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Kobe and Gigi Bryant Award 2022: Phoenix Sun's Chris Paul becomes the maiden recipient

On Sunday, it was announced that the 12-time All-Star Chris Paul is the first ever recipient of the Kobe and Gigi Bryant Award.

Feb 21, 2022, 9:17 AM2 min read

Chris Paul, the star of the Phoenix Suns, has a long history of giving back to the sport he loves. The 12-time All-Star was named the maiden recipient of the Kobe and Gigi Bryant Award 2022. On Sunday, the WNBA and Vanessa Bryant will deliver the honour to the Phoenix Suns point guard at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.

Kobe and Gigi Bryant Award 2022 | Chris Paul | Sportzpoint.com
Source: USA Today

This Kobe and Gigi Bryant Award honours someone who has gone above and above to support the progress of girls and women's basketball, as well as WNBA activism. However, this is the first year that this award has been given out. It was something Kobe Bryant, the late great, held close to his heart. Furthermore, according to Shams Charania, Chris Paul will accept the prize on Sunday night. Vanessa Bryant and Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA President, will deliver the trophy to the Suns point guard.

Read more: UBA's original promoters to launch Indian Pro Basketball League

Engelbert elaborated on why she strongly believes Paul was the best choice. In her words, "I have seen first-hand Chris' appreciation of the WNBA. And the game at every level for women and girls. Especially in Phoenix and North Carolina. And his ardent support of our game strongly reflects the legacy of Kobe and Gigi."

Kobe and Gigi Bryant Award 2022 | Chris Paul | Sportzpoint.com
Source: Republic World

Paul has long been a vocal advocate of the WNBA and women's basketball. The Suns great is a merited recipient for his regular attendance at WNBA games, his use of his public platform to showcase the successes of women in the sport, and his commitment to youth girls' games.

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Outsiders loved, Bengal talents ignored in Bengal Pro T20 League 2025

In the recently concluded Bengal Pro T20 League 2025 drafting, it was seen how players who are from other states were taken in franchise teams, depriving homegrown Bengal talents. Sportz Point explains the situation with examples and proof.

May 21, 2025, 7:23 AM4 min read

In recent years and decades, Bengal cricket has frequently witnessed the emergence of players from outside the region, who quickly become integral to Bengal's cricket scene. This trend was evident during the recently concluded draft for the Men's Bengal Pro T20 League 2025.

It is important to clarify that we are not referring to outstation players, like Rohan Gavaskar and Arun Lal, who came to Bengal from other states and made it their home for cricket.

Instead, we are talking about cricketers from outside West Bengal who are arriving here and illegally obtaining Aadhaar cards and other documents with false addresses.

Fake addresses, corruption and outsiders in Bengal cricket

These players are rapidly rising through the ranks, some based on merit while others without any noteworthy performances, and they are moving on to represent the state at various levels. Furthermore, those who are advancing are bringing more players from their home states to Bengal and creating paths for them.

This situation points to a larger conspiracy involving club officials who are allegedly accepting bribes. Some of these officials are supposedly encouraging players to participate without payment in exchange for assisting them in gaining entry into Bengal under-age teams or even the Bengal Pro T20 League squads.

It's worth noting that platforms like the Bengal Pro T20 League provide players with exposure to IPL scouts and teams, which can significantly boost their careers. Players like Sai Sudharasan, Priyansh Arya, Digvesh Rathi, Vipraj Nigam, and Ashwani Kumar have all emerged from their respective state T20 leagues.

Consequently, these outstation players have come to believe that if they cannot succeed in their own state, they can come to Bengal, create illegal documents, collaborate with certain club officials, and gain access to platforms like the Bengal Pro T20 League.

This situation is depriving talented young cricketers from Bengal, who have been performing well at the club level, of opportunities.

In a recent video, presented in Bengali, Sportz Point addressed these issues, which was well received within the Bengal cricket community. We have translated this information into English to ensure the message reaches a wider audience across the nation.

