Buzz Category: KR Buzz

Football Is Kuldeep Yadav’s True Passion

The mystery spinner even has a YouTube channel dedicated to football discussions.
IMAGE: Kuldeep Yadav addresses a pre-match media interaction on Thursday, September 18, 2025. Photograph: K R Nayar

Kuldeep Yadav is a big football fan. He once remarked that cricket is his game and football is his passion. He even has a YouTube channel dedicated to football discussions.
So, during the pre-match press conference on Thursday, ahead of India’s match against Oman, Yadav was asked about his love for football, and he revealed that he watches many team games.
“In any sport, you just watch and admire them, how they play. Especially in team games, the communication, the connection between the players, how they lift each other. That’s the most important thing.”
Kuldeep’s childhood idol was Wasim Akram, who is in the UAE as a commentator for the Asia Cup. Yadav wanted to bowl left-arm pace like Akram before his coach transformed him into a left-arm spinner.
The Pakistan tram would have preferred that he had remained a seamer as his spin is proving to be virtually unplayable.
Local Man Nabi’s Heroics In Vain

IMAGE: Afghanistan’s Mohammed Nabi starred with the bat and then took a wicket in their loss to Sri Lanka on Thursday. Photograph: ACC

Afghanistan’s failure to reach the Super Four stage left their fans dejected. One ardent supporter, who plays domestic cricket in the UAE, said, “Don’t cry for Afghanistan”, paraphrasing the famous song from Evita, Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.
Expecting their team to progress in the competition, Afghans from Sharjah had hired vans to get to the Dubai international stadium.
Forty-year-old Mohammad Nabi — who was the star performer for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka on Thursday with a knock of 60 off 22 balls, hitting five sixes in one over from Dunith Wellalage — resides in Ajman, an emirate near the Sharjah cricket stadium. He plays in domestic matches in Abu Dhabi with his son Hassan Khan.
This reporter was a commentator for a Sharjah domestic match in which both father and son played for Bukhatir XI. He also plays for Sharjah Warriors in the UAE’s ILT20 tournament.
Keeping Scores With One Hand

IMAGE: Scorer Prashanth Kumar records scores at the T20I World Cup, left, and on right, recording scores at the Asia Cup 2025. Photographs: K R Nayar

A scorer with only one hand has been recording match details in the official scorebook.
Prashanth Kumar, the scorer at the Dubai international cricket stadium press box, whose right arm is not more than one foot long because of a birth defect, uses his left hand to record the scores.
He is proud of the fact that he has recorded all India-Pakistan matches played at this venue and has been the scorer for the Asia Cup, the Champions Trophy, the T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League in the UAE.
“I love scoring and it was my dream to score in a World Cup,” Prashanth, a native of a village in Telangana, tells me. “Today I have scored not only in a T20 World Cup but also in the Asia Cup and the 2014 and 2020 IPL. I have never missed an India-Pakistan match here.”
“I feel happy that whatever cricketers perform with both their hands, I record it with my one hand. Whatever a scorer records, it is for eternity.”
Kusal Mendis’ Controversial Handshake

IMAGE: Kusal Mendis celebrates his half-century against Afghanistan on Thursday. Photograph: ACC

Sri Lanka’s wicket-keeper-batter Kusal Mendis emerged as the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 74 against Afghanistan on Thursday.
Since the handshake has become the talk of the tournament, everything about players and handshakes is being dug out.
It was discovered that Mendis has a bad past with a handshakes. In March 2024, when he was the skipper of the Sri Lankan ODI team against Bangladesh, he had verbally abused the umpires while shaking hands after the match and was fined.

