The chief minister, an avid cricket follower, had expressed disappointment that the Jammu and Kashmir cricketer was not given a chance to make his debut in international cricket even though India went into the final match with an unassailable 4-0 lead.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels Gautam Gambhir looks good for a national recall after a string of good scores in the ongoing IPL but the Kolkata Knight Riders captain does not want to look too far ahead as "comebacks are only by-products" of good performances. "At the moment, it's about IPL and I am concentrating on getting runs and help KKR win. All the rest, comebacks or no comebacks, are only by-products," said the left-handed batsman at the pre-match media conference against defending champions Mumbai India at the Wankhede Stadium. The Delhi Ranji Trophy captain had appeared last for India in the fifth and final Test match at the Oval in August, 2014, a match that India lost by an innings and in which he made 0 and 3, and has never been picked for the country in any of the three formats since. In fact in his last four Test innings for India, he failed to reach double figures in three of the innings.
Rishi Dhawan has realised that international cricket demands unwavering mental toughness and he would like to believe that he has overcome the mental demons of the Australia tour ahead of a crucial trip to Zimbabwe next month. Dhawan, despite only playing a couple of games for Kings XI Punjab this IPL, has managed a spot in the second string squad for the three ODIs and two T20 Internationals in Zimbabwe, beginning June 11. "I did not get to do much in IPL but I was expecting to be picked. I had done well in Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare and I was confident that I will be rewarded for consistent performances in domestic cricket," Dhawan told PTI on Wednesday. The poster boy of Himachal cricket might be a consistent performer on the domestic cricket but he did not take much time to realise that playing for India is a different ball game.
Pacer Umesh Yadav says he has regained confidence after working on his erratic line and length in the time away from the Indian team and is confident of making the playing eleven in the two-Test series against West Indies.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag is confident that the current Test team under Virat Kohli has the quality in its pace attack to win outside the sub-continent just like Sourav Ganguly's team did during 2000-2004. The Test team under Kohli has been invincible at home, having thrashed South Africa and New Zealand by identical margins of 3-0 and is also on a roll against England leading 2-0 in a five-match series.
Rahul was the only prominent batsman to miss out on a significant score in India's 358 all out on day two of the four-day tour game in Sydney.
A career that almost always fell apart after promising to fall into place -- Ambati Rayudu will be remembered as someone who could not live up to his rare cricketing talent, undone by a mercurial demeanour that often led to run-ins with authorities. His cricketing journey ended abruptly on Wednesday after a heart-breaking and baffling World Cup snub.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad, while Parthiv Patel made a comeback for the three-Test series in South Africa.
It all starts in Guwahati on Sunday as the biggest city in Assam is slowly getting back to normalcy after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Looking forward to the challenge of facing Dale Steyn in the upcoming four-match Test series against South Africa, Indian opener Lokesh Rahul has said playing the speedster in the longer format is a "different ballgame" as one has to counter the late movement he gets.
Former India coach John Wright feels the only way the current team can defend its World Cup title is by backing its exciting batting line-up with a much-improved bowling effort than what it has shown of late.
'I think it is very difficult to compare (M S Dhoni and Virat Kohli) because both have different teams and different attitude' 'If you do not win matches abroad, you cannot become number one in the world'
The third specialist spinner's slot will be the subject of much deliberation when the national selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, meets in New Delhi, on Thursday, to announce the squad for the three-Test away series against Sri Lanka, starting August 12.
The 10 teams in the league will be bidding heavily for the Indian players in a list of 590 cricketer
Fresh from his exploits in Mumbai's maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 triumph, Kotian got down to business after his pace colleagues Tushar Desphande (2/23) and Mohit Avasthi (1/29) handed Bengal early blows.
Ecstatic after his maiden call-up into the Indian cricket team, all-rounder Hardik Pandya said that India A coach Rahul Dravid's guidance during the Australia tour has made him "mentally stronger". "For me, everything changed after my tour of Australia with the India A team. It is a tour that transformed me as a cricketer. I can't but thank Rahul Dravid enough for his contribution. I understood that there is a mental aspect about the game that needs to be worked upon. He (Dravid) made me mentally stronger," Hardik told PTI.
Arvind Pujara, who usually does not go to watch any Test in which his son Cheteshwar plays, says he is "very keen" to be at the SCA Stadium from Day One.
Ishant explained how Gillespie changed his training methods to get better results
Krunal Pandya on Saturday became the costliest uncapped buy in IPL history, going for a whopping Rs 8.8 crore to Mumbai Indians as rookie players, both Indian and overseas, turned overnight millionaires in the auction in Bengaluru.
Karnataka youngster K L Rahul on his elation at being selected for the upcoming Test series against Australia and how he worked on his technique to improve his batting skills.
India opener Prithvi Shaw is likely to retain his place in the playing eleven for the second Test against New Zealand, starting Saturday, while Ravindra Jadeja may replace Ravichandran Ashwin.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com comes up with a pretty strong playing eleven from the long list of big names warming the benches this IPL season.
Citing Mahendra Singh Dhoni's lack of form, former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has said that India's ODI skipper is "no longer the player he used to be".
Yuvraj is remembered for hitting six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad in the ICC T20 World Cup2007 and was awarded the Player of the Tournament in India's 2011 50-over World Cup triumph.
He started his career as an equally talented U-19 cricketer like his illustrious peer Virat Kohli but Manish Pandey believes his former India colts colleague "fully deserved to play for the country" ahead of him.
The high-powered International Cricket Council's Cricket Committee, chaired by former India captain Anil Kumble, on Friday expressed concerns about the "quality of Test pitches", especially the tendency of home teams to prepare tailor-made strips that suit them.
How will young batsmen brought up on T20 learn to build an innings? What about the technique to patiently negotiate hostile seam bowling conditions or the skill to play on difficult dusty turners? What about leaving the swinging ball outside off stump?
There is no shortcut to playing first-class cricket.
'Rishabh is fine batsman but needs to do improve with gloves'
'As a cricketer I don't believe that anyone is a specific player for T20s, ODIs or Test cricket.' 'As a player you need to react and play according to situations.'
The Indian bowlers had a torrid time against South African batting line-up led by AB de Villiers but senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has said he "enjoyed the challenge" as he managed to hold his own for the better part of the limited overs series.
Sanju Samson hit the first century in this season's Indian Premier League to help Delhi Daredevils demolish Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs in Pune on Tuesday.
Senior South Africa batsman J P Duminy defended his team's young bowling attack which failed to defend a decent total of 189 against an inexperienced India 'A' in their warm-up T20 game in Delhi on Tuesday, saying the focus was on assessment of conditions rather than the result.
Please fill in your choices and help the Indian selectors make up their mind!
'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was something special.'
Under fire after a below-par show on a good batting strip, the Indian spinners will aim for an improved show on a comparatively more helpful track as they take on a gritty England in the second Test, starting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
India's bowling coach Bharath Arun made it clear on Tuesday that Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are first choices for Test matches, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are the preferred option for the limited-overs' format.
Under Kohli, playing cricket will now be about winning, not avoiding defeat. India will not just be liked or admired -- it will be respected and feared. A country whose stars were labeled 'talented' or 'elegant' or 'inconsistent' now finds itself with a captain who is professional, tough, and combative, the embodiment of athleticism, aggression, and ambition. A fascinating glimpse from Pride, Prejudice And Punditry: The Essential Shashi Tharoor.
IPL Season 10 saw the likes of Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Rashid Khan grab the spotlight. Let us check out what they did.
'When you looked at him even at that age, you could make out he was special.'
