Tushar Bhaduri

Now that the Olympics are behind us, it's back to the hard surface of reality. The hype surrounding India at the Games was quite disproportionate

Who was Dhyan Chand? Why does he mean so much to Indian sports? On the 119th anniversary of his birth, here is the story of India’s first sporting superstar

As with all things, there are two ways to look at this result. While there will be lot of chest-beating in Pakistan, the improvement in Bangladesh – especially their fast-bowling arsenal has been eye-catching.

Big sporting events are promoted on the back of superstars known throughout the world. But these tournaments develop narratives of their own, creating their own stories around individuals who may not be well known before.

Hardly anyone would have batted an eyelid if Team India had used the last two days of the Kanpur Test for some batting practice, even shuffling the order to provide time in the middle to those in need or short of runs.

But while teams like South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies seem to have taken a step forward, India seem to have stagnated – which effectively implies going backwards when everyone else is improving.

India doesn’t have much time to lick their wounds before flying to Australia to attempt a third consecutive series win there. If anyone attempts a post-mortem of their debacle against the Kiwis, hubris would be counted as one of the big factors.

The hosts’ frailties were laid bare as batsmen fell to both pace and spin, while Kiwi tweakers outshone legendary names. Indian cricket has had its time in the sun. But is time for a regeneration.

It's for a reason that football is the most passionately-followed and debated sport in the world.

Shami, at his fittest, can bowl at a quick enough pace and gets skiddy bounce from a good length, virtues that are useful on Australian pitches.