Home Casino SportsBook AboutUs Promotions App Blogs LOGIN Home Casino SportsBook AboutUs Promotions App Blogs LOGIN IPL 2026: Why Kagiso Rabada Lost His Yorker and Why Gujarat Titans Need It Back Now Kagiso Rabada was not just any bowler in IPL 2020. He was the best. He won the purple cap with 30 wickets, and his economy rate was 8.34, which was really good for a fast bowler who bowls in the death overs. In 2021 and 2022, he kept going well with the economy under 8.50. But after that, things started falling apart. His economy rates in the three seasons before IPL 2026 tell a scary story. 10.09 in one season, then 8.86, and then 11.57 in the most recent one. That last number is really bad for someone who used to be so good. Even worse, he only took 20 wickets in 21 games across those three seasons. That is not the Rabada that batters used to be scared of. What Happened in the First Match of IPL 2026 In the opening match against the Punjab Kings on March 31, Rabada bowled 3 overs and gave away 34 runs and took just 1 wicket. His economy was 11.33, which is very expensive. Punjab Kings chased down the target easily with 5 balls left. This was not a one-off bad day. This has been happening for a while now. The T20 World Cup Was Also Bad for Him I did some research and found out that Rabada’s problems are not just in the IPL. In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which happened in India and Sri Lanka, he struggled a lot. He took only 5 wickets in 7 matches, and his economy was 8.14. For a strike bowler, that is not good enough. This shows that the problem is not just with one tournament. He has been struggling for a while across different formats and different conditions. The TEN Captains have assembled in Mumbai 😎 Up Next: #TATAIPL 2026 Captain’s Photo 😉⏳ pic.twitter.com/X6pt0CmzZu — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 25, 2026 What Dale Steyn Said About Him Dale Steyn, who was one of the greatest fast bowlers ever, spoke about Rabada on the ESPNcricinfo TimeOut show after the match. He said it looks like Rabada has not performed as well as people hoped he would. Rabada and Marco Jansen, who both bowled exceptionally well for PBKS in that match, were compared by Steyn. In four innings, Jansen took one wicket and allowed only 20 runs. Steyn said that the bigger difference is between the two batsmen’s recent performances. Jansen is improving constantly. In the SA20 group, he has won numerous awards with Sunrisers Eastern Cape. In four years, they won three. You can act on your best efforts if you win. Rabada, on the other hand, has not won as many trophies, and his performances have gone down in the same direction. Steyn said he hopes this season Rabada can stand up because he is a real wicket-taker and he has done it before. Steyn also pointed out that Rabada has made silly mistakes like having his foot over the line in important moments. Maybe he just needs a couple of wickets and some luck to turn things around. Ambati Rayudu’s Big Observation About the Yorker Ambati Rayudu, who was sitting with Steyn on the show, noticed something very specific about Rabada’s bowling. He said early in Rabada’s career, he used to bowl a really good yorker when he bowled seam-up. But now he bowls too much cross-seam, and he has lost his yorker. Rayudu said this is why Rabada is not bowling well at the death anymore. At the beginning of his IPL career, he was really good at bowling in the last overs. But that yorker has disappeared, and that is hurting him a lot. Amid this uncertainty, recent on-field performances have served as a reminder of cricket’s ability to shift narratives through sheer excellence. Jacob Bethell’s Ashes heroics in Sydney, which played a crucial role in England’s fightback, showcased how individual brilliance can momentarily rise above off-field tensions and refocus attention on the game itself. Jacob Bethell’s Ashes Heroics Ignite England Fightback in Sydney The Numbers That Prove Everything The data from ESPNcricinfo makes this super clear. In IPL 2020, when Rabada was at his best, he bowled 21 yorkers and 60 full-length deliveries. That is a lot of balls pitched up where batters have to work hard to hit. But in the three IPL seasons before 2026, he bowled only 15 yorkers and 87 full-length deliveries. That is a huge drop. He is not bowling yorkers anymore, and batters know what is coming. Steyn agreed with Rayudu and said this was actually a South African problem and not just a Rabada problem. He said there was a period where the whole South African bowling line-up started bowling back of a length and crossing the seam. That is where Rabada lost his yorker. What Other Experts Are Saying I found some more research about what other cricket experts think. Mohammad Kaif, who is a former Indian player and RCB coach, said the Gujarat Titans have a big problem with death bowling. He said Rabada is getting hit, and Mohammed Siraj also got hit in the death overs last season. Kaif pointed out that in IPL 2025, GT lost their last three matches in a row when they needed to qualify for the top two. Teams like LSG, CSK, and MI all scored more than 225 runs against them. The bowling got exposed under pressure. Another report said Rabada’s form has been so bad that his spot in the playing XI might not even be guaranteed anymore. Jason Holder and Glenn Phillips both seem important for team balance, so GT might have to choose between them and Rabada. Why This Matters for the Gujarat Titans Gujarat Titans won the IPL in their first season in 2022 and finished as runners-up in 2023. But after that, they

