Ahead of this year’s IPL mega auction, JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals announced the appointment of their new coaching staff. Former India cricketers Hemang Badani and Venugopal Rao have joined the franchise as Head Coach (IPL) and Director of Cricket (IPL) respectively. Badani will be replacing Ricky Ponting while Venugopal Rao will be replacing Sourav Ganguly.

Mr Kiran Kumar Grandhi, Chairman & Co-owner, of Delhi Capitals said, "We are delighted to welcome Hemang and Venu to Delhi Capitals. Both have been an integral part of our team for a long time, and we're excited to have them on board in a different role. With their proven track record as coaches, we're confident that their expertise will be invaluable in helping us achieve our objectives and drive success for Delhi Capitals."

“My association with the franchise has been a long-standing one, and I am thankful for the trust our owners have placed in me by offering me this role,” said Rao. “I look forward to this new challenge ahead of a new IPL cycle”.

Speaking on the occasion, Badani said, “It’s my absolute honour to be joining Delhi Capitals, and I’m deeply grateful to our owners for trusting me with the job. With the mega auction around the corner, my job, in collaboration with the rest of our coaching staff, is cut out. I can’t wait to get started.”

Welcoming the new coaching staff, DC CEO Sunil Gupta said, “Hemang and Venu have both been a part of the Capitals family and are well-versed with our philosophy. We’re looking forward to working with them and achieving great things for Delhi Capitals.”

Venugopal Rao played for DC in the past

Venugopal Rao, who played 16 ODIs for India, was a part of the 2009 IPL winning squad with Deccan Chargers and played 3 seasons of the IPL with Delhi Daredevils (2011-13). He has also been part of the Dubai Capitals family, serving as a mentor in the inaugural season and Director of Cricket in the next.

Read Also | Exclusive: Inspired by Easwaran's work ethic, a more mature Abishek Porel wants to score big hundreds for Bengal in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 

Badani, who represented India in 4 Tests and 40 ODIs, brings an impressive coaching profile across leagues. Between 2021-23, he worked with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL as a fielding coach and a batting coach in successive seasons. 

He also coached the Jaffna Kings franchise to two consecutive Lankan Premier League titles. Badani also worked as a batting coach with the title-winning Sunrisers Eastern Cape side in the inaugural edition of the SA20. The 47-year-old was also Head Coach of the Dubai Capitals side that reached this year’s ILT20 final.

A single social media activity has sent shockwaves through the cricketing world ahead of IPL 2026 auction. A recent 'hint' from Sanju Samson's manager has intensified the possibility of his transfer to Chennai Super Kings from Rajasthan Royals in the next season.

Fans are wondering whether this would come true and change the landscape for both the teams in the future, or is it just another false call.

There's been a mixed bag of positive and upsetting reactions in the past 24 hours, but the real question still stands: Will Sanju Samson join CSK for IPL 2026? Check out how Manager's hint fuels mega transfer rumours.

"Time to Move": Samson's recent viral Instagram post

On June 7, Sanju Samson posted a photo on Instagram that begin the rumors. The image featured him alongside his wife, crossing a prominent yellow line on the road. He captioned the post: "Time to MOVE..!!"

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A post shared by Sanju V Samson (@imsanjusamson)

This visual cue, combined with the caption and the fact that a Tamil song ('Mun Andhi' from 7 Aum Arivu) was also part of the post, immediately sparked discussion. The comments section was quickly flooded with fans linking the "yellow" color and the "move" message to the Chennai Super Kings.

Comments like "He is definitely moving to CSK" and "Welcome to CSK 💛" can be seen all over the post.

Read Also: "Whatever the future brings," Yashasvi Jasiwal's cryptic post after the Royals' end of IPL 2025

Manager's IPL 2026 hint that sparked Sanju Samson transfer rumours

The intense speculation regarding Sanju Samson moving to CSK for IPL 2026 intensified due to a subtle yet impactful social media action by his manager, Prashob Suvedan. He liked a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), which explicitly stated that Samson might be released from Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.

This gets more interesting as the post also claimed CSK having already approached Samson regarding the move.

Therefore, the timing and nature of his manager's digital interaction ignited widespread speculation and put a layer of possibility about this matter.

