Bangladesh pacers have also been fortunate to have come under the tutelage of South African great Allan Donald and former West Indian pacer Otis Gibson.
History has not seen a cricketing rivalry as fierce as this this century, every ball bowled every run taken, coming with no quarter given. Ahead of India's five Test tour of Australia, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com takes a walk down memory lane, recounting India's sojourns Down Under from 1947 to 2021, in a 4-part series.
'People should realise he is an impact player, like Virender Sehwag.' 'You don't expect these players to score a 70-80 every time they bat, but whenever they score they will win matches for your team.'
In a career that spanned over 14 years, the calmness that Dhawan exuded on and off the field was one characteristic that set him apart from the other stalwarts of Indian cricket.
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.
'We wouldn't have had to face all this had our national leaders taken care to select a place for Sindhis and sent us there, instead of sending us all over to settle in places where the locals didn't want us.' 'They could have partitioned Sindh and given us a Sindhi state from its two Hindu-majority districts.' 'Wasn't that the logic of Partition?'
'He is definitely much more mature and he knows the value of his place in the Indian team, 2-3 years of not being there.' 'He will now look to take care of his body much more. He has developed from a youngster to a responsible person now.' 'He knows what he needs to do, to succeed at the highest level.'
The Kerala unit of the Congress instantly gets a headache when Shashi Tharoor lets loose one of his observations showering flowers on enemy territory. With every such action triggering controversy within a nervous Congress party, some feel it is high time Tharoor showed a degree of solidarity with the ideals of his party, notes Shyam G Menon.
22 images that captures glimpses of a most unusual Indian who led the nation for 10 years.
Sukanya Verma's OTT recommendations this week.
'During a match, there is a lot of noise from the stadium -- cheers for sixes and fours -- but the batter focuses on the ball, not the pressure.' 'If you don't take pressure and focus on your duty, you can overcome stress easily.'
Film folk have been very busy this year, attending trailer launches and promotional events. Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com vouches for that, as he recaps 2024 with his insightful clicks.
Once rated as one of the top batters of this generation, Virat Kohli's stock has fallen quite rapidly in Tests in recent years.
The Mumbai batter lit the Chinnaswamy stadium with his brilliant batting.
Bouyed by the vociferous fans, the Indian cricket team is in form.
From working in a garment factory, selling bread, and driving an autorickshaw, the 24-year-old fast bowler's path to representing domestic giants Mumbai was anything but easy.
In the absence of national regulars, the focus will shift on the likes of Rinku, who was surprisingly not picked for the first round despite having an impressive first-class record.
It turned out to be a memorable evening for the players, many of whom experienced such a rapturous welcome for the first time in their lives.
India has only minor concerns, but New Zealand's troubles across batting and bowling departments are more pronounced.
In the second innings not only Shanto (82), top-order batters Zakir Hasan (35) and Shadman Islam (35) also got starts they failed to convert, resulting in a heavy defeat.
This period saw big stars of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev fade into the sunset while it was witness to the birth of slew of young Indian cricketers that made their mark home and abroad.
The dawn of a new era had begun under Sourav Ganguly's aggressive leadership. With Ganguly and Coach John Wright at the helm India had transitioned into a force to be reckoned with.
'Guys like Rishabh Pant have got a muscle memory and the thirst for victory.' 'He was such a key player last time he played there and the Australian public loved him as well, because of the nature of the way he played his game.'
'There is no cringe shot in the film which could give me a sleepless night.'
'Whichever teams have the best players they get a chance to retain them.
'There is a lot of scope for new players to come in and get their maximum value, given how the auction is structured.'
As Ravichandran Ashwin achieved the milestone 100th Test in Mohali, everyone had their lists of his best bowling feats. But Ashwin's finest cricketing moment was probably when he and Hanuma Vihari battled inhuman injury to draw the Sydney Test against Australia after India were bowled out for 36 in the first Test at Adelaide.
'I have a feeling that after a certain transition happens, you could see Rishabh Pant opening the batting for India in T20 cricket.'
'The incident has underlined that you can't leave anything to chance or take anything for granted.' 'You have to ensure that your family is taken care of 24x7.'
Rohit has overtaken former skipper Dhoni as the most successful T20I captain with 49 wins in 62 matches.
'India's strength is batting and it is under attack right now. It is time to stand up and be counted.'
Amid the furore generated by Virat Kohli's abusive behaviour with an Indian journalist, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin tried to defuse the tension.
More than 50 per cent of SIP accounts come from semi-urban and rural areas.
Cricket has taken many steps forward towards excellence and fairness. Electoral politics has a lot of catching up to do, points out Rajeev Bhargava in his fascinating new book Between Hope and Despair.
'Zakir bhai always said, 'koi chala nahi jata hai', he believed even after death, you left something of yourself behind and he has left so much of himself behind.'
France striker Kylian Mbappe is making progress in his recovery from a broken nose but will not definitely play in Tuesday's Euro 2024 game against Poland, coach Didier Deschamps said on Monday.
Kareena is off to work... Raashii shares a picture from the sets...Rajkummar is grateful...
'He never had a negative thought in his mind, he was supremely confident.' 'He always stuck to his natural game, he never moved away from that.'
Just as the umpire's decision is no longer final, what is disdainfully rejected is the age-old dictum that the game should be played and watched in the spirit of the game, sighs Uddalok Bhattacharya.
'She was not just a fan; she knew the game and could differentiate between a good cricketer and a great cricketer.'
Dar stood in 145 Tests, 231 ODIs and 72 T20 Internationals in a career spanning from 2000 to 2023.
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