'He's got a pretty good record against Indian batsmen (123 wickets in 28 Tests versus India).' 'In India too he has a great record (56 wickets in 11 Tests in India), that is a pretty good record against a country that traditionally plays spin very well.'
'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.'
'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.'
'When it comes to strategy or planning for a match, there is nobody better than Dhoni.' 'Whether he is uncapped or capped, every franchise would want to pick Dhoni, no matter what price he is available for.'
Shooters' preps lacked planning, says Olympian Vijay Kumar
'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.'
'The world is yet to watch him, show his prowess as a batter, but given the chance he will do a great job.'
'We used to give these boxers a hammering in the ring and now they are teaching youngsters how to defend. Come on man!' 'People like Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar were among the top boxers in the world, but instead of choosing them to train young boxers they are picking people who are yes men.'
'Our consistency under pressure will be tested to the maximum at Paris.'
Kohli is the man for the big occasion and has been scoring runs consistently across formats, says Harish Kotian.
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.
'Kapil had faith in his team and the team had faith in its captain.'
'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.'
Unlike the IPL, the wickets in the United States and the West Indies could be slow and could assist spinners. That could be why India went in for experience in their batting ahead of strike rates, points out Harish Kotian.
'I have a feeling that after a certain transition happens, you could see Rishabh Pant opening the batting for India in T20 cricket.'
'I was not able to watch that 19th over bowled by Arshdeep.' 'My son and daughter were watching the match and my eyes were closed.' 'When they used to shout 'Dot ball', I used to open my eyes, that is how I saw that Arshdeep over.'
'I don't think anyone can take a call on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whether this is going to be his last year.'
'Yes, there have not been any express fast bowlers that are coming from the MRF Pace Foundation that we used to have back in the years.' 'But that's not going to happen anymore. Now, in the next few years, you are gonna see a lot of really good fast bowlers coming out from the MRF Pace Foundation again.'
'There are some potential talks which is going on and which is definitely authentic.' 'But it all depends on the two franchises to come up with a conclusion and allow the players to move for their own betterment.'
Who do YOU think should be part of India's playing XI for Thursday's second ODI against England at Lord's?
India pacer Chetan Sakariya, who played with Mitchell Marsh at Delhi Capitals in the last two seasons of IPL, is impressed by the Australian's simple approach to batting.
'That's the beauty of Mumbai cricket. Nobody interferes with the running of the cricket, only the cricketers are allowed to run the cricket.'
'I was confident that I would surely get into any of the IPL teams, but I was not picked.'
'...we got it from the West Indies dressing room!'
The captain's missus was mighty impressed with the chocolate eclairs he baked.
At the start of the year, not many would have imagined Yashasvi Jaiswal rising up the ranks so rapidly.
'The IPL should form the selection basis for the T20 team and at the most the ODI team.'
'England were going great guns when Kapil threw the ball to Jimmy and then to me.'
Who do you think should be part of India's 15 for the T20 World Cup?
'All the venues are high-scoring venues. So what you need is pace.' 'You really want someone to come there and control the flow of runs in the death overs, whether you are setting a target or setting a target.' 'It is going to be the fast bowlers because at how many venues have you seen spinners bowling the death overs?'
As hosts Russia and Saudia Arabia kick off the extravaganza, Harish Kotian and Ashish Narsale assemble a fascinating FIFA World Cup quiz.
Dean Jones, who was doing commentary for the ongoing IPL for official broadcasters Star Sports, suffered a massive heart attack in Mumbai.
Batting great Gundappa Viswanath recalls his memories of Salim Durani.
Virat Kohli was the only centurion in the tournament.
The big question for Captain Rohit Sharma and Head Coach Rahul Dravid is to where to accomodate Virat Kohli, who has struggled for runs across formats in the last couple of years.
'He was a cricketer who come once in a lifetime...'
'Switching loyalty from one party to another is completely unfair as it devalues my vote.'
Has any cricketing legend asked the all-powerful BCCI Secretary Jay A Shah how selections are taking place without a chief selector in place for the last four months? Who takes all the important decisions at selection meetings?, asks Harish Kotian.
'And how we can take Indian cricket forward, that's the only aim anybody should have.'
'Ravi was very streetsmart, cricketsmart, so that made him more adaptable whenever situations changed or conditions changed.'
