'As a captain and a player, he never played for a draw, he always wanted to win.'
The Indian men ruled white-ball cricket, while South Africa ended decades of hurt by winning the World Test Championship at Lord's. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted their maiden IPL title, though the celebrations were dimmed by a deadly stampede. Above all, it was India's women who won a billion hearts by finally adding an ICC World Cup trophy to the cabinet.
Virat Kohli, former Test captain, lauded the team's resilience
Rajat Patidar's astute captaincy has been apparent throughout this season, be it bowling changes or field placements, he has been spot on. Unlike other franchises where captaining big egos has not sat well with certain players, Patidar has commanded the respect of his senior India as well as international team-mates.
Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen made Indian finger spinners' look ordinary in good batting conditions with invaluable lower-order contributions as South Africa seized control of the second Test.
A few months after his U-19 World Cup heroics, three senior journalists sought his cellphone number, which he readily provided -- only, he gave three different, but similar, numbers to the three of them!
Kohli's farewell came during a turbulent Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, a place once synonymous with his rise.
Spin great Ravichandran Ashwin praised Rohit Sharma's remarkable transformation after he surpassed Shahid Afridi's record for the most sixes in ODIs.
India will miss Virat Kohli more than Rohit Sharma in the marquee Test series against England and the duo's recent retirement from the format will "hurt" the transitioning team's chances in the rubber starting on Friday, reckons the legendary Geoffrey Boycott.
Sanju Samson's T20I future took another hit on Tuesday as India benched him yet again, favouring the finishing skills of Jitesh Sharma in a team that now appears fully committed to its Shubman Gill-led blueprint.
'It is humanly impossible to sustain at the level at which he was playing between 2014 and 2019.' 'The dip had to come.'
India enjoy a dominant 9-3 win loss record against Pakistan in T20 Internationals, including a 7-1 margin in T20 World Cups.
Shubman Gill has described his appointment as India's ODI captain as the "biggest honour", expressing pride in carrying forward the legacy left by Rohit Sharma, who will play under him in the upcoming three-match series in Australia.
Virat received medical attention for a possible knee niggle.
Calling it the formal start of Gill's era, Chopra also wondered what the change means for Rohit Sharma, whose place in India's long-term plans could now depend solely on form and fitness.
Rohit Sharma first wore the ODI captaincy armband in 2017 and led India in 56 ODIs, winning a stunning 42, while losing just 12.
Former Australian captain Brad Haddin encouraged the Aussie public to go out and watch Indian icons Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in action
Virat Kohli has expressed his full support for Rajat Patidar as the new captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), praising Patidar's consistency and discipline.
India have relied on their spin strength on rank turners to gain points in WTC cycles in the past but Gill has said he wants his side to play on tracks that offer equally to batters and bowlers.
The star batter's aggression has been a fire to forge inspiration and motivation, but it has also led to some unnecessary controversies in the red-ball format.
'Don't bring up this whole age issue that he is touching 40.' 'He's fit, batting well and catching brilliantly at slips.' 'What else do you need?'
Virat Kohli inched closer to a maiden IPL title after Royal Challengers Bengaluru thrashed Punjab Kings by eight wickets in a lopsided Qualifier 1 match.
Under Rohit Sharma, India won the 2018 and 2023 ODI Asia Cup, runners-up position in the 2023 World Cup at home and triumphed in the the ICC Champions Trophy in March.
'I was already on that flight, mentally. But when I wasn't selected, it hit me hard. I couldn't understand what went wrong.'
'The 2018 series win in Australia stands out in his captaincy.'
'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.'
Brett Lee compared Gill's captaincy style to that of Australian legends Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh, highlighting his ability to command respect and stand firm in challenging moments.
India are yet to win a Test in Birmingham in nearly six decades -- boasting of a dismal record of seven losses and one draw in eight attempts.
'In Shubman's leadership, there is either "Yes" or "No". There is no place for "May Be". As a leader and captain, you need to have that assertiveness about decisions you take, and he definitely has that.'
Questions will remain as to why he ended his Test career at the age of 36, despite being one of the fittest cricketers, and why he didn't wait to cross the 10,000-run mark, observes veteran cricket correspondent K R Nayar.
He also met with skipper Rajat Patidar, pacer Yash Dayal, head coach Andy Flower, and Director of Cricket Mo Bobat.
"He is going to be our strike bowler": Sachin Tendulkar on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Leeds Test against England
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that the five-Test series could be a start of 'something special' for Shubman Gill-led India.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Test played between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru, on Friday.
Rajaneesh Gupta lists the amazing numbers that make Rohit Sharma one of the finest ODI batters of his time.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy Group A match played between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai on Sunday.
Despite the ups and downs, The Oval remains a ground of rich memories and monumental moments for Indian cricket.
This will be Virat Kohli's first Ranji Trophy match in 12 years.
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