October 30, 2025
Don’t cry for Afghanistan, local resident Nabi’s heroics, and a scorer with one hand

Afghanistan failed to reach the Super Four stage, which was very disappointing for their fans. One ardent supporter, who plays domestic cricket in the UAE, said, “Don’t cry for Afghanistan”, mimicking the famous line from the song ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’. A few Afghanistan fans from Sharjah had hired vans to be at the Dubai International Stadium, as they had expected their team to be in the final.
Forty-year-old Mohammad Nabi, who was the star performer for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka on Thursday with a knock of 60 off 22 balls, hitting five sixes in one over from Dunith Wellalage, resides in Ajman, an emirate near the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. He plays in the domestic matches here with his son Hassan Khan. This reporter was a commentator for a Sharjah domestic match in which both the father and son played for Bukhatir XI. He also plays for Sharjah Warriors in UAE’s ILT20 tournament.

Scoring with one hand amidst the handshake storm
At a time when the controversy over the handshake had clouded the Asia Cup 2025, a scorer with only one hand has been recording all the match details in the official scorebook. Prashanth Kumar, the scorer at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium press box, whose right arm is not more than one foot long because of a birth defect, uses his left hand to record the scores. He is proud of the fact that he has recorded all the India-Pakistan matches played at this venue and has been the scorer for the Asia Cup, the Champions Trophy, the T20 World Cup, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) held here. He hails from a small village in Hyderabad, India.

Speaking to this reporter, he said: “I love scoring and it was my dream to score in a World Cup. Today I have scored not only in a T20 World Cup in 2021 but also in the Asia Cup and the 2014 and 2020 IPL. I have never missed an India-Pakistan match here.” His remark on the joy of scoring was touching: “I feel happy that whatever cricketers perform with both their hands, I record it with my one hand. Whatever a scorer records, it is for eternity.”

Kuldeep and his idol Wasim Akram
Kuldeep Yadav is a big football fan. He had once remarked that cricket is his game and football is his passion. He even has a YouTube channel to discuss football. So, during the pre-match press conference before India’s match against Oman, Yadav was asked about his love for football, and he revealed that he watches many team games. “In any sport, you just watch them and admire them, how they play. Especially in team games, the communication, the connection between the players, how they lift each other — that’s the most important thing.”

Interestingly, his childhood idol was Wasim Akram, who is here as a commentator for the Asia Cup. Yadav wanted to bowl left-arm pace like Akram before his coach transformed him into a left-arm spinner. The Pakistan tram would have preferred that he had remained a seamer, as his spin is proving to be virtually unplayable.
Speechless Shoaib Akhtar is most welcome
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, following the no-handshake incident, remarked during a television show: “I’m speechless. It is disheartening to see and I don’t know what to say.” An Indian fan remarked that Akhtar being speechless is best, as he has often made the most controversial comments. In fact, his autobiography itself is titled ‘Controversially Yours.’

In a comedy show, Akhtar had once remarked that if one added up his teammates Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and Shahid Afridi’s ages, the Pakistan team itself would be 150 years old!
Kusal Mendis and handshake
Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis emerged as the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 74 against Afghanistan on Thursday. Since the handshake has become the talk of the tournament, everything about players and handshakes is being dug out. It was found that Mendis has a bad past with a handshake.

In March 2024, when he was the skipper of the ODI team against Bangladesh, he had verbally abused the umpires while shaking hands after the match, and was fined for that act.

October 30, 2025
Why UAE Sacrificed Knock-Out Entry Against Pakistan

When I asked UAE Skipper Muhammad Waseem why his team did not appeal for a walkover, he said his team had come to play, and that they had decided to wait as per the request from the authorities.
Would any Test-playing country have waited and remained sporting enough to sacrifice their opportunity to play in the knock-out stage?
IMAGE: Pakistan Captain Salman Agha and UAE Captain Muhammad Waseem at the toss with Match Referee Andy Pycroft, right, before the toss that was deferred due to Pakistan’s threat of a pull-out from the tournament. Photograph: K R Nayar

The UAE team arrived at the stadium on time, went on with their warm-up exercises, and waited for the Pakistan team to arrive.
When this reporter asked UAE Skipper Muhammad Waseem why his team did not appeal for a walkover, he said his team had come to play, and that they had decided to wait as per the request from the authorities.
Would any Test-playing country have waited and remained sporting enough to sacrifice their opportunity to play in the knock-out stage?
The only answer is that UAE played good hosts, like waiting for a guest who turns up late for dinner, without expressing their displeasure.