Siddharth Patidar - supposed to play in both MPT20 League and Bengal Pro T20 League

One such instance is Siddharth Patidar, a player from Madhya Pradesh who has represented MP in the past and participated in the MP T20 League since 2022. He is now claimed to be a local player in Bengal.

Patidar is currently a member of the Jabalpur Royal Lions and will be playing under Saransh Jain in the tournament.

Outsiders loved, Bengal talents ignored in Bengal Pro T20 League 2025
This Instagram post clearly suggest that Patidar will be playing in MP T20 League

How can a player local to the MP T20 League also be considered a local player in West Bengal? This suggests he was provided with illegal documentation to verify his status as a Bengal domestic player. 

The MP T20 League is set to commence on June 12, and it will be interesting to see how Patidar competes in two different state leagues, claiming residency in both Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Patidar was drafted in Srachi Rarh Tigers in Bengal Men's Pro T20 League 2025.

Sandeep Tomar - played in UP T20 League, but has documents of West Bengal

Another player, Sandeep Tomar, known to be from Uttar Pradesh, also appears to possess Bengal documents in his name. Sandeep has previously participated in the UP T20 League as a local player, and last season, he played in the Bengal Pro T20 League as a local player.

Sandeep Tomar - played in UP T20 League, but has documents of West Bengal | sportzpoint.com
This Instagram post by UP T20 League clearly shows Sandeep Tomar in action in that tournament in 2023.

This raises the implication that Sandeep, too, has illegally registered as a Bengal player with the Cricket Association of Bengal. 

Not only these two players, but reports indicate that multiple athletes are arriving from various states and illegitimately registering as Bengal players with forged documents. Clearly, such actions cannot occur without the support of officials.

C.A.B.'s efforts to stop this

Recently, the Cricket Association of Bengal announced that from the next season, all players will be required to submit bank documents that are more than three years old, along with their parents' documents, before registering. However, the pressing question remains: If they can not even stop a daylight robbery, will they be able to stop outstation players' entry? Only time will tell.

As a result, many deserving players from Bengal, who have been topping charts in runs, wickets, and trophy wins, have been deprived of the opportunities they rightfully deserve.

Numerous players expressed feelings of frustration, sadness, and hopelessness after the events that unfolded during the draft for the Men's Bengal Pro T20 League.

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Highest partnerships in IPL 2025

Which batting duos dominated the game this season? Discover the highest partnerships in IPL 2025 by runs. Some names will surprise you!

May 20, 2025, 5:10 PM4 min read

Highest partnerships in IPL 2025 | sportzpoint.com

Beyond individual heroics, IPL 2025 delivered some game-changing partnerships. It is now time to celebrate those batting duos with equal amount of electrifying energy and passion for the game!

Check out the highest partnerships in IPL 2025 by runs so far, and relive how these pairs dominated with the bat.

1. Shubham Gill & Sai Sudharsan (205* runs) | Gujarat Titans 

Shubham Gill and Sai Sudharsan holds the 1st rank for highest partnerships in IPL 2025 | sportzpoint.com
Shubham Gill and Sai Sudharsan during their 205-run partnership against DC in IPL 2025. Image | Rediff

Shubham Gill and Sai Sudharsan delivered an iconic batting partnership of 205* runs against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025. This opening pair of Gujarat Titans left the opponent's home crowd stunned by chasing down 200+ target without losing a single wicket.

They are the first batting duo to cross the 200-run mark this season, and tops the chart for highest partnerships in IPL 2025.

Sudharsan scored a phenomenal 108* runs off 61 balls, whereas Gill scored an explosive 93* off 53 balls, hitting 7 huge sixes!

They have also crossed the 100-run mark in terms of batting partnership thrice this season.

Partnership stats:

Partners Runs Wickets Individual scores in the inns Team Opposition Match date
Shubham Gill & Sai Sudharsan  205* 1st

Gill: 93*(53)

Sudharsan: 108*(61)

GT DC 18 May, 2025

Read Also: Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season?

