Kaif also questioned Gill's tactical choices on debut, especially the call to leave out Kuldeep -- a bowler capable of turning games in Australia's own backyard.
Working with Abhishek has made me understand how to become a coach: Yuvraj Singh
Not handing the ball to lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah to start the third day's play on a challenging Eden Gardens surface was "questionable", said the legendary Anil Kumble.
South Africa are the World Test champions and skipper Temba Bavuma wants them to play like it and prove their credentials in the two-Test series against India beginning on Friday.
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak is livid with the criticism that has been directed towards head coach Gautam Gambhir after India's defeat to South Africa in the opening Test.
Shami, 35, was left out of India's 15-member squad for the two home Tests against South Africa, scheduled to commence on Friday at the famed Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Before his most recent snub, Shami had openly expressed his disappointment about being sidelined from India's recent Test fixtures.
Kris Srikkanth had fans in splits as he took a cheeky dig at Gautam Gambhir's 'favourite', Harshit Rana
Abhishek Sharma's rise in Indian cricket owes much to Yuvraj Singh, whose words of belief and trust helped him navigate tough times.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
'The No. 3 spot can't become a game of musical chairs.'
Formidable India have their tails up as they head to the gargantuan MCG for the second T20I against Australia here on Friday, thanks to the influx of young talent and the return to form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Ravichandran Ashwin exposed India batters' lack of quality to battle ball tweakers by claiming that if legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar or past domestic heroes Amol Muzumdar, the India women's team head coach and Mithun Manhas had played against spinners on such a track, the Test would have gone to four days, unlike India's harrowing 30-run defeat against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
Shubman Gill was rewarded with the captaincy of the Indian ODI team for the upcoming tour of Australia, the BCCI announced on Saturday.
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill, has lauded Ravindra Jadeja's performance, stating that the world's No 1 Test all-rounder has been instrumental in getting India out of difficult situations over the past couple of years.
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.
'India is much stronger in white ball than the red ball. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli... they know that these youngsters are pushing them.'
South Africa will aim for their first Test victory in India in more than 15 years.
Kuldeep was instrumental to India's success at the Asia Cup, topping the wicket-taking chart with 17 wickets. Chopra explained the rationale behind dropping the left-arm wrist spinner, attributing it to batting depth.
Rishabh Pant was ruled out for nearly three months after he fractured his foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
With Bumrah leading the charge, India prised out five wickets in the second session to snuff out South Africa's hopes of reaching the 200 mark.
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.
Vice-captain Rishabh Pant said India's batters should have adapted to the challenge of playing on a tricky pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill rewrote the record books on Sunday, putting together a blistering 105-run stand-the best-ever opening partnership for India against Pakistan in T20Is.
Gujarat Titans' skipper Shubman Gill is on the recovery path from a back spasm but his fitness will be assessed carefully at nets ahead of their IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
India beat West Indies by seven wickets in the second and final Test to complete a 2-0 series sweep at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
Arshdeep feels that being a master of 50-over cricket, Kohli will score runs in the remaining two games of this series.
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes said that Team India does not need to prepare turning wickets as they can bowl out their opponents with their pace line-up and having another spin-friendly wicket for the second Test against South Africa will be a "big test of their ability".
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
With the scars of last year's home series whitewash against New Zealand still raw, preparing rank turners may invite risk.
'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.'
Gambhir said his only advice to Gill has been, "Just be himself".
Captain Shubman Gill acknowledged losing early wickets was one of the big reasons for India's loss in the rain-hit first ODI against Australia.
Former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is hopeful that the newly appointed India's ODI captain, Shubman Gill, will carry forward the legacy of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and other captains who served before him in the format.
This knock was Rohit at his best, mixing patience, power, and timing with finesse.
The towering presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Indian ODI team can only help newly appointed captain Shubman Gill grow as a leader, said Axar Patel.
'He doesn't play T20 cricket. So, he will not be a part of the World Cup in 2026 in India. But when they go to 2027 in South Africa, he will be 40 years old. And that's a big number in sport.'
Simon Harmer picked up four wickets as South Africa staged an incredible fightback to shock India by 30 runs in a low-scoring first Test match.
Nitish Kumar Reddy sustained a left quadriceps injury during the second ODI in Adelaide and was subsequently unavailable for selection for the third ODI
Gautam Gambhir got the ultimate birthday gift as India completed a commanding 2-0 series sweep over the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
Virat Kohli was dismissed for an eight-ball duck -- the first time he had fallen without scoring in an ODI in Australia.
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