Unpredictable Pakistan
Pakistan once again showcased why they are considered the most unpredictable side in world cricket.
If the boycott call and the hour-long delay added to the off-the-field drama, the twist-filled encounter against the UAE was a stark reminder that when the Men in Green take the field, no script is ever safe.
There are days when Pakistan turn up and play like champions, but on some other days, they go down even to second-tier sides.
On Wednesday, they failed to turn up at the scheduled start time, protesting and seeking Match Referee Andy Pyrcroft’s removal. The Pakistanis claim the former Zimbabwean cricketer had orchestrated the no-handshake incident in the India match.

Dubai Police Guide Pakistan Team Through Peak Hour Traffic
The Pakistan team left for the match only after Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi gave them the go ahead, and by that time it was peak traffic on Dubai roads.
Thanks to the Dubai police, the Pakistan team bus, like an ambulance with a critically ill patient aboard, waded through the traffic using their deafening siren to reach on time for the toss and a deferred 7.30 pm start.
Three days ago, there was a huge traffic jam before the Indian team’s practice session at the ICC Academy. The Dubai police steered the Indian team bus with its loud siren, making way for the players past this reporter, who was also stuck in the jam for 40 minutes.

UAE Deserved A Thank You Tweet

IMAGE: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi flanked by former PCB chairmen Ramiz Raja, right, and Najam Sethi address the media at the Gadaffi stadium in Lahore.

The UAE team had to do a second warm-up after learning that the world’s most unpredictable team may arrive for the match.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi tweeted that he had asked the team to depart for the stadium but forgot that, as a matter of courtesy, he should also have tweeted a thanks to the UAE team for their patience.
The PCB should remember that just as batters are timed out when they don’t reach the batting crease following the fall of a wicket, the whole team could have been timed out.
Bangladesh once gained the reputation of getting Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews timed out when he delayed reaching the crease after his helmet strap broke and he took time to get another one. Pakistan were aware that the UAE were not Bangladesh.

Much More Than Border Tension
After Pakistan Opener Saim Ayub got out recording a hat-trick of ducks, a fan remarked that if he scores his first run, he should be allowed to keep that ball as a souvenir.
Many Pakistan fans had arrived with headbands carrying the words Dil Dil Pakistan printed on them. After all that happened before the match on Wednesday, the tension among officials at the stadium seemed to be much more than the tension at the India-Pakistan border.
Asia Cup Media Manager Emmad Hameed, had a tough time handling queries over Pakistan’s delay, but he handled the situation professionally.
UAE’s Singh and Siddique

IMAGE: UAE’s Pakistan-born Junaid Siddique received a warm welcome from villagers when he returned to Multan after his brilliant show in the Dubai T10 tournament in 2021. Photograph: K R Nayar

India continued to haunt Pakistan in the match against the UAE. UAE’s left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh, who grew up training at the Mohali stadium in Punjab, bagged three wickets for 26 runs.
Everyone was keen to see whether the Pakistan players would shake hands with Singh after the match, and they did.
UAE’s Pakistan-born Junaid Siddique stood out with four wickets for 18 runs. He had also bagged 4 for 23 in his team’s win over Oman on Monday. This reporter has covered all of this Multan-born pacer’s top performances in the UAE.
In the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10, he emerged as the third-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, which included the wickets of Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard.
When he arrived in the UAE seeking a job, with no money, he had to seek help to get Dh 10 ($2.80). When he returned to his village near Multan after his brilliant show in the T10, the whole village garlanded him and paraded him through the streets. After this show in the Asia Cup, another reception may well be waiting for him.