2. Travis Head & Abhishek Sharma | Sunrisers Hyderabad

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma holds the 2nd ranked for highest partnerships in IPL 2025 | sportzpoint.com
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma during their 171-run partnership against PBKS in IPL 2025. Image | Instagram

Another explosive opening pair of IPL, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, showcased their power-hitting skills against Punjab Kings in IPL 2025.

This partnership was shaped by the record-breaking 141 runs off just 55 balls from Abhishek Sharma's bat, along with a quick 66 off 37 balls from Head.

This pair have showcased a glimpse of such destructive partnership against LSG back in IPL 2024, and yet again proved how Sunrisers Hyderabad are blessed to have them!

Partnership stats:

Partners Runs Wickets Individual scores in the inns Team Opposition Match date 
Travis Head & Abhishek Sharma 171 1st

Head: 66(37)

Sharma: 141(55)

SRH PBKS 12 April, 2025

Read Also: Best Celebrations of IPL 2025 so far: From Abhishek's papercut to Hasaranga's Pushpa move

3. Vaibhav Suryavanshi & Yashasvi Jaiswal (166 runs) | Rajasthan Royals

Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal holds the 3rd position for highest partnerships in IPL 2025 | sportzpoint.com
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi during their 166-run partnership against GT in IPL 2025. Image | Instagram

Yashasvi Jaiswal and the youngest debutant of IPL history, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, currently holds the 3rd position for highest partnerships in IPL 2025. They pulled of a partnership of 166 runs and secured the win for Rajasthan Royals.

In this match, Vaibhav scored his maiden century to become the youngest centurion in IPL. His knock of 101 runs from 38 balls was unbelievably good, accompanied by a classy 70 runs off 40 balls from Jaiswal.

Partnership stats:

Partners  Runs Wickets Individual scores in the inns Team Opposition  Match date 
Vaibhav Suryavanshi & Yashasvi Jaiswal  166 1st

Suryavanshi: 101(38)

Jaiswal: 70(40)

RR GT 28 April, 2025

Read Also: Exclusive: "Do not call him a 'baccha', he will play T20s for India in two years," says Bihar head coach after Vaibhav Suryavanshi's historical IPL ton

Other 100+ runs partnerships in IPL 2025

Partners Runs Wickets Team Opposition Match date
Shubham Gill & Sai Sudharsan 120 1st GT LSG 12 April, 2025
Prabhsimran Singh & Priyansh Arya 120 1st PBKS KKR 25 April, 2025
Karun Nair & Abhishek Porel 119 2nd DC MI 13 April, 2025
Sherfane Rutherford & Jos Buttler 119 3rd GT DC 19 April, 2025
Krunal Pandya & Virat Kohli 119 4th RCB DC 27 April, 2025
Nicholas Pooran & Mitchell Marsh 116 2nd LSG SRH 27 March, 2025
Rohit Sharma & Ryan Rickelton 116 1st MI RR 1 May, 2025
Mitchell Marsh & Aiden Markram 115 1st LSG SRH 19 May, 2025
Surya Kumar Yadav & Rohit Sharma 114 2nd MI CSK 20 April, 2025
Shubham Gill & Sai Sudharsan 114 1st GT KKR 21 April, 2025
Ayush Mhatre & Ravindra Jadeja 114 3rd CSK RCB 3 May, 2025
Tristan Stubbs & KL Rahul 111* 5th DC RCB 10 April, 2025
Sanju Samson & Dhruv Jurel 111 4th RR SRH 23 May, 2025
Ajinkya Rahane & Sunil Narine 103 2nd KKR RCB 22 March, 2025
Devdutt Padikkal & Virat Kohli 103 2nd RCB PBKS 20 April, 2025

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IPL 2025: Mumbai Indians makes additions to their squad with signings of Bairstow, Asalanka, and Richard Gleeson

As the IPL 2025 playoffs approach, Mumbai Indians have made strategic additions to their squad with the signings of Jonny Bairstow, Charith Asalanka, and Richard Gleeson.

