The inclusion of all North Eastern states has forced the Board of Control for Cricket in India to schedule an unprecedented 2017 domestic matches, which many fear would lead to logistical nightmare.
'Obviously we need a lot of more experience with that ball, but it's a great time for us to play a day-night Test'
An angry Vijay Dahiya made it clear that he will not take up the job of Delhi Under-23 team's chief coach's job, a relegation from top job of the senior team that he had last year.
'I was not sure whether such a big player would come to my house but he was quite happy to visit my place... which was just unbelievable!'
Prithvi Shaw, on Wednesday, said his captain Virat Kohli tried his hand at marathi, the teenager's mother tongue, to make him feel comfortable in the hours leading up to his Test debut.
The epithets of colossus and regal were reserved for Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath but Dilip Vengsarkar has no regrets that he was not as feted as his two illustrious colleagues, saying he cherished an 'extremely fulfilling' career. Vengsarkar, who turned 64 on Monday, was India's batting mainstay during the 1980s when he outscored the iconic Gavaskar as his upright stance and ability to play swing and spin with aplomb was a delight for Test afficianados.
There have been a number of players who have shown solidarity, but the big guns have been silent, with the stellar exception of former India captain Anil Kumble, notes Suhit K Sen.
India captain Virat Kohli, on Wednesday, said that for the game cricket to sustain globally, Test cricket needs to be the premier format.
Kuldeep Yadav, among all the players in this team, has more experience of playing with pink ball and the kind of revolution he produces, he could make it difficult for batsmen to spot the black seam of the pink kookaburra under lights.
Under pressure to implement Lodha Committee Reforms as per Supreme Court Directives, the BCCI is relying that the revised National Sports Bill is tabled by the Budget Session of the Parliament in 2017 which will save them from undergoing structural changes. A very senior BCCI official said that some key changes are being made in the original Bill.
The world was in a "sheer shock" in the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic but BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is confident that life will be back to normal once the vaccine for the virus is developed. Ganguly believes once the vaccine is out, the virus will be like any other health issues like flu or jaundice but with a cure.
'I was not thinking about it as my first game, I was just thinking that it's another game and it just happened.'
Domestic stalwart Ashok Malhotra, who is also the president of Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA), said that four months of Ranji Trophy in a bio-bubble was never going to be a sustainable idea.
The selectors may allow the India off-spinner to complete his remaining two matches for Worcestershire in English county cricket.
'Under lights, with the late swing, it is challenging for batsmen'
Tendulkar, who had earlier voiced his concern about tackling the dew factor, said the Indian cricket think-tank should do a postmortem after the match gets over.
More that the battle between bat and ball, it is the colourfully dressed cheergirls who are raising the din in the stadium at IPL 8 matches.
Rohit Sharma knows he must score away from home to erase any lingering doubts about his Test credentials.
When former cricketer VVS Laxman was asked about his views about cricket under lights with pink ball, he said, "It's a work in progress".
Former India cricketer A G Milkha Singh passed away at a hospital in Chennai on Friday following a cardiac arrest.
Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels captain Virat Kohli and chief coach Anil Kumble have got a chance to usher in a new era where Indian cricket teams will not require 'rank turners' to win matches as the long-used tactic is beginning to boomerang on the side.
But the focus will be on 19-year-old Gill, who has broken into the Indian Test squad for the three-match series against the Proteas, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.
Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who was picked as replacement for the rested Mahendra Singh Dhoni for India's first three One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka, is confident of recovering from injury in time for the opening match in Cuttack on Sunday.
Praising Kuldeep Yadav for his recent exploits in international cricket, India discard Suresh Raina said credit should be given to former head coach Anil Kumble for shaping the young spinner.
The teams for both the matches are a mix of experience and youth.
Wicketkeeper Kona Bharat has showcased his skills with the gloves and bat in the several games he has played for India 'A' in the past year or so and is close to selection in the Test team.
The Indian team management, headed by coach Ravi Shastri, intimated the Committee of Administrators that the team will take at least 18 months to prepare for the Day-Night Test.
Mumbai youngster Prithvi Shaw and Andhra batsman Hanuma Vihari were the two surprise inclusion in India's squad for the last two Tests of the ongoing five-match series against England.
Ganguly said he is happy that India skipper Virat Kohli as well as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have agreed on a historic first at such a short notice.
Sourav Ganguly emphasised the need for playing day/night Tests to attract more spectators to stadiums.
A record 37 teams, including seven debutants from the northeast, participating in the Ranji Trophy beginning on Thursday pose a massive logistical challenge for a cricket board going through administrative chaos.
India Red predictably completed the formalities polishing off the India Green lower order early on the fourth and final day to win the inaugural Day-Night Duleep Trophy encounter by a comprehensive 219-run margin in Noida.
Tiwary (303) became only the second player from Bengal, after Devang Gandhi (323), to score a first-class triple ton, when he hammered the Hyderabad bowlers all over the park on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy match on Monday.
Responsible batting by young Tamil Nadu all-rounder Baba Aparajith and talented Karnataka batsmen Manish Pandey to guide South Zone to 213 for three at stumps on the day one of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final match against West Zone in Chennai.
Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni has joked that the performance by the bowlers in the fifth match against South Africa was so pathetic that he would not count it as "bad" even.
Faiz Fazal and Jalaj Saxena hit half-centuries to keep Central Zone in the contest after South Zone had taken the first innings lead of day three of Duleep Trophy final at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, on Friday.
Former India captain and CAB president, Sourav Ganguly, is working overtime to get everything in order at Eden Gardens, which is set to host the country's first pink-ball multi-day cricket match under lights. With drone flying over him under the dazzling Eden floodlights, the iconic lefthander was seen shooting promotional with the pink Kookaburra. "Eden Gardens will hold the first day-night (four-day) match in India. It has given us many moments to celebrate, now it's getting ready to host yet another moment to remember," Ganguly said in the promotional. Later talking to media, Ganguly, who is also the BCCI technical committee chairman, said, "Pink ball is the future... This will be the ultimate form of Test cricket. What will be the use of doing something which will have little interest left."
Karnataka's in-form young opener K L Rahul has staked a strong claim for his inclusion in India's Test squad to Australia.
My captain no more, but will always be with me, says Sunil Gavaskar
You pick the cheerleaders' team you like best.