October 30, 2025
India Sweat In The Nets; Pakistan Continue To Protest

Almost all the batters ended their batting sessions with lofted shots.
Every few minutes, screams of ‘Watch out!’ filled the air — not from the players, but from scribes trying to protect their laptops, cameras, and skulls.
IMAGE: Pakistan Captain Salman Agha did not address the waiting media at the ICC Academy on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. Photograph: K R Nayar

With the heat and the no-handshake incident looming large, India and Pakistan trained hard at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Tuesday.
The Indian players looked calm, unshaken by all the happening around as this reporter took a few photographs of them walking in for training.
A large number of fans cheered Shubman Gill, who walked in with Tilak Varma, followed by strike bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel.

IMAGE: Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma in the nets at the ICC Academy. Photograph: K R Nayar
Almost all the batters ended their batting sessions with lofted shots. Every few minutes, screams of ‘Watch out!’ filled the air — not from the players, but from scribes trying to protect their laptops, cameras, and skulls.
Cartons of water and fruits, especially bananas, were being taken to the dressing room as the players sweated it out in the heat.
The UAE team practiced at the adjacent ICC Cricket Academy ground from 5 pm to 8 pm local time until the Pakistan team arrived. In light of Pakistan’s protest over the handshake incident, it was uncertain whether they would turn up for practice until they finally arrived.
UAE Coach Rajput Has Coached SKY

IMAGE: Lalchand Rajput with Suryakumar Yadav when he was coach of the India A team. Photograph: K R Nayar
UAE’s training session gave this reporter an opportunity to chat with UAE Coach and former Indian cricketer Lalchand Rajput. He said he was happy that his team plays with no pressure, as the pressure to beat them is on the opponents.
“For us this is a great exposure, and we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

IMAGE: UAE Coach Lalchand Rajput with K R Nayar. Photograph: K R Nayar
It is always a pleasure to talk to Rajput about tales from the past, as this reporter has covered most of his domestic and international matches as a player. Very few know that he was the coach of the India A team in 2011 when current Indian Skipper Suryakumar Yadav was making his mark.
Calling Off Press Conference In A Flash

IMAGE: Pakistan Batter Fakhar Zaman and All-Rounder Hasan Ali arrive at the ICC Academy with a smile. Photograph: K R Nayar

The Pakistan team called off the customary pre-match press conference on Tuesday prior to the UAE match as an extension of their protest against India refusing the customary post-match handshake.

The cancellation was officially announced by the Asian Cricket Council only half an hour before the scheduled press conference. By then, both Pakistan and Indian journalists had already reached the stadium, spending money on taxis.

The impact of the cancellation hit the purses only of the media personnel.

Unaffected by these happenings, Team India happily practised at ICC Cricket Academy Ground No 1. Pakistan too later trained at the ICC Academy but silently walked past the journalists. Some of them offered a smile to familiar Pakistan journalists.

Pakistan Media’s Tough Questions

The cancellation led to a debate on why Pakistan should have cancelled the press conference prior to the UAE match.

Most scribes concluded that the Pakistan captain would have been questioned about his team’s protest over the handshake incident.

Unlike former Pakistan captains Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis, the new captain Salman Agha is not experienced enough to handle tricky questions.

Pakistan journalists, unlike Indians, are known for asking aggressive questions. There have been many instances where Afridi handled a question well, and the same Younis did as coach.

Once when Afridi was asked why a particular batter, who was not among the runs, was asked to bat at No. 3, he retorted by asking whether he should now consider the journalist for the slot.

In the 2011 World Cup in Pallekele, Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal dropped a few catches, and a journalist asked then coach Younis what the difference was between Michael Jackson and Akmal, given that both wore gloves. Younis, with a smile, replied that one was dead.

Captains Who Handle Tricky Questions

If captains and coaches know how to handle the media, instead of cancelling press conferences, they can make a strong statement to the world through intelligent answers.

One captain who was very good in dealing with the media was Kumar Sangakkara. He was sharp, eloquent and always precise.