May 20, 2025, 12:42 PM3 min read

IPL 2025: Mumbai Indians makes additions to their squad with signings of Bairstow, Asalanka, and Richard Gleeson

3 teams have made their place in the IPL 2025 playoffs and only one team is yet to be decided. There is a fierce battle going on between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals for the remaining playoff spot. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians have made a three new changes in their squad.

Mumbai has announced the replacement of three foreign players. The team has included Jonny Bairstow, Charith Asalanka, and Richard Gleeson in the squad in place of Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton, and Corbin Bosch. These three foreign players of Mumbai Indians are going to join their respective national teams after playing the last league match. In such a situation, the franchise had no other option but to bring their replacements.

Also Read: Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season?

Three replacement for MI

Mumbai Indians have included England's experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow in the team as a replacement for Will Jacks for Rs 5.25 crore. Bairstow has had good experience in IPL and is considered an aggressive batsman in the T20 format. His presence is expected to strengthen the top order batting of Mumbai Indians. 

At the same time, English fast bowler Richard Gleeson has been included in the team in place of Ryan Rickelton. Gleeson has been added to Mumbai Indians for Rs 1 crore. He has been signed by Mumbai Indians for Rs 1 crore. Gleeson's fast pace and ability to bowl yorkers in the death overs can prove to be important for the team.

Sri Lankan all-rounder Charith Asalanka has been included in the squad in place of Corbin Bosch for Rs 75 lakh. Asalanka can not only bat aggressively but can also give options to the team with his part-time off-spin bowling.

Also Read: IPL 2025 Playoffs Race: Who Will Claim the Final Spot?

IPL 2025 | Playoffs scenario

Mumbai Indians are currently in the playoff race. If the team qualifies for the next round, then these three new replacement players will be available for the team from the playoff matches. This will help the team to create balance and fill the gap of foreign players.

It is worth noting that Mumbai Indians have 2 matches left in the league stage. In one match, the team will face Delhi Capitals, while in its last league stage match, it will face the challenge of Punjab Kings. Punjab has already made its place in the IPL 2025 playoffs.

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Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season?

Virat Kohli's 973 runs in IPL 2016 stands as a monumental record. Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season?

May 20, 2025, 10:54 AM4 min read

Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season? | sportzpoint.com

Breaking records is what IPL is all about and Virat Kohli's record of 973 runs in IPL 2016 is unmatched for 9 years. IPL 2025 can be the record-breaking year, as GT's opening pair is having an incredible season with the bat, shuffling the orange cap with every match.

As we are heading towards the end of the tournament, it will be a major thing to keep an eye on.

Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season? Or maybe it is truly unbreakable.

How big is Virat Kohli's 973-run record?

Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season? | sportzpoint.com
Virat Kohli celebrating his 3rd century of IPL 2016 season. Image | ESPNcricinfo 

Virat Kohli set the batting standards up in IPL 2016 that everyone talks about till date. He scored 973 runs in 16 matches with an 80+ average.

He scored 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, bagging the Orange cap in that season.

This is the phenomenal record of most runs in a single IPL season that no one could break since 2016.

Read Also: Most Runs in IPL History: Virat Kohli leading the charts

Shubman Gill aims for the TOP

Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudharsan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season? | sportzpoint.com
Shubman Gill in action for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025. Image | TOI

The only player who ever came to Kohli's record is Shubman Gill, with his 890-run season in IPL 2023. He is having another successful one in IPL 2025 and has already surpassed the 600-run mark.

The way Gill is firing this season for Gujarat Titans, he might just break the record and get in top. He scored 601 runs in 12 matches with 6 half-centuries to his name so far.

Calculating the remaining target for Shubham Gill 

With potentially 5 innings left (2 league matches + playoffs), the race is heating up. This is subject to GT to lose Qualifier 1 and get an extra innings to go play for the IPL title.

