Harish Kotian/Rediff.com rates the Indian players in England.
'Rahulbhai told me to manage my mental energy better.' 'He said I was thinking about the game too much, hence I am not able to manage my mental energy and it is resulting in mental fatigue.' 'I am putting too much pressure on myself. He believed that was harmful to me.'
'A few months ago, everybody was saying, "Why isn't Vijender taking part in the Olympics?"' 'This is not like going to Haryana or Delhi that you just take a ticket and reach there.' 'Going to the Olympics is not easy'
'The main reason for having neutral venues for the Ranji Trophy is to make it more competitive and less affected by doctoring of wickets.' 'There is no reason why people shouldn't be able to see Virat Kohli playing a Ranji Trophy match at any location.'
From the bottom of the table to champions in the course of four weeks. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com looks back at Mumbai Indians's astonishing turnaround in IPL 8.
Ahead of the selectors' meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 20, Harish Kotian picks the team he considers best to take on Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Fatullah from June 10 to 14.
'It is the ability to fight back.' 'Obviously, you need skill to win a game of cricket, but the biggest thing is the resilience and the conviction to bounce back and the conviction to go and win abroad or anywhere.' 'I think that conviction is what stands out.'
'Sachin Paaji told me to enjoy the situation because this is a reward for all the hard work I have put in for so many years in domestic cricket. He told me not to take any pressure on myself, but to enjoy the moment because this will stay with me forever.' Ajinkya Rahane relives his Test debut and how he has become the Indian team's new Mr Dependable in this exclusive interview with Harish Kotian/Rediff.com
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com explains why skipper Virat Kohli is backing his opening batsman to carry on the good form in the next two Tests of the series.
'Whatever the reforms the Supreme Court has approved for BCCI, it won't be possible to implement it all.'
'He has shown how consistent he is.'
Ricky Ponting discusses Rohit Sharma's inability to dominate Test cricket like he does in ODIs, Virat Kohli's captaincy and the Australian team's poor showing in the Test series in Sri Lanka.
The top order failed to fire in difficult conditions, but the bowlers stood out, not only performing with the ball but scoring vital runs as well.
'If you bowl a no ball and get a wicket off that no ball, then there is no one else to blame.'
Conceding that South Africa's teams haven't really fulfilled their potential in World Cups, captain Faf du Plessis said the Proteas need to win the upcoming ICC World T20 to shed the tag of 'chokers' which is haunting them for quite a while now.
Karnataka's record-breaking triple centurion Karun Nair says he just applied himself and played to the merit of the ball during his unbeaten 310 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy final.
'He is one of the premier off-spinners in the world, but at the end of the day he is another bowler.'
'The batsmen need to spend a lot of time at the wicket and wait for the right opportunity to score.' 'The bowlers have to be patient and build the pressure to force the batsmen into making mistakes.'
'He has been in Bollywood movies, he has been in the Olympics three times, he has been all around the world fighting.' 'This is just another fight for Vijender and if you know the guy, he will fight like a champion.'
Harbhajan Singh, who bowled India to memorable victories against the Aussies, looks at the India-Australia series.
'Dhoni has got his own ways of captaining the Indian team. He might not give out details or might not explain, but in his mind he knows very well how to captain the side, which players to pick and the right combination for a particular condition.'
The Indian cricket team went from strength to strength in 2019, especially in Test cricket where they are rightly perched at the top. They went unbeaten in Test cricket in 2019 which included winning their first-ever series in Australia, after which they registered three successive whitewashes against West Indies, South Africa and Bangladesh.
Rediff.com's Harish Kotian tells us who triumphed, who disappointed in the India-Sri Lanka series.
The biggest plus point for Kohli is that leadership is not affecting his performance, in fact it is the opposite, it is helping him.'
'I will put in my hundred percent in the Olympics,' promises Apurvi Chandela who took to shooting after watching Abhinav Bindra win gold in the Beijing Olympics.
'I have boxed at the amateur level for 15, 16 years and won every medal possible at the world level. I represented India in three Olympics, for 12 years, and that is not an easy thing. I am hoping to replicate my success in pro boxing.'
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com picks five performances that took spectators' breaths away in week 9: Five wonderful knocks and one magical spell of bowling.
Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha explained what forced the Supreme Court to sack both BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke and the way forward for Indian cricket.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag offers a straight bat on the best batsmen in contemporary cricket, IPL team Kings XI Punjab, of which he is mentor, and why he is comfortable doing cricket commentary. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com comes up with a pretty strong playing eleven from the long list of big names warming the benches this IPL season.
Going by the state of the pitch and the match situation after Day 1 in the ongoing third Test against South Africa in Nagpur, few are betting against another three-day finish, says Harish Kotian/Rediff.com.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy believes that starting as underdogs against favourites India in the Thursday's ICC World T20 semi-final, in Mumbai, could prove to be beneficial for his team, as the hosts will be under a lot of pressure to win at all costs in front of home fans.
The batting icon has been busy practising for the last 10 days to get in shape for his brainchild the All Stars Cricket League, to be played in the US next month.
Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman pointed out that Ishant's no-ball problem is one of the reasons for his exclusion from the side.
Opener Faiz Fazal led Rest of India's dominating display with the bat as the visitors chased down a record target of 480 against Mumbai to win the Irani Trophy. Half-centuries from Karun Nair (92), Sudeep Chatterjee (54), Stuart Binny (54) and Sheldon Jackson (59) powered Rest of India to an unlikely-five wicket victory against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, on Day 5, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. Fazal top-scored for the visitors as he scored 127 but Nair fell for 92, the second time he was dismissed in the 90s in the match. Bengal's Chatterjee played a steady innings of 54 before Binny provided the late boost as he smashed 54 from 51 balls. Saurashtra's Jackson carried his team home as he finished unbeaten on 59. For Mumbai, left-arm Iqbal Abdulla claimed five wickets for 154 in 42.4 overs but was still unable to prevent the visitors from chasing down the highest total in the history of the Irani Trophy.
'IPL is huge; I like the money in it.'
There was a leadership crisis in the Board of Control for Cricket in India following the passing away of former chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, forcing the wise men in control of the all-powerful sports body to get into a huddle and recall Shashank Manohar to helm the Board yet again, four years after he had finished off his first term.
After his retirement, Sachin Tendulkar, Rediff.com's Harish Kotian discovers, has become more outspoken about cricketing issues.
India skipper Virat Kohli lauds his third spinner, who made most of the little opportunity he got in the third Test against South Africa. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens.
These athletes made India proud four years ago.
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