Read Also: Value of the IPL Franchises since 2008 to the present

How the cricket fans reacted:

Fans have flooded with opinions and future calculations after the incident. Here's a glimpse of that:

Can’t blame them 😉 https://t.co/XviV2CVSM8 pic.twitter.com/RHsZDNJUZ7

— Sanju Samson Fans Page (@SanjuSamsonFP) June 16, 2025

🚨 Sanju Samson wants to join CSK, CSK wants Sanju Samson. Talks are on but it is not at all this simple.

RR doesn't want to trade Samson with any CSK's player, if Samson wants to join CSK then he will have to do it through auction. But then in Auction there is KKR who gonna… pic.twitter.com/Dy6mpX1Ke2

— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) June 17, 2025

Sanju Samson's manager Prashobh Sudevan has liked a post which says that Sanju Samson will be released by Rajasthan Royals.

This means that Sanju is definitely joining CSK.💛#csk #WhistlePodu #IPL #SanjuSamson #MSDhoni𓃵 pic.twitter.com/VNtAiOzlrs

— kuldeep singh (@kuldeep0745) June 16, 2025

The International Cricket Council (ICC) conducts different cricket events and tournaments throughout the year. ICC tournaments are the biggest platforms in the game of cricket, where the top teams contest against each other for championship podiums.

Contributing to the team on a big stage like this will always be remembered for a long time. The ODI World Cup is conducted once every four years, whereas the Men's T20 World Cup is played every two years. The ICC Champions Trophy is where only the top 8 teams compete in each finals tournament.

Last but not least, the World Test Championship is played over two years. This article thoroughly talks about the men's cricketing teams that have won ICC trophies at some point in time. Let's take a look at the teams with the most ICC Trophies.

Read Also: Rohit Sharma in ICC knockout games

Australia | 10

Australia's sheer dominance over other cricketing teams is nothing new. For decades, Australia has been executing out-of-ordinary performances and winning trophies for the country. Out of all the cricketing countries, Australia has the most ICC trophies.

Till now the Aussies won 10 ICC trophies. Australia is the only team to win 6 ICC World Cups. The most successful team in the Cricket World Cup clinched the trophy in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2023. Interestingly Australia made a record of being the only team to win the trophy in all the countries that hosted the World Cup.

Australia won the ICC Champions Trophy twice in 2006 and 2009 against West Indies and New Zealand respectively. Lastly, Australia lifted their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup trophy after defeating New Zealand in the 2021 T20 World Cup. They claimed the ICC World Test Championship after defeating India at the Oval by a huge margin of 209 runs.

Read also: Top 8 Wicket-takers of T20 World Cup 2021

India | 7

India sits in the second position on this prestigious list of most ICC Trophies by any team. India won their first-ever ICC World Cup in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. Later again 28 years, the men in blue won the World Cup for the second time under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2011.

The Indian men's cricket team also reached the semifinals four times in 1987, 1996, 2015, and 2019. Meantime, they lost in two finals in 2003 and 2023.

The men in blue won the Champions Trophy thrice. First, in 2002, both the finalists India and Sri Lanka were declared the co-champions of the 2002 Champions Trophy. In the 2013 edition, India defeated England by 5 runs and won the Champions Trophy for the second time in Birmingham. Their latest triumph came via Champions Trophy 2025, as they defeated New Zealand by four wickets in Dubai in the final.

Lastly, India won the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 after defeating Pakistan in Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, India defeated  South Africa by 7 runs to lift the trophy for the second time.

Read also: India's performance in every ICC tournament

West Indies | 5

Read also: T20 World Cup 2021: Man of the Series, highest wicket-taker, and highest run-getter

Next on this list is West Indies with a total of 5 ICC trophies. The first-ever ICC World Cup final was won by West Indies in 1975. West Indies once again continued their reign in the next edition of the World Cup as well, in 1979. The Caribbean team also won the Champions Trophy in 2004. Lastly, West Indies became the winner of the ICC T20 World Cup twice; once against Sri Lanka in 2012 and the other time against England in 2016.

England | 3

Till 2010, the England team has not had any ICC Tournament. But, it was in 2010, when they won their first ICC T20 World Cup against arch-rival Australia. Craig Kieswetter guided them home in the final for their first-ever ICC Trophy. Post that, they have been a phenomenal white-ball team and won two ICC World Cups since then.

