Rohit Goggins, Dhoni tease and overseas scammers

TL;DR

The Grade Cricketer relaunches as 'The Asian Century' covering IPL 2026 highlights: Suryavanshi's brilliance, Rohit's fitness transformation, Dhoni's mattress ad tease, and overseas players missing games.

Key Points

• 1.The Grade Cricketer rebrands as 'The Asian Century' for IPL 2026. After 5 years, 30 million YouTube views, tours of India, and a 15-page BCCI legal letter, the hosts shift from daily reviews to a weekly long-form show plus a Thursday Dream11 live 'lock-in.'
• 2.Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged 15, is the breakout star of the IPL's opening week. He blasted a 15-ball half-century for Rajasthan against CSK, with hosts comparing his trajectory to Tendulkar and noting he outperformed the T20 World Cup's standout performer Sanju Samson (321 runs, strike rate near 200).
• 3.Sanju Samson was dropped from Rajasthan despite his T20 World Cup heroics. Manager Badali said Samson was 'emotionally drained and needed a new chapter,' prompting hosts to note it's not Samson's first time being shafted.
• 4.Rohit Sharma scored 78 off 38 in Mumbai's first opening-game win since 2012. Hosts dubbed him 'IPL Goggins' for his visible fitness transformation, and noted an incident where his bat failed the measuring gauge but he reportedly told the umpire to let him play anyway.
• 5.MS Dhoni teased switching from jersey number 7 to number 8 — but it was just a mattress ad. The Sleep Company used the iconic number switch as a marketing stunt for '8 hours sleep,' prompting hosts to lament that nothing is sacred anymore in Indian cricket.
• 6.Cameron Green did not bowl in KKR's opening game despite being bought as an all-rounder. Cricket Australia cited a lower back injury requiring 10-12 days recovery; Ravi Ashwin called for contract deductions and Akash Chopra demanded a refund, while the hosts noted Green's manager had accidentally registered him as batter-only back in December.
• 7.Mitchell Stark posted a detailed Instagram response to Indian media criticism about his IPL absence. He said he didn't know the full extent of his shoulder and elbow injury during the Australian summer, called out 'heavily misinformed opinions,' and apologised to Delhi Capital fans.
• 8.Multiple overseas players — Hazlewood, Cummins, Stark, Locky Ferguson, and Ben Duckett — are missing early IPL games. Sunil Gavaskar publicly criticised this trend, saying some players take franchise hospitality for granted and fail to inform teams of unavailability before the auction.
• 9.BCCI banned sleeveless jerseys and floppies at post-match presentations, drawing criticism from the hosts. They argued T20 is a brand platform for players requiring personality expression, and new rules also require leading run-scorers and wicket-takers to wear orange/purple caps for the first two overs of broadcast.
• 10.High IPL scores — regularly 200-plus — are being debated as potentially diminishing the entertainment value. Hosts used an extended heroin metaphor, arguing fans are 'chasing the dragon' and that bowlers like Jacob Duffy and Shamsi are being unfairly blamed for a structurally bat-friendly environment.