Moments after India's maiden Test series triumph in Australia, coach Ravi Shastri hit back at the critics, including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
India thrashed West Indies by 318 runs in their inaugural World Test Championship encounter but at the onset, there was a debate on the omission of senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar termed his exclusion as "astonishing".
Legendary India players Sunil Gavaskar and VVS Laxman were of the view that making the showpiece event a 14-team affair with the inclusion of the likes of Afghanistan and Scotland would significantly diminish the level of competition in the league stage.
The health condition of former India opener Chetan Chauhan, who tested positive for COVID-19 last month, has worsened after he developed multi-organ failure and he is now on ventilator support at a medical facility in Gurugram.
Rashid Khan's commitment towards all aspects of the game make him one of the most sought-after commodities in T20 leagues across the globe, feels the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
'Ramchandra Guha has sent down an express delivery at Sunil Gavaskar, the great batsman who seldom wore a helmet while facing the fastest of fast bowlers.' 'Gavaskar may have easily ducked the delivery and Guha would have receded in solitude.' 'But by hitting back at Guha, Gavaskar may have started a barrage of unplayable deliveries,' says Sudhir Bisht about his cricketing hero.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes that the youngest entrant in the illustrious 10,000 Test run club, Alastair Cook can challenge batting legend Sachin Tendulkar's all-time Test run record. Cook became the first England cricketer to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket, and the youngest overall, beating Tendulkar's record by five months by reaching the milestone at the age of 31 years and five months. Tendulkar -- Test cricket's most prolific batsman with 15921 runs -- was 31 years, 10 months 20 days old when he scored his 10,000th run in 2005. "Well the big advantage that England always has is that they are always playing a minimum of 11-12 Test matches on an average in a year. In 11-12 Test matches even if you score 50 runs per Test match you are getting about 500 runs every year," Gavaskar said.
'I would just be kind to all my players and if there were ever mistakes, I would find a way to hide it.'
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar strongly feels that people should restrain themselves from creating a captaincy controversy as Mahendra Singh Dhoni prepares to take over the mantle from stand-in skipper Virat Kohli in the second Test against Australia, starting in Brisbane on Wednesday.
'What is the use of talent if that player plays so many Tests and averages below 35 after a few years of being in the Indian team?'
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the performance of India's top-order batsmen save Murali Vijay terming their effort as "below-par" despite the pitch being a tricky one.
Amid speculation of a rift between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble, former captain Sunil Gavaskar said it is impossible for a captain and coach to always be on the same page on all cricketing issues.
'You are playing a World Test Championships final, and you don't pick the number one bowler in Test cricket.'
Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar says two-time World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's popularity in cricket-crazy India India exceeds that of the great Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
Ravi Shastri feels Rohit Sharma's return to form augurs well for five-time champions Mumbai Indians
'Upsetting the balance by moving Kohli down the order wouldn't be ideal, especially if they make frequent changes at the top.'
'India need to prepare a good fast bowling unit in 2024'
'This is not his game... He is going too early for it, especially with Rohit Sharma playing aggressively at the other end.'
Well aware of the burden of expectations that comes with a legendary surname, former India player Rohan Gavaskar is miffed at the way the cricket fraternity is following each and every move of Sachin Tendulkar's 14-year-old son, Arjun.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has picked young leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal as the best young talent from the just-concluded IPL-9, terming the Royal Challengers Bangalore player the best in terms of talent and temperament. 25-year-old Chahal took 21 wickets from 13 matches to finish IPL-9 as second highest wicket taker behind pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 23 from 17 games. "I am considering those who have temperament and not just talent. Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant and Krunal Pandya are the top three. I will pick Chahal at the top as he has got the right temperament," Gavaskar said. "He (Chahal) is not afraid of tossing up the ball and he kept on doing that. When there is some turn on the pitch, there have to be big edges from the batsmen's bat. Chahal also has a big heart and he is not afraid of a big hit. On many occasions, he came back after being hit for sixes to claim wickets," he told NDTV.
India has played 16 Tests at the venue, but it's not been a happy hunting ground. Individual Indian records, however, are impressive. Rediff.com presents the Indians who scored a century at Lord's.
'The batting has been the one which has caused us problems every time we go overseas. Why is it happening?'
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Wednesday called for harsh steps in the setup of the struggling Indian cricket team in Australia, saying some of the players have not learnt from their past mistakes despite making the trip Down Under multiple times. "We have to take harsh step after the series is done. I am not calling for a complete overhaul but there are players who have not learnt from their past mistakes. "There are players who have made 3-4 trips to Australia but they have not learnt from their mistakes. If we are looking at building a team for the 2019 World Cup, we need to blood some youngsters in," a disappointed Gavaskar told NDTV after an unexpected batting collapse pushed India 0-4 down in the five-match series. Gavaskar was more critical of the bowlers who let the team down and said dropping star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the second game in a row made little sense.
'It has impressed me immensely, because the way Virat has converted those unplayable balls into playable ones'
As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of India's first World Cup victory, check how much you know about the 1983 World Cup.
Interim president of Board of Control for Cricket in India Sunil Gavaskar said he is evaluating the request of Bihar Cricket Association (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma, who wants Indian Premier League chief operating officer Sundar Raman removed from his post for alleged involvement in corrupt practices.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of an international cricket stadium in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.
Lookalike contest or not, we couldn't help but ask: Do these actors look like the legends they play on screen? Vote!
'...that's one area that needs to be looked at in the future, the balance between bat and ball.'
According to ESPNCricinfo, Shubman Gill has also confirmed his availability for Punjab's upcoming Ranji Trophy sixth-round fixture against Karnataka, set to begin on January 23.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels the jinx that a host country has never won a World Twenty20 title may be broken this time. "There has to be a first time. No host country has won it and it can be India. The way the Indians have been playing from Australia, they look a happy, balanced unit. The fielding is top class and that's great. " The former India captain said, "India are favourites by a 'little bit' to win the WorldT20 and along with the hosts, Australia, South Africa and England can make semis going by current form. Gavaskar also found New Zealanders a potential threat for other formidable teams. "New Zealand play under the radar. Expectations are less, so they can come and surprise. It will be a cracker of a game against India. They have fabulous strokemakers. Trent Boult is there and Tim Southee, who had played in IPL. He knows how to bowl in Indian conditions. They can spring a surprise," he said.
Since making his debut in 2017, the highly rated Kuldeep Yadav has featured in just 13 Tests in seven years.
Padmakar Shivalkar was distinctly unlucky that his best days in the 1970s coincided with that of Bishan Singh Bedi's prime.
'We won't miss Virat and Rohit. I have faith in our young team.'
He played 85 first class games and scored nearly 4500 runs(4376) at an average of 35 plus and seven hundred including a double ton.
The Indian batting legend reckons the pressure is now on Australia.
From a bowler's paradise on Day 1 to a batting haven on Day 2, the Perth pitch has defied expectations.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, following a request from Sunil Gavaskar, interim president BCCI-IPL, has appointed Deepak Parekh as his special advisor for the 2014 season of the Pepsi Indian Premier League.
Neither does Shreyas Iyer wants to harp on the past nor is he keen to fret about what the future has in store for him. He just wants to "stay in the moment" and seize the day, as the illustrious Sunil Gavaskar advised him while giving the India cap.