  • Required: 974-601 = 373 runs more (to break Kohli's record)
  • Required Avg for next 5 innings: 74.6 runs per inning
  • Required Avg if they get 4 innings to play: 93.25 runs per inning

Read Also: Most Fifty Plus Scores in IPL by an Opener Since Gill's Debut

Sai Sudharsan's rising form

Can Shubman Gill or Sai Sudarshan break Kohli's record of most IPL runs in a single season? | sportzpoint.com
Sai Sudharsan in action for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025. Image | Instagram 

Sai Sudharsan is currently the leading run-scorer in the race for Orange Cap in IPL 2025. He scored 617 runs in 12 matches, with 1 century and 5 fifties to his name.

This rising star has remarkable potential to with the kind of explosive form he has right now.

Calculating the remaining target for Sai Sudharsan

As for GT, Sudharsan also gets the same number of innings as Gill. It is either 2 league matches and 2 playoff matches, or a loss in Qualifier 1 to get an extra innings, making it 5 innings in total.

  • Required: 974-617 = 357 runs more (to break Kohli's record)
  • Required Avg for next 5 innings: 71.4 runs per inning
  • Required Avg if they get 4 innings to play: 89.25 runs per inning

Read Also: Highest individual scores by players in IPL playoffs

A look at IPL 2025 Top 5 run-scorers

Virat Kohli stands at the top 5 race for orange cap in IPL 2025. The battle will be intense to see if someone finally breaks the mountain of runs.

Or will the king himself come closest to surpassing his own legacy?

Position Player Runs Matches Innings Highest Avg SR 100 50 4s 6s
1 Sai Sudharsan  617 12 12 108* 56.09 156.99 1 5 68 20
2 Shubham Gill 601 12 12 93* 60.10 155.69 0 6 54 23
3 Yashasvi Jaiswal 523 13 13 75 43.58 158.00 0 6 55 26
4 Surya Kumar Yadav 510 12 12 68* 63.75 170.56 0 3 51 26
5 Virat Kohli 505 11 11 73* 63.13 143.46 0 7 44 18

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Bengal Pro T20 League 2025: 8 franchises choose squads among 802 players; here are the full squads

The Bengal Pro T20 League Season 2 kicked off its preparations with a grand men’s draft ceremony on Monday, where a staggering 802 cricketers were selected by eight franchises at a city hotel on Monday.

May 19, 2025, 5:31 PM3 min read

Bengal Pro T20 League 2025: 8 franchises choose squads among 802 players; here are the full squads | sportzpoint.com

The Bengal Pro T20 League Season 2 kicked off its preparations with a grand men’s draft ceremony on Monday, where a staggering 802 cricketers were selected by eight franchises at a city hotel on Monday. 

8 franchises, led by their retained players and coaches along with their owners, selected their squads for the upcoming season.

CAB Office bearers led by President Snehasish Ganguly, Vice President Amalendu Biswas, Secretary Naresh Ojha, Treasurer Prabir Chakrabarty, Joint Secretary Debabrata Das along with India cricket legend Sourav Ganguly, women’s cricket icon Jhulan Goswami were present for the draft. 

"I hope you will all witness an exciting draft process in the next few hours. I am sure we will have an even more successful Bengal Pro T20 League season this time," Sourav Ganguly said during the event. 

Read Also | Exclusive: "I would love to see more sixes, more runs," Shreevats Goswami wants bigger scores in Bengal Pro T20 League 2025

A+ category players will get INR 4,75,000, A grade players will get INR 3,75,000, while B and C category players will receive INR 1,50,000. D category players will get INR 1,50,000. 

Full squads of Bengal Pro T20 League 2025 (men's)

Shrachi Rarh Tigers

  • Shahbaz Ahmed
  • Pradipta Pramanik
  • Sumanta Gupta
  • Ashutosh Kumar
  • Ravi Kumar
  • Sayan Shekhar Mondal
  • Kazi Junaid Saifi
  • Pritam Chakraborty
  • Gaurav Singh Chauhan
  • Abhishek Das
  • Siddharth Patidar
  • Abhijeet Bhagat
  • Md Shami
  • Saikat Das
  • Ayan Bhattacharyaa
  • Avirup Gupta
  • Mayank Jha

Read Also | Exclusive: "Do not call him a 'baccha', he will play T20s for India in two years," says Bihar head coach after Vaibhav Suryavanshi's historical IPL ton

