Postcard from Holkar

It’s a time of reckoning for England men’s cricket. With the 2027 ODI World Cup around the corner, the 2019 champions had a successful home white-ball summer, beating both India and Sri Lanka. However, three consecutive losses saw them bow out of the Pakistan Tri-Nation ODI Series and exposed issues to be addressed - the inability to take wickets in middle overs and a young squad lacking game time. The English Test team is also in a state of flux. Despite a promising start, BazBall met its end after losing 1-2 versus New Zealand at home. Ben Stokes retired from international cricket and Brendon McCullum was sacked. As the 2027 home Ashes beckon – the new regime of Joe Root and Stephen Fleming – have to sort out issues that saw them lose 7 out of the last 9 Tests in the BazBall era. In our very first double headliner, we speak to Anirudh Nair and Toby Reynolds take us into the world of English cricket.Read Toby Reynolds’ feature on who is likely to succeed Zak Crawley as England Test opener:  https://thewhiteglove.in/run-machines-audition-for-england-in-the-backdrop-of-opening-nadir/Read Anirudh Nair’s chronicle of how Tom Banton is giving Jacob Bethell a run for his money:https://thewhiteglove.in/bethell-versus-banton-englands-opening-race-heats-up-an-year-out-from-odi-world-cup/Reach Toby Reynolds at:Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/treynolds_sportLinkedIn- linkedin.com/in/toby-reynolds-X- https://x.com/treynolds_sportPitchside With Toby Reynolds (podcast)- https://open.spotify.com/show/10VayFyNWjuTyRxoiSsKPZ?si=1f25985c79634289Guerilla Cricket Articles- https://www.guerillacricket.com/author/toby-reynoldsReach Anirudh Nair at:Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/annie_rude_sports/Blog- https://annierude.blogspot.com/?m=1‘From Dreams to Goals’ Podcast- https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVvjcQc3Mv4w&si=i7SWmp3fmZGlGi2FLinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudh-nair-42a96a175/Muck Rack- https://muckrack.com/anirudh-nair-2/articlesDiscover White Glove:Instagram- @whiteglovecricket X- @readwhitegloveYouTube- White GloveLinkedIn- White GloveMusic credits: Music by Maksym Malko from PixabayMusic by Andreas Hotvedt from PixabayMusic by MiroMaxMusic from Pixabay

As ODIs celebrated the landmark of 5000 Men’s internationals in 2026, the BCCI affected a format change at the domestic U-23 level that could alter its landscape forever. The Men’s State U-23 Trophy and the Vizzy Trophy, an inter-zonal university competition, have been transformed from 50 to 20 overs.Even as the 2027 ODI World Cup beckons, this change is symptomatic of one-day cricket’s existential crisis. Bilateral series that lack context, vanishing audiences and competition with the razzmatazz of T20 cricket mean that ODIs are on the backfoot, even if its World Cup remains cricket’s most prestigious trophy still. We speak to Naman Agarwal, ex-News Editor at Wisden, who interviewed cricketers and coaches across the length and breadth of India and conducted extensive research into the far-reaching implications this format change at a crucial developmental rung could have on India’s ODI aspirations. Read his investigation into BCCI’s revamp of Men’s U-23 cricket:https://thewhiteglove.in/is-the-under-23-bcci-revamp-a-death-knell-for-odi-archetypes/Reach Naman Agarwal at:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vicodin_abuser?cplk=MXQ2dHFubGZzMXU3YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qrX: https://x.com/coverdrivenfor4?s=11LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naman-agarwal1/?isSelfProfile=falseDiscover White Glove:Instagram- @whiteglovecricket X- @readwhitegloveYouTube- White GloveLinkedIn- White GloveMusic credits:Music Promoted by Music & Gene at YouTube: / musicgene  https://geniemindcreation.wixsite.com...Music by MBB |  Soundcloud / mbbofficial     YouTube / mbbmusic    Instagram / mbb_music   Buy Music Licenses at www.mbb-music.com

Mumbai Indians post 243/5 in a routine IPL league game. The commentators label it ‘a competitive total’. As it turned out, the Sunrisers Hyderabad chased it down– with eight balls to spare. That same week, in the PSL 2026 final, the Hyderabad Kingsmen posted 129. Peshawar Zalmi lost 5 wickets while chasing down this modest total. Same format, same twenty overs, same white ball– but since 2024, a completely different game.Another divergence is seen in the fortune of Pakistan cricket. Blanked 3-0 in their recent trip to England, the Pakistan Cricket Board responded by packing off 7 players and 2 coaches home, mid-tour. As the world stares, gobsmacked, we wonder if this is an obituary or can Pakistan cricket rise like a phoenix from the ashes? Join us as we speak to Noorish Khan, Pakistan’s youngest female sports journalist and presenter about the differing batting evolution of the IPL and PSL as well as Pakistan cricket’s rollercoaster ride. Read Darpan Jain’s statistical deep dive into IPL and PSL batting:  https://thewhiteglove.in/pakistan-super-leagues-batting-evolution-hits-a-roadblock/Reach Noorish Khan at:Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/noorish.khann/?hl=enThe Striker’s End- https://www.instagram.com/the.strikers.end/YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@TheStrikersEndX- https://x.com/noorishsays_?lang=enSubstack- https://noorishkhan.substack.com/Discover White Glove:Instagram- @whiteglovecricket X- @readwhitegloveYouTube- White GloveLinkedIn- White GloveMusic credits: Music by VRD BONY | VRD BONY Official