Indian skippers Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly, towards the end of their careers, were so aggressive that they often turned the tricky questions back on the journalists.

Incidentally, there are reports from Pakistan that their cricket board suspended Usman Wahla, director of international cricket, for the delay in drafting the protest letter to the ICC over the handshake incident.

A scribe, on reading the news, remarked that Wahla should have asked ChatGPT, which would have given him the letter in seconds and saved his job!

October 30, 2025
Sri Lanka’s cheer queens, no more butter for Hong Kong, and Sharafu’s gift for Kerala fans

It is said that ‘Behind the success of every man is a woman’. Is that the reason Sri Lankan women supporters turned up in large numbers to outnumber the men during the Sri Lanka-Hong Kong match? They cheered more loudly than the men from the stands and danced to the music continuously. Could it be that these lady fans were behind Hong Kong dropping 11 catches, which helped Sri Lanka win the tense match by four wickets with only seven balls to spare? Following the butter-fingered fielding by the Hong Kong team, there can now be only one solution: Hong Kong players should not be served butter for breakfast during the entire series, because they don’t have enough time to train and sharpen their catching skills. A few Sri Lanka fans wore the Lasith Malinga wig, which has been dwindling in numbers over the years.

Staking claim for first no handshake
The talk about the ‘no handshake’ incident during the India-Pakistan match spilled over to the Sri Lanka-Hong Kong match too. More than the performance of the players, many preferred to discuss this issue. It is a fact that a negative incident will continue to be talked about more than any positive one. A Sri Lankan team supporter at the stadium reminded this reporter that it was his team that had set the trend of no handshake before the Indians. In the 2023 World Cup, during an ODI against Bangladesh, when Angelo Mathews became the first player in history to be timed out, the Sri Lankans protested by refusing to shake hands after the match.

An Indian fan standing nearby defused the Sri Lankan’s claim by reminding him that in 2008, New Zealand had refused to shake hands with England after their batter Grant Elliott was declared run out following a collision with bowler Ryan Sidebottom. The debate ended in a chuckle when someone asked if Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan would have shaken hands with umpire Darrel Hair, who had no-balled him for chucking in the 1995 series.

Two Sri Lankan run-getters as coaches
Two great Sri Lankan players were in the dressing room in the role of coaches. Sanath Jayasuriya is the head coach of the Sri Lankan team. In fact, he is the highest run-getter in the Asia Cup, piling up 1,220 runs from 25 Asia Cup matches. This reporter was fortunate to have covered his knock of 189 against India in the 2000 Coca Cola Champions Trophy at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which is remembered by many UAE fans as one of the best knocks they have witnessed. Interestingly, the Hong Kong team coach is another prolific Sri Lankan run-getter, Kaushal Silva, who had made his Test debut at the Dubai International Stadium in 2011 against Pakistan and went on to score 2,099 Test runs.
Sharafu gifts a half century for Kerala fans before Sanju Samson
A large number of Kerala fans have been waiting to watch their state’s Sanju Samson bat. Since India won against UAE and Pakistan before Samson could get to bat, they were disappointed. However, they were thrilled when, before Samson could probably hit a half century in the Asia Cup, another player from their state did it. UAE opener Alishan Sharafu won the Player of the Match award with his knock of 51 against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

By hitting Jasprit Bumrah for a delectable boundary and Axar Patel for a six in the match against India, this 22-year-old boy displayed his aggressive batting skills. This reporter, who has interviewed Sharafu as a 14-year-old schoolboy following his huge scores in domestic matches, recalled him saying that he wanted to bat like South Africa’s AB de Villiers. Some of the strokes he plays now resemble De Villiers’s shots; he once scored 100 in just 36 balls, with his fifty coming off only 14 balls in a domestic match. In 2024, he smashed an unbeaten 87 off 47 balls for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders against Desert Vipers in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament, hitting 11 boundaries and four sixes against a bowling lineup featuring Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, and Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan.

October 30, 2025