Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 1 of the Chennai Test
The fate of India's upcoming tour of South Africa amid the trepidation triggered by new COVID-19 variant Omicron will be addressed when the Board of Control for Cricket in India holds its 90th Annual General Meeting in Kolkata on Saturday.
There is a school of thought that Dhawan should be given at least the last six ODIs in January against Sri Lanka and New Zealand and then the call should be taken, before the Australia ODIs at the end of March.
Among his wards, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari have taken to Test cricket like duck to water, all-rounder Vijay Shankar is staking World Cup claims, while Shubhman Gill broke into the ODI team in New Zealand.
Surprised with the nature of wickets in Australia, former India captain Rahul Dravid, said that team India should hope that the wickets remain slow during the World Cup. However, Dravid was of the view that playing in different surfaces will pose a challenge of its own. "It's going to be a challenge, it is not easy. You are playing in very different conditions," Dravid told reporters on sidelines of an event. It was a bit "strange" to see that most of the Australian wickets were slow during the recently-concluded Test series and Dravid hopes the pitches behave in the same manner to assist India's most potent weapon, spin. "That's the advantage India has, if the wickets stay slower and lower as we have seen in the Test matches, then the spinners will come into the mix and India can afford to play two and even three spinners," he said.
Former Test pacer Aaqib Javed said that Shaheen Shah Afridi's burst of two wickets with the new ball and Hasan Ali's one wicket put India on the back foot and they never recovered after that.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar reckons that next year's IPL is going to be massive for Kuldeep Yadav, saying a good outing in the T20 extravaganza will earn the spinner a place in the T20 World Cup squad.
Former India cricketers on Monday hailed the Board of Control for Cricket in India's decision to appoint retired greats Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly in its cricket advisory committee, terming it a 'step in the right direction'. However, there were some who asked why its veteran cricketers are forgotten.
With the two teams arriving in Kolkata in the next 48 hours, all roads in the 'City of Joy' lead to the Eden.
The high-profile Cricket Advisory Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India appears to have overlooked Selection Committee chairman Sandeep Patil's candidature for the team's chief coach's job.
Dravid had defended himself saying he has taken leave of absence from India Cements and he has nothing to do with the Chennai Super Kings. As per Rule 38 (4) of BCCI constitution, no individual can hold more than one post at the same time.
In recent times, Kedar Jadhav has been the most under-utilised cricketer, which has led to varied opinions as to whether he is an ideal fit in India's ODI team combination despite averaging 42 plus in 69 games. Jadhav, who had sustained a hamstring injury in the past, bowled only 24 overs in his last 13 ODI games which is even less than two overs per game. Worse is that he hasn't got a single wicket and in four of these games, he wasn't even asked to bowl.
Rishabh Pant's brute power will be put to test against Rashid Khan's bagful of tricks in an IPL encounter where Delhi Capitals will start as favourites against SunRisers Hyderabad due to their better bowling resources.
The Committee of Administrators is facing practical problems in implementing the Conflict of Interest guidelines on the day-to-day BCCI operations, CoA member Diana Edulji conceded.
Birthday wishes pour in for captain cool Dhoni
Many India cricketers, past and present took to Twitter to extend birthday wishes for the spinner who has more than 600 Test wickets to his credit.
With Anil Kumble's contract ending after the ICC Champions Trophy, the Board of Control for Cricket India on Thursday invited applications for the post of head coach for the senior men's team.
Former India off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna on Friday took a dig at Virat Kohli and said if the current skipper feels he is the boss of Indian cricket then the team can do without a coach.
Another important thing that has come out in the open was that the Chief Advisory Committee, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, also didn't straightaway give the green light to Kumble's extension.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 4:
Sourav Ganguly celebrates his 47th birthday, on Monday, many Indian cricketers flooded the social-media with wishes for the veteran.
Congratulatory messages pour in for badminton superstar PV Sindhu on winning her second Olympic medal on Sunday.
Shubman Gill has the required technique and temperament to bat at any position in the Indian Test team but he does need to convert those great starts into big knocks, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar said about the young batter.
With a tally of 19 wickets in the series so far, Moeen Ali is the second highest-wicket taker from both sides after team mate James Anderson, who has 21 dismissals to his name. Incidentally, only three spinners have taken more wickets against India outside Asia.
Shikhar Dhawan has now scored fastest hundreds by an Indian against two opponents. On his Test debut, vs Australia at Mohali in 2012-13, he got to the three-figure mark off just 85 balls. Rajneesh Gupta lists the fastest hundreds for India against each country.
Olonga wasn't a cricketing great, not even Zimbabwe's best during the golden era of the country's cricket, but the beaded hair, a slinging action and a mean bouncer to get Sachin Tendulkar out on a lifeless Sharjah track made him a household name in India.
While Rohit Sharma will be eager to test his ultra-aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Virat Kohli it is the perfect platform to return to form after enduring a tough phase in the last few years.
Sachin Tendulkar has rejected BCCI's observation that his alleged Conflict of Interest falls under "tractable category", terming the parent body "responsible for the current situation".
Vijay Shankar could well be the 'joker in the pack' if the Indian team management decides to try him
Lauding Chennai Super Kings opener Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 100 in his side's second consecutive win in Indian Premier League-8, SunRisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman said the New Zealender's first ton of the season was a 'special innings'.
Not really impressed with the preparation that India will have going into the Test series against Australia, former captain Sourav Ganguly has said a couple of two-day practice games are just not enough.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) will certainly speak to Virat Kohli before announcing the new chief coach but they will only explain the 'rationale' behind their decision and not seek his opinion on the matter.
England, set a massive target of 628 in their second innings, were 56 without loss at stumps on day three, a tidy start but still facing the daunting prospect of surviving two more days in Bridgetown.
Gary Kirsten, feels that Duncan Fletcher played a 'huge role' during his four-year tenure.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni can still torment the bowlers around the world for at least two-three years and can win more matches for India if he consistently bats at No 4, former opener Virender Sehwag said.
Mumbai crushed Saurashtra by an innings and 21 runs in the final to win their 41st Ranji Trophy title, in Pune, on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli thwarted Australia in a diligent partnership to push India to a position of strength and a 166-run lead at the close of day three of the first Test.
The current fiasco now completely established that there is no communication between the selectors and senior players, who decide their own schedule. 'Dhoni feels that it would not be fair for him to join us at this stage, given that the team has done so well and reached the quarter-final stage in his absence. He does not want to upset the team balance'
Congratulating 25-year-old middle order batsman Karun Nair for scoring his maiden triple century, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur on Monday credited Rahul Dravid, India's Under-19 coach, for nurturing and 'well grooming' the youngsters through his valuable tips and vast cricketing experience.
Karun Nair's parents are ecstatic with their son's historic performance after he became the second Indian batsman to score a triple hundred in Test cricket.
