'We need to respect our players. Our players are as good as anybody.'
Virat Kohli sent the shutterbugs into a clicking frenzy as he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
He became the second-fastest cricketer in the world to reach 200 Test wickets but Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin says the thought of creating records never crossed his mind since he is 'happy competing with himself'.
'It is easy to criticise the fast bowlers, but do they have the support they need to grow as bowlers? No!'
Scientists believe the unique geological locations where they are situated makes them worthy of veneration.
The national team manager Intikhab Alam has blamed captain Shahid Afridi for Pakistan cricket team's recent poor performances, including at the World Twenty20 in India. The report states that Afridi was involved in 'needless controversies' during the World T20. In the five-page report submitted to the PCB and fact-finding committee of the PCB, Alam said that the team failed to sustain the stress and the pressure associated with the world event. "The recent Asia Cup and the ICC World T20 have made it evident that we have critical gaps both in batting and bowling and our fielding keeps on leaking runs, thus releasing pressure. In bowling, with the exception of Muhammad Amir, we do not have a bowler who can win us matches. "Our death bowling also is way below par. And the same goes with our batting line-up, where we do not have reliable pinch hitters and the top and power hitter to clinch us games," Alam wrote in his report, leaked to media.
Rediff.com brings you a collection of some of the best sports images from around the world...
Virat Kohli can come across as intimidating but he is still learning and would become calmer as he grows on the job, feels West Indies' pace legend Michael Holding, who finds an uncanny similarity between the Indian skipper and Sir Vivian Richards.
President Pranab Mukherjee will be among over 90 heads of state and government who will attend an emotional memorial service in South Africa on Tuesday for anti-apartheid legend Nelson Mandela, making it one of the largest such gatherings in generations.
Yuvraj Singh has been an enigma as well as a paradox in Indian cricket.
The relative ranking of castes can vary across regions and localities and depends on a number of factors including control over land, wealth, and political power. Castes have often tried to 'upgrade' themselves (a process sociologists refer to as Sanskritization), and sometimes get 'downgraded'. A revealing excerpt from Upinder Singh's Ancient India: Culture Of Contradictions.
There are many interesting facts and stats about Dhoni's fabulous career.
New Zealand's finest batsman was defined by one innings, one tournament and one seriously damaged knee.
Hardik Pandya has said that comparisons with Indian legend Kapil Dev are unwarranted
The cricket fraternity from across the globe reacted with shock and sadness at the sad demise of Australian batsman Philip Hughes.
Cricket legend Ajit Wadekar reflects on cricket's journey.
'The past few weeks in England will be remembered as much for Kohli's skilled conquest of his English demons as they will be for his dreadful reading of pitches, curious selection choices, sporadic tactical lapses, and overall inability to help his side cross the finish line,' notes Dhruv Munjal.
Some stellar performances by seasoned veterans and promising youngsters continued to raise the bar in Olympic sports but there was heartbreak in equal measure when corruption scandals blighted India's favourite obsession, cricket, in a see-saw year for the country's sportspersons.
Madhuri praised him in Sinhalese, saying, 'Gondhak hundai (Very good)', which instantly made Sanath smile.
Former Sri Lanka spin sensation Muttiah Muralitharan discusses the BCCI's clampdown on suspect bowling actions and his role as bowling coach and mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad with Harish Kotian/Rediff.com
80 Tests and 16,634 deliveries -- the least by any bowler in the 400 Test wicket Club -- took him to the cherished landmark.
The Indian cricket team's director says the two players have utmost respect for each other and the Indian team is 'one honest bunch' which believes in playing for each other.
India's Team Director Ravi Shastri on Friday said that South Africa are still a formidable side despite the retirement of some big players recently but his side will continue their aggressive brand of cricket in the upcoming series beginning on October 2.
Australian legend Glenn McGrath has said the Indian fast bowlers did a good job in the recent World Cup after a dismal show in the preceding tri-series.
The note ban is Modi's make-or-break gambit for 2019. Opposition leaders see a vulnerability and won't gift pre-eminence to the Congress, says Shekhar Gupta.
'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was something special.'
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi expresses concern over the team's preparedness ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
'The physio told me I might have a problem walking in the future because of the back injury and that I need to stop playing cricket.' 'But I was very keen that I kept playing.' 'I told him just get me pain free and I will make a comeback.' 'And I did exactly that.'
'My type exists in heaps -- millions really -- cheering, cussing and calculating from the comforts of our living room as if the television screen can magically convey our woe or wisdom to the player.' 'Except without our frantic cheering, irrational logic and infectious gusto, the sport would have half its appeal.' Sukanya Verma on what it is like to be the Indian Cricket Fan.
They have been entertaining throughout the year!
'There were no singers like Lata, Kishore, Rafi or Mukesh. And until now, there is nobody. Nobody with that kind of voice, nobody with that kind of brain to learn. Not only to learn, but to improvise. We improvised music, we improvised the songs. Nowadays, they just listen and copy.'
Some of the big moments of the sporting world from 2010-2019!
'Bhuvneshwar can swing the ball, Bumrah has a difficult action to pick, Shami's seam position is outstanding, one of the best probably in world cricket and his rhythm is outstanding.' 'Umesh is fantastic as well and so is Ishant.' 'So we have all the tools.' 'It is just about them hitting the right length as quick as possible.'
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
Prem Panicker, a keen follower of the game and one of cricket's finest writers, interacted with readers on the Rediff World Cup Chat.
'Here was a man who played a major part in helping the Bengalis of East Pakistan create a new nation, secured the merger of Sikkim into the Indian dominion and built R&AW into a formidable outfit, comparable to the best in the world.' Rameshwar Nath Kao shunned the limelight, hated to be photographed and preferred to work behind the scenes. A revealing excerpt from Nitin A Gokhale's much awaited book, R N Kao: Gentleman Spymaster.
Nutan was the kind of woman Shammi got drawn to -- sensitive, aware and erudite, yet seductively feminine.
The full text of the speech delivered by VVS Laxman at the Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata.
'Virat and I have good understanding in the middle.' 'The West Indies is a good team and we all respect them.' 'Grabbing the momentum will be key and that is why the start of the series is very important.'
'This was Kohli's veneration for his master: The man who had inspired him to pick up a cricket bat in the first place, the man he had grown up watching. Just that now, he was exactly like him, or, dare it be suggested, maybe a shade better while chasing down daunting totals,' says Dhruv Munjal.