Naseem Shah faced a possible 2-year ban after a controversial social media post about Maryam Nawaz.

Home Casino SportsBook AboutUs Promotions App Blogs LOGIN Home Casino SportsBook AboutUs Promotions App Blogs LOGIN PSL 2026 Ball-Tampering Drama: Fakhar Zaman Faces Match Ban Quick Summary Fakhar Zaman is accused of ball tampering during the PSL 2026 match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings. Umpires awarded 5 penalty runs to Karachi Kings, which changed the match outcome. The incident occurred just before the final over when the ball was exchanged between Fakhar Zaman and Haris Rauf. Fakhar denied all charges in the hearing, and the final decision will be taken after reviewing video evidence. If found guilty, Fakhar could face a 1–2 match ban, which will impact Lahore Qalandars significantly. Fakhar Zaman is in serious trouble right now, unfortunately. He is charged with ball-tampering by the officials after the match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings on Sunday. But still, his team lost that game by four wickets, and now everyone is waiting to see if he gets banned. The Pakistan Cricket Board said he committed a level-III offence, which is very bad. If they find him guilty, he will miss at least one match and maybe two matches. That would be really bad for Lahore Qalandars because Fakhar is their main batsman. What Actually Happened During the Match Before the Karachi Kings needed 14 runs to win, the entire situation occurred. Haris Rauf was getting ready for the dish game. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Fakhar Zaman then spoke with him. The basketball was exchanged between Fakhar and Haris during that discussion. Faisal Afridi, the referee, saw nothing and gave Haris the ball. He cautiously examined it before engaging in a lengthy conversation with Sharfuddoula, the other umpire. After the discussion, they decided to alter the ball’s situation. Therefore, they changed the basketball and gave the Karachi Kings five charges runs. The Penalty Runs Changed Everything Those five penalty runs made a huge difference. Before the penalty, Karachi needed 14 runs from 6 balls. After the penalty, they only needed 9 runs from 6 balls. That is much easier to get. Then Abbas Afridi hit Haris Rauf for a four and a six in just two legal balls. The match was over, and Karachi Kings won. So basically, those five runs decided who won the game. 🚨 PSL 2026 POINTS TABLE 🚨 – Lahore Qalandars at the Top💚 pic.twitter.com/Qqdxbvfomf — usman (@cricbyusman) March 28, 2026 Fakhar Denied Everything in the Hearing After the match, there was a hearing with match referee Roshan Mahanama. Roshan Mahanama is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who has been playing PSL matches since 2017. Fakhar went to the hearing and said he did nothing wrong. The PCB made a statement saying Fakhar denied the charge. The hearing was not finished so they will have another hearing within the next 48 hours. Then Roshan Mahanama will decide if Fakhar is guilty or not. What the Rules Say About Ball Tampering The PSL rules are very strict about ball tampering. Article 41.3 says you cannot take any action that changes the condition of the ball. The only thing you can do is shine the ball. If you do anything else, it is an offence. The umpires have the power to inspect the ball whenever they want. If they find someone who changed the ball condition, they can give five penalty runs to the other team. That is exactly what happened in this match. Amid this uncertainty, recent on-field performances have served as a reminder of cricket’s ability to shift narratives through sheer excellence. Jacob Bethell’s Ashes heroics in Sydney, which played a crucial role in England’s fightback, showcased how individual brilliance can momentarily rise above off-field tensions and refocus attention on the game itself. Jacob Bethell’s Ashes Heroics Ignite England Fightback in Sydney Shaheen Afridi Did Not Understand What Happened After the match, Shaheen Afridi was talking in the presentation ceremony. He looked confused about what had happened. He said he does not know about this, and they will look at the camera. He said they will discuss after seeing the footage. That means even the captain did not understand why penalty runs were given. He wanted to check the video first. David Warner Was Watching From the Other Side One funny thing is that David Warner was captaining Karachi Kings in this match. David Warner was involved in the ball-tampering scandal in 2018 when Australia played against South Africa. He got banned for 12 months for that. So it is kind of ironic that he was on the team that got penalty runs because of ball tampering by the other side. He probably knows more about this than anyone else. What Will Happen Next The next hearing will happen soon, within 48 hours. Fakhar will again say he did not tamper with the ball. The match referee will look at all the evidence, including the camera footage. If he finds Fakhar guilty, he will ban him for one or two matches. If he finds him not guilty, then everything will be fine. Everyone is waiting for the decision. This is a big deal for PSL because ball-tampering is a serious thing in cricket. My Thoughts I think this whole situation is very messy. The umpires saw something, and they followed the rules. But Fakhar says he did nothing wrong. Maybe the cameras will show what really happened. Five penalty runs changed the whole match, and Lahore Qalandars lost because of that. If Fakhar gets banned, it will hurt his team a lot. But we have to wait for the hearing to know for sure. Cricket fans in Pakistan are all talking about this, and nobody knows what will happen next. FAQs Fakhar Zaman was seen exchanging the ball with Haris Rauf before the final over, and umpires suspected that the ball’s condition was altered, which led to the accusation. Fakhar Zaman was seen exchanging the ball with Haris Rauf before the final over, and umpires suspected that the ball’s condition was altered, which led