ServoTech Siliguri Strikers

  • Akash Deep
  • Suraj Singhu Jaiswal
  • Vikas Singh
  • Tarun Godara
  • Ankur Paul
  • Subham Chatterjee
  • Nuruddin Mondal
  • Irshad Alam
  • Ankush Tyagi
  • Sourav Paul
  • Mithilesh Das
  • Raju Halder
  • Pawan
  • Lokesh
  • Aditya Singh
  • Shivamm Bharati
  • Sachin Yadav

Rashmi Medinipur Wizards

  • Sudip Chatterjee
  • Vivek Singh
  • Priyanshu Srivastava
  • Vaibhav Yadav
  • Ritwik Roy Chowdhury
  • Ranjot Singh Khaira
  • Rajkumar Pal
  • Soumyadip Mandal
  • Sandipan Das Jr
  • Sourav Halder
  • Rahul Kundu
  • Akash Ghatak
  • Rahul Gupta
  • Pankaj Shaw
  • Aishik Patel
  • Ayush Ghosh
  • Jagmohan Prasad Gupta

Read Also | Bengal Pro T20 League Exclusive: 9 cricketers teams should go after, who did not play or got picked last time

Adamas Howrah Warriors

  • Aamir Gani
  • Kanishk Seth
  • Shakir Habib Gandhi
  • Pramod Chandila
  • Sujit Kumar Yadav
  • Saksham Sharma
  • Yuvraj Deepak Keswani
  • Shreyan Chakrabarty
  • Shashank Singh
  • Deepak Kumar
  • Debangshu Pakhira
  • Jayveer Singh
  • Rohit
  • Sachin Chaudhary
  • Arindam Ghosh
  • Agniswar Das
  • Agastya Shukla

Lux-Shyam Kolkata Royal Tigers

  • Abishek Porel
  • Karan Lal
  • Sayan Ghosh
  • Akash Pandey
  • Sandeep Kumar Tomar
  • Ayush Kumar Singh
  • Anurag Tiwari
  • Md Kaif
  • Sandipan Das
  • Debopratim Halder
  • Ronit Ghosh
  • Vipin Chandra
  • Harsh Vardhan Jajodia
  • Arjun Kumar
  • Sanjib Goswami
  • Bhoirob De Sarkar
  • Dron Chatterjee

Harbour Diamonds

  • Prayas Ray Barman
  • Manoj Tiwary
  • Badal Singh Balyan
  • Subham Sarkar
  • Chandrahas Dash
  • Vishal Bhati
  • Kaushik Maity
  • Geet Puri
  • Pradeep Kumar
  • Priyank Patel
  • Abhishek Raman
  • Rahul Prasad
  • Abhimanyu Easwaran
  • Balkesh Yadav
  • Prakash Kr Roy
  • Kaushik Giri
  • Ankit Chatterjee
  • Vijay Srivastava

Murshidabad Kings

  • Sudip Kumar Gharami
  • Agniv Pan
  • Sukhmeet Singh
  • Vikas Singh
  • Toufik Uddin Mondal
  • Saksham Chaudhury
  • Rishabh Chaudhary
  • Dilshad Khan
  • Saurabh Kumar Singh
  • Aniket Singh
  • Tanmoy Pramanick
  • Sayed Irfan Aftab
  • Priyam Sarkar
  • Koushik Ghosh
  • Nikhil Singh
  • Ankit Chatterjee
  • Sayan Paul

Sobisco Smashers Malda

  • Mukesh Kumar
  • Writtick Chatterjee
  • Kaif Ahmed
  • Ramesh Prasad
  • Akhil
  • Shuvam Dey Sr
  • Gitimoy Basu
  • Brijesh Sharma
  • Arjun Bharadwaj
  • Avilin Ghosh
  • Sumit Mohanta
  • Viraj Krishna
  • Harsimar Singh Patheja
  • V Venkat Raj
  • Sk Janishar Akhatar Nishar
  • Arjun Singh
  • Aditya Roy
Next Article

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