With the World Test Championship final on the horizon, performances on the field are weighed against the place you occupy on the points table. The Test series between India and Sri Lanka was going India’s way until Sri Lanka sprung a surprise. India drew first blood in Galle with an emphatic margin of 165 runs. The visitors needed to make the series lead count as upcoming assignments - against New Zealand and Australia - promise to be taxing.India dominated for the better part in Colombo before Sonal Dinusha, Sri Lanka’s breakout star of the series, joined forces with the lower order to complexify India’s WTC equation. We speak to veteran cricket journalist Bharath Ramaraj, currently Principal Correspondent at RevSportz and formerly senior editor with Cricbuzz, to analyze the hard-fought series.Read our coverage of the series: https://thewhiteglove.in/diametric-opposites-play-a-hushed-game-of-roulette-with-sri-lanka/Reach Bharath Ramaraj at:X- https://x.com/Fancricket12?lang=enInstagram- https://www.instagram.com/bharathr1146/RevSportz- https://revsportz.in/author/bharath/Cricbuzz- https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/author/bharath-ramaraj/44Discover White Glove:Instagram- @whiteglovecricket X- @readwhitegloveYouTube- White GloveLinkedIn- White Glove

With the 2027 ODI World Cup fourteen months away, teams are scrambling to optimise, strategise and lock in their match winners. Some teams are still working on qualifying for the marquee event. Until a month ago, this included Ireland and Afghanistan.However, with the recently concluded series where Afghanistan trounced Ireland 4-0, Afghanistan have ensured direct qualification to the World Cup while Ireland will have to fight out in the qualifiers in February to secure their place in the tournament. Join us as we talk to Ajit Skanda, host of The Armchair Cricket Podcast and cricket aficionado to break down the Afghanistan vs Ireland series- star performers, what Afghanistan did right, Ireland’s struggle against spin and the road ahead for both teams. Read our coverage of the series: https://thewhiteglove.in/rashid-khan-six-fer-bamboozles-ireland-post-ibrahim-zadrans-84/https://thewhiteglove.in/ireland-submit-to-spin-as-afghanistan-punch-a-ticket-to-world-cup/https://thewhiteglove.in/zadran-atal-forge-mammoth-partnership-in-series-clinching-afghan-triumph/https://thewhiteglove.in/subject-matter-expertise-the-answer-to-irelands-batting-woes-against-spin/Reach Ajit Skanda at:The Armchair Cricket Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0w2FPODJZYXaByO5IqwVXP?si=XchGtCD1TO2DMY3SOxmGEg&utm_source=copy-linkTwitter: https://x.com/ArmchairCricPodBsky: https://bsky.app/profile/armchair-cricket.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/armchaircricpod?igsi=MW03ODdjMWJvbzIzMw==Discover White Glove:Instagram- @whiteglovecricket X- @readwhitegloveYouTube- White GloveLinkedIn- White GloveMusic credits:"Towards The Horizon" by Alexander Nakarada — Free download: breakingcopyright.com/song/alexander-nakarada-towards-the-horizon————————Music: Modern Egypt - AShamaluevMusic.Music Link: https://ashamaluevmusic.fanlink.to/dBUk ————————"Lively Tavern" by Alexander Nakarada —Free download: breakingcopyright.com/song/alexander-nakarada-lively-tavern

A kit bag belonging to India’s first Test captain, CK Nayudu, preserved for half a century.The stumps from the unforgettable 2001 Kolkata Test between India and Australia. The willow of Sandhya Agarwal, the highest run-scorer for India in women’s Tests. A coin tossed in the iconic Ashes. A handwritten note by Aamir Khan ahead of Lagaan’s release. These fascinating slices of cricketing history exist in the MPCA Cricket Museum at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.In the inaugural episode, we discover the value of preserving sporting history. We talk to Rohit Pandit, MPCA CAO on what it takes to curate a museum of cricketing greatness. Aryan Surana chimes in on the value of observation when crafting words that transport you to another world. Hear about the awe the MPCA museum would inspire in any cricket lover.Read here: https://thewhiteglove.in/a-postcard-from-holkar/Discover:Instagram- @whiteglovecricket X- @readwhitegloveYouTube- White GloveLinkedIn- White Glove