In 2019, they won their first ICC Men's ODI World Cup as Ben Stokes made all the difference in the final against England in a match where boundary count helped England to win the World Cup.

England's latest ICC Trophy triumph came under Jos Buttler as they became the first-ever team in Cricket history to hold the ODI and T20 World Cup at the same time. Jos Buttler and company won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 as Sam Curran won the player of the tournament after taking 13 wickets with the ball. Curran also was the player of the match in the final as well.

Pakistan | 3

Pakistan sits in the fourth position on the list of most ICC Trophy wins by any team with 3 ICC trophies. The first-ever ICC trophy won by Pakistan was during the 1992 cricket World Cup. Pakistan defeated England in the final and won by 22 runs.

The next ICC trophy won by Pakistan was in the 2009 T20 World Cup where they beat Sri Lanka in the final and won the title by 8 wickets. The most recent and last ICC win of Pakistan is the 2017 Champions Trophy where they defeated India by 180 runs.

Read also: "No one is more disappointed than me": Hasan Ali after T20 World Cup 2021 exit

Sri Lanka | 3

Read also: ICC Hall of fame: Shaun Pollock, Mahela Jayawardene and Janette Britti get inducted

With 3 ICC trophies, Sri Lanka sits in 5th position on this list. Sri Lanka won their first-ever ICC World Cup in 1996 where they played against Australia in the final hosted in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. They went ahead to win their next ICC trophy in the 2002 Champions Trophy. The winner of the tournament is actually both India and Sri Lanka as both the finalist teams were declared as co-champions.

The last time Sri Lanka won an ICC Trophy was when they defeated India in the 2014 T20 World Cup hosted in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Dhaka.

New Zealand | 2

The New Zealand cricket team has won a total of 2 ICC trophies since they started competing in tournaments conducted by ICC. The Kiwis won their first-ever ICC Trophy in the 2000 Champions Trophy. Nairobi hosted the final of New Zealand vs India where New Zealand won the match by 4 wickets.

The next ICC Trophy won by the Kiwis was the ICC World Test Championship. Once again, New Zealand played against India in the final of an ICC event and clinched the trophy in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship final.

Read also: Winners list of last 10 ICC Tournaments

South Africa | 2

South Africa have broken the jinx and finally won an ICC trophy after 27 years, only their second ICC title after beating Australia by five wickets at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground to become World Test champions. Chasing 282 runs to win, Aiden Markram registered his eighth Test century and played one of the most important knocks of his career with 136 runs to guide the Proteas to a historic win.

Meanwhile, in the 1998 ICC Champions Trophy hosted in Bangladesh, South Africa beat West Indies in the final to win their first ICC title. Jacques Kallis was exceptional and contributed the most to the team reaching and winning the final and was awarded the player of the tournament. He hit a century and picked up a five-wicket haul as well.

Note: The stats include shared trophies. The article was first written by Shreya Ghosh and then got edited by Abishek Goswami.

Abishek Porel, the Bengal and Delhi Capitals wicket-keeper, had a decent IPL 2025 with the bat in hand. Just like the 2024 season, he was trusted to bat at the top of the order alongside some of the biggest names in world cricket.

But the season did not turn out the way he would have liked. On most occasions, he got out after getting the start. 

Porel averaged only 25.08, a drop from the 2024 season's 32.70. The main reason for that was him getting out on 30-40 after getting a decent start for his team, Delhi Capitals. And, he knows it hurt his own performance and the team as well. 

That is why Sourav Ganguly wanted the youngster to visit Yuvraj Singh and get some valuable learnings ahead of the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025. 

It was Sourav Ganguly who gave the Bengal wicket-keeper a chance to replace Rishabh Pant in IPL 2023. Porel did his part so well as an impact sub that he went on to play all 14 games for Delhi Capitals next season. Not only that, he was also retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction.

Yuvraj Singh, one of the greatest white-ball cricketers of Indian cricket, is known for his performances in the 2011 ICC World Cup, where he emerged as the Player of the tournament, despite going through cancer. Not only that, his six sixes in an over in India's victories in the 2007 T20 World Cup are one of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket's history.

Read Also | India's 2011 World Cup winning squad: Where are they now?

After retiring from international cricket, Yuvraj Singh chose not to pursue a career in commentary. Instead, he decided to help young batters excel at the international level. He began working personally with Punjab cricketers such as Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and several others.

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All of these Punjab batters did exceedingly well after getting trained by Yuvraj. Shubman Gill's career graph went up as he became Indian's latest test captain. Meantime, Abhishek Sharma went on to debut for India T20I format.

After a decent season where Porel feels he could have been better, a session with Yuvraj Singh is what he needed to get everything sorted. The youngster thus went for a camp held by Yuvraj Singh in Delhi, where players like Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, and Prabhsimran Singh were also there.

"Sourav (Ganguly) sir wanted me to visit Yuvraj Singh to learn from one of the greatest batters of Indian cricket. It was all about getting to know how to be ready for the international stage," Porel told Sportz Point in an exclusive interview. 

"We worked on a few basic things, and you know if you stay around a man like Yuvraj Singh, you will get to learn more. I will visit the camp again and will learn more things from him," Porel added. 

Abishek is leading the Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers in the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025. In his state's own league, Porel now wants to rectify all of those mistakes he made in IPL 2025 and work on some individual things while leading the team to success. 

"I would love to get through that 30-40 runs zone and score more runs to help the team. That is the goal. Even Sourav (Ganguly) sir also told me that 30-40s are not enough, and I need to score more and look for hundreds," Porel shared. 

Punjab Kings (PBKS) lost to Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB) by 6 runs in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025). With this, PBKS' dream of winning the first title remained unfulfilled. At the same time, PBKS' veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal once again failed to win the trophy.

Also Read: From emerging star to captain fantastic: Shreyas Iyer's IPL journey

So, let's know about those selected players who played 3 IPL finals and their team lost in all of them.

Players who lost all IPL finals

3. Mohit Sharma | 3 IPL Finals

Delhi Capitals' Mohit Sharma is another IPL star to have lost the final thrice. Mohit was part of CSK's squad from 2013-2015, where the five-time winners suffered defeats against Mumbai Indians in both the finals. It is worth noting that Sharma was part of both the finals. 

Mohit's third try to win an IPL trophy was in 2023 with Gujarat Titans against his former team Chennai Super Kings, but suffered a heartbreaking defeat, as he also bowled the last over of the match and conceded 10 runs in the final two balls. 

2. Rahul Tripathi | 3 IPL Finals

Rahul Tripathi is another star to have lost three finals with three different teams. Rahul has played for several IPL franchises in his career and played his first final in 2017 when he represented Rising Pune Supergiants. Tripathi got another shot at the trophy in 2021 with KKR, but lost to Chennai Super Kings. 

The right-hand batter then moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad from KKR and reached the finals in 2024, but suffered a heartbreak against his former team Kolkata Knight Riders. 

1. Yuzvendra Chahal | 3 IPL Finals

Yuzvendra Chahal is yet to win an IPL trophy and the right-arm leg-spinner came close thrice, but fell short on all three occasions. The first time Chahal played an IPL final was in 2016 with RCB, where the defending champions suffered a heartbreak against Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

Also Read: Most successful teams in T20 leagues around the world

Chahal's second exposure to IPL final was in 2022 when he moved to Rajasthan Royals and locked horns against Gujarat Titans. The fate didn't favour Chahal as Gujarat won the trophy in their maiden season. 

The recently concluded IPL final between RCB and PBKS was the third time Chahal tried his luck to win an IPL trophy, but couldn't cross the line as his side fell short by six runs. 

Shreyas Iyer's IPL journey is a compelling story of growth, dedication, and leadership. From stepping into the grand stage as a promising young batsman to eventually shouldering the responsibility of captaincy and winning the trophy, he has finally earned the love and respect he deserved from all the cricket fans.

Explore this journey with us and relive those battles he fought to evolve from an emerging star to captain fantastic!

Iyer's IPL debut and initial impact (2015-2017) | Delhi Capitals

Shreyas Iyer made his IPL debut at the age of 20 years and 6 months in 2015 season. His journey began with a bang when he was acquired by Delhi Capitals for ₹2.6 crore, which made headlines as he became the highest earning uncapped player in the tournament.

His auction bid spotlight on him and he responded with a sensational debut, scoring 439 runs at an average of 33.76 in that season. He also won the IPL emerging player for the season award in 2015.

Iyer became DC's favourite and was retained for seven years in a row.

Read Also: Teams to finish last in IPL Points Table

Youngest captain for DC and early leadership (2018)

The 2018 season was a significant turning point in Shreyas Iyer's IPL journey. At the age of 23 years and 142 days, he was given the captaincy, which made him the youngest captain for DC franchise and the fourth-youngest in any IPL side in history.

Iyer smashed a match-winning knock of 93* runs off 40 balls against KKR in his captaincy debut. In the 8 matches he captained, DC won 4 out of them, showing a 50% winning rate.

Leading from the front: The Delhi Capitals Era (2019-2022)

Iyer continued as a captain, leading the franchise into a new, more successful era from 2019 onwards. He led the team into the playoffs for the first time in seven years, finishing third in the league stage in IPL 2019.

He also had a strong season with the bat, scoring 463 runs.

Read Also: Most wins after 76 games as captain in IPL

Maiden Final appearance: A historic season (2020)

Under his strong leadership, Delhi Capitals reached their maiden IPL final in the history of the tournament in IPL 2020. While the team lost to Mumbai Indians in the finals, Iyer's captaincy was highly praised.

He scored 65* runs off 50 balls in the final match.

Iyer's stats for DC (2015-2021)

Throughout his captaincy tenure (2018-2020), Iyer consistently contributed with the bat. His best season with the bat was in IPL 2020, when he scored 519 runs in 17 matches.

He was succeeded by Rishabh Pant as the captain in IPL 2021 season.

He scored a total of 2375 runs in 87 matches for Delhi Capitals.

A new chapter: KKR and the title glory (2022-2024)

Shreyas Iyer entered the 2022 mega auction and was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹12.25 crore, and was immediately appointed as the new captain.

His first year with KKR concluded with a 7th position finish in the points table, and him scoring 401 runs in 14 matches total.

Missing a season (2023)

Iyer was ruled out entirely of IPL 2023 due to his back injury and Nitish Rana stepped in as the captain for KKR during his absence. He eventually recovered and made a grand comeback in the next season.

The Champion season: Leading KKR to their 3rd IPL title

The 2024 IPL season under Iyer's captaincy was nothing short of a fairy tale for KKR, and they got the ending they deserved. They dominated the game throughout the tournament and finished at the top of the points table.

Things even accelerated in the playoffs, where KKR delivered stunning team performances. They finally clinched the IPL title by defeating SRH by 8 wickets in the Final.

This marked Iyer's first IPL title as a captain.

Read Also: Most IPL Finals: Teams with most final appearances in IPL history

Iyer's stats for KKR (2022-2024)

A record-breaking season with Punjab Kings (2025)

The reigning champion, KKR, made a big decision to not retain Shreyas Iyer ahead he mega auction, which left the fans shocked. However, Punjab Kings acquired him for ₹26.75 crore, making him the second-most expensive player in IPL history.

He was appointed as the captain and consistently proved how he was worth every penny!

Read Also: Suryavanshi touching Dhoni's feet: Here are 10 best moments of IPL 2025

Finishing at the top of the table:

Punjab Kings often struggled for consistency in their earlier seasons, and Shreyas completely changed the narrative for them this year. He started this season for the franchise with a selfless 97*, sacrificing his maiden IPL century, and led the team to 9 wins out of 14 matches.

Under his captaincy, the team not only qualified for the playoffs after 11 years, but also finished at the top of the table in league stage.

Leading PBKS to a historic Final 

After breaking the 11-year drought of qualifying for playoffs, the team also reached their first final since 2014. Shreyas Iyer single-handedly made this possible with his match-winning knock of 87* off 41 balls in the Qualifier 2. He also became the captain with most 50+ scores in IPL playoffs.

Punjab put up an extremely tough fight for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final, ultimately losing by just 6 runs. Iyer's impact was undeniable for PBKS, who made this season a memorable one for them.

He also became the first captain to lead 3 different teams to the IPL Finals (DC in 2020, KKR in 2024, and PBKS in 2025).

Read Also: Most 50+ scores as a captain in IPL playoffs

Iyer's stats for PBKS (2025)

Shreyas Iyer was the highest-scorer for PBKS in 2025 and finished 6th in the Orange Cap leaderboard. He also smashed 39 sixes in this season, which overall the second-highest.