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. MCA president Ajinkya Naik announced the bonus at a media interaction in the presence of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Omkar Salvi at the MCA headquarters after the squad’s arrival from Bengaluru. The T20 title is Mumbai’s men’s squad’s third triumph of the calendar year and its second title of the season. With two more tournaments remaining in the season, the squad is looking forward to achieving a rare feat in domestic cricket by winning all four senior men’s titles. “We have built a mindset in the dressing room and on the field that no matter whatever situation we are put in, we are going to face it head on,” Shreyas said. “As they say, take the bull by its horns and that’s what we have been doing throughout the season and hopefully we maintain the same momentum throughout.” Shreyas was all praise for Ajinkya Rahane – the quintessential team man – who emerged as the Player of the Series despite being forced to bat at No. 4 initially before switching into the opener’s role midway through the tournament.

Rohan Jaitley has been appointed as the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) president for another term, beating former India player Kirti Azad in the polls. The 35-year-old Mr. Jaitley, son of former Union Minister late Arun Jaitley, secured 1,577 votes compared to Mr. Azad’s 777 in the race to the top position. As many as 2,413 votes were cast, and 1,207 votes were required to win. In 2020, Mr. Rohan was elected unopposed as DDCA president and a year later, he defeated advocate Vikas Singh. Shikha Kumar (1,246 votes), daughter of former acting BCCI president CK Khanna, defeated Rakesh Kumar Bansal (536) and Sudhir Kumar Agarwal (498) to claim the vice-president’s post. Ashok Sharma (893) became the secretary, while Harish Singla (1328) was elected for the treasurer’s post and Amit Grover (1189) won the joint secretary position. Among others, Anand Verma (985), Manjit Singh (1050), Navdeep M (1034), Shyam Sharma (1165), Tushar Saigal (926), Vikas Katyal (1054), Vikram Kohli (939) claimed the directors’ post. A member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team Azad, who is currently a sitting Trinamool Congress MP from Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency, had alleged corruption in the DDCA. Late Arun Jaitley had served as DDCA president for 14 years.

Ahead of the crucial Boxing Day Test against India from December 26, legendary wicketkeeper Ian Healy has pointed out the serious lack of form of the top-three Australian batters and advised them to go to the basics and perform if they want to continue in the team. Australia made 445 in the first innings of the rain truncated third Test at Brisbane with Travis Head and Steve Smith smashing centuries but the home team did miserably in the second innings before declaring at 89 for 7. The match ended in a draw with the five-match Test series level at 1-1. “I don’t see them (Australia) regressing going into Melbourne, but they are out of form, they’re seriously out of form,” Healy told SEN Radio. Openers Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney and one-drop batter Marnus Labuschagne performed below expectations at the Gabba before Smith and Head halted the slide with centuries in the first innings. The second innings was even worse with the top three managing just 13 runs. “Questions have got to be asked of George Bailey: ‘Can we get this form back? Are you confident that form will reemerge in our top three? Otherwise changes have to be made, and ‘what suggestions might you have for us, George?’ That type of thing,” he said. Healy opined that the Melbourne Test should be Khawaja, McSweeney and Labuschagne’s best chance to redeem themselves and asked the trio to get back to the basics. “The Melbourne Test is probably the least volatile wicket they’ll play on and that’s their best chance. But form takes a little longer than a week to turn around, and it’s just not coming for them. They’ve got to get right back to basics and strip it right back. See the ball and hit it, don’t care where your feet go. That’s the first step, just get some clarity in your head,” said Healy. Australia must avoid defeat in Melbourne to keep their hopes alive of taking back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Formula 1 team Red Bull has dropped Sergio Perez after months of poor results. Perez has not won a race since April 2023, even as his teammate Max Verstappen has dominated F1, and the 34-year-old Mexican was rarely competitive this season. Red Bull announced the move on Wednesday, terminating Perez’s contract two years early, and said a replacement will be announced “in due course.” Nicknamed “Checo,” Perez started the 2024 season with four podium finishes from the first five races, but he wasn’t in the top three since. His last race finish higher than sixth was in May. Verstappen won nine races and his fourth consecutive title this year. The last time there was such a gulf in results between an F1 champion and the team’s other driver in F1 was in 1994, when Verstappen’s father Jos was dropped before the end of the season as Michael Schumacher won the title with Benetton. “Driving for Red Bull has been an unforgettable experience and I’ll always cherish the successes we achieved together,” Perez said in a team statement. “We broke records, reached remarkable milestones, and I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people along the way,” he added. “A special thank you to the fans around the world, and especially to the Mexican fans for your unwavering support every day. We’ll meet again soon. And remember… Never give up.” Perez was once nicknamed the “Mexican Minister of Defense” for his support to Verstappen in their first year as teammates in 2021, when he held up rivals and allowed Verstappen to get away. This year, they’ve typically been so far apart on the track that Perez wasn’t able to provide any meaningful help. Red Bull publicly kept faith with Perez, even handing him a contract extension through 2026 in June, but performances didn’t improve. Red Bull had been trying to settle Perez with that extension but it “obviously didn’t work,” team principal Christian Horner said this month. On Wednesday, Horner called Perez an “extraordinary team player.” “His five wins, all on street circuits, were also a spectacular mark of his determination to always push to the limit,” Horner added.

It was a Wednesday (December 18, 2024) of speculations while the rains drenched the Gabba. Talk of a retirement hung in the air and once R. Ashwin made it clear that he was bowing out of the international game, all speculations instantaneously died. Rohit Sharma had an inkling since the first Test at Perth. Facing the media after Ashwin left the press-conference hall, the Indian skipper said: “Some decisions are very personal and I don’t think too many questions should be asked. If a player has a choice, he has to be given that choice and somebody like Ashwin, who has been there for us for so many years, is allowed to make these kind of decisions and we as teammates have to respect it. He was very sure about what he wanted to do and the team completely backed his thought process.” Speaking about the genesis of this decision, Rohit elaborated: “I heard this when I came to Perth. There are obviously a lot of things that went behind it. I am sure Ash will be able to answer that. But he understands what the team is thinking, he understands what kind of combinations we are thinking about and when we came here as well we were not sure about which spinner is going to play, we just wanted to assess and see what kind of conditions we get in front of us but yeah when I arrived in Perth, this was the chat we had.” “I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink-ball Test (at Adelaide), and then after, you know, it just happened that he felt that if ‘I am not needed right time to say goodbye to the game’. We should all stand by what he is thinking at this point in time. That is what I am thinking right now and this is the kind of chat we had, him, Gautam Gambhir and I,” he adds. Asked about his personal memories specific to Ashwin, Rohit said: “I have played cricket with Ash since under-17. He was an opener then. And then a few years later, I am hearing news from Tamil Nadu that R. Ashwin is taking five wickets, seven wickets. And I was wondering who this guy is. I played him as a batter and then suddenly he turned out to be a bowler who’s taking five-for. Then obviously, in international cricket we met again and had a long journey together since 2010.” Rohit turned effusive while describing Ashwin’s contribution to Indian cricket: “He is a true match winner that India has ever seen. Whenever there was a crisis, we looked at Ash and he was there to deliver for us. His record speaks for itself. He has been such a servant of Indian cricket and has not left any stone unturned.”