The Indian Premier League 2026 kicks off with a blockbuster clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
RCB enters as defending champions under Rajat Patidar, with Virat Kohli and Phil Salt forming a strong opening pair.
SRH begins a new era led by Ishan Kishan, with explosive openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.
The pitch at Chinnaswamy is expected to favor batters, making it a high-scoring contest with toss playing a crucial role.
Key battles like Kohli vs Brydon Carse and Klaasen vs Krunal Pandya could decide the outcome, with RCB slightly ahead (55% winning chances).

The IPL Captains Meet 2026 was held ahead of the season, where all team captains gathered to discuss rules, schedules, and preparations.

Rajasthan Royals Sold for Record Price: The Rajasthan Royals sold deal is valued at $1.635 billion (₹15,000+ crore), making it one of the biggest franchise sales in IPL history.

The IPL Captains Meet 2026 was held ahead of the season, where all team captains gathered to discuss rules, schedules, and preparations.

West Indies Fined for Slow Over-Rate: The West Indies women’s cricket team were penalized as West Indies fined for slow over-rate

Lucknow Super Giants finished seventh last year with only six wins from 14 games. It was a really bad season, especially when they lost four matches in a row, and everything just fell apart. The team looked so tired at the end, and fans were really upset about it.

The IPL team sale of Royal Challengers Bengaluru is in its final stage, with owners United Spirits (part of Diageo) expecting a massive valuation close to $2 billion.