India's poor form in the ongoing tour of New Zealand will count for nothing when the team comes to Australia and New Zealand to defend the World Cup title as the current exposure to conditions would work to its advantage during the mega-event next year, feels former captain Sunil Gavaskar.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
Rohit Sharma to captain India in this year's T20 World Cup
Following KKR's crushing 81-run win over RCB, heartwarming scenes unfolded at the Eden Gardens.
Lookalike contest or not, we couldn't help but ask: Do these actors look like the legends they play on screen? Vote!
'The 2018 series win in Australia stands out in his captaincy.'
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.
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.
'It has impressed me immensely, because the way Virat has converted those unplayable balls into playable ones'
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.
Shubman Gill's sizzling ton in Qualifier 2 is an innings that will be remembered for years to come, said the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
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.
The Indian batting legend reckons the pressure is now on Australia.
Rishabh Pant scored a watchful 98-ball 40 in India's 185 all out on the opening day in Sydney.
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.
Sunil Gavaskar named Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the best captain in the history of the IPL.
'I actually think, with Hardik Pandya, everything away from the game is affecting him so much. He's smiling too much when he does the toss. He's trying to act like he is so happy. He is not happy. I have been there. I have been in the firing line. And I can tell you now, it affects you.'
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.
Gavaskar wants Ashwin to lead team out on field in Dharamsala in his 100th Test.
'The T20 game is doing very well and there's no need to tinker with it.'
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.
"We were used to seeing that from Dhoni but even those little touches of his where he makes a fielder, a player feel 7 feet tall, are the touches that make him stand out from the other."
Sunil Gavaskar believes switