'I kept urging Salman to see Pokiri, and one day, past midnight, he finally turned up at a Mumbai preview theatre to see it. Nervously, I waited for Salman's reaction to Pokiri. After watching it, he walked past me without a word. I followed anxiously, and before sitting in his car, he just signalled thumbs up.'
When Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill bat together at the top of the order, they put smiles on the faces of everyone and are learning the different facets of dealing with various match situations in the shortest format, skipper Suryakumar Yadav said after his team won the five-match T20I series against Australia on Saturday.
'Shubman Gill did not look as technically tight or calm as usual when he came out to bat on the fourth evening, but his team fought so hard on Monday in a fabulous Test.'
Prem Panicker and Faisal Shariff discuss the young, largely experimental team picked for the five Test tour of England, and its prospects on the latest episode of the Sports And Pastime podcast.
Jitesh Sharma, who has emerged as India's preferred wicketkeeper-batter in T20 format with less than two months left for the World Cup, has played down his 'competition' with Sanju Samson in the squad, saying it only brings out his "A-game" to the fore, strengthening the side.
'We have to show consistency and move forward with the current combination.'
Sai Sudharsan and Dhruv Jurel faced spinners while wearing only one pad to counter the turning deliveries, a method that comes with an element of risk, in Kolkata on Monday.
Gill was met with a rousing reception from the Bharat Army, who serenaded their new captain with a specially composed chant
Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill has put an end to swirling rumours of a rift with Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya following a viral video from the Friday's IPL 2025 Eliminator.
Hardik Pandya marked his return to the Indian team from a two-month injury layoff with a match-winning half-century.
'...I believe he has all the raw materials to become a really good leader.'
In the chase, India lost Shubman Gill for a golden duck, while Marco Jansen got rid of Abhishek Sharma and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav, before Baartman broke the 35-run stand between Axar Patel and Varma.
'Jitesh Sharma has shown he is quite a capable player. He can bat lower down the order and look to hit the big shots even with a slightly older ball.'
Woakes came out with his left hand wrapped in a sling and tucked inside his sweater at the fall of the penultimate wicket with the fifth Test - which India won narrowly - tantalisingly placed.
From 2018 to 2025: Gill hopes to take measure of Dukes balls' changing behaviour
Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill was visibly furious after being controversially run out during the IPL 2025 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
Images from the fifth T20 International between India and South Africa, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Captain Gill will be looking to get India back to their best in red ball cricket and he has 'Let you actions lead the way.'
Rahane lauded Gill's temperament under pressure, especially after India had lost the opening Test.
He revealed that the team consciously chose to go on the offensive with short balls when England were 83 for 5.
'He saw opportunities and brought in the right kind of bowlers.'
Shubman Gill is enjoying a 'honeymoon period' as India's Test captain but there will be more pressure on him in the days to come, feels former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.
'They (Gill, Jaiswal and Pant) now have to drag this Indian Test team forward like Virat did single-handedly.'
Fans also took to X, calling for Head Coach Gambhir's sacking.
'Shubman Gill is a great thinker and player, but man management will be key to his leadership success.'
Gill and Jaiswal centuries put India in control of series opener against England
Lungi Ngidi's call-up indicates that Kagiso Rabada, who missed the team's memorable win in Kolkata due to a rib injury, is still uncertain for the Guwahati Test
At this moment, the Indian think tank is doing a tough balancing act of building the team around a new set of players without completely cutting ties with the old guard.
'It's never easy, but I think he will learn from this exposure.'
India will look to overcome batting inconsistencies and finish the tour of Australia with authority when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Brisbane on Saturday.
With the scars of last year's home series whitewash against New Zealand still raw, preparing rank turners may invite risk.
Virat Kohli arrived in Ranchi ahead of the first One-Day International against South Africa on Wednesday morning.
'We would like to believe and back ourselves to know these conditions or adapt to these conditions a lot faster even if we find them slightly different, as compared to, say, somebody who is brought up in Johannesburg and has played all his cricket at the Wanderers ground.'
Former England opener Mark Butcher feels the Indian Test captain has taken ownership of Virat Kohli's No 4 spot quite comfortably despite the 'enormous scrutiny'.
India can draw inspiration from their stunning comeback in the 2016 Chennai Test against England when they triumphed despite conceding 400-plus in the first innings.
With Rohit Sharma stepping away from Test cricket, all eyes are now on who will lead India into a new red-ball era.
Mighty impressed with Shubman Gill's footwork in difficult English conditions, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is expecting the young skipper to score truckloads of runs in away conditions
Gill, Rahul score fifties in intra-squad practice match against India A ahead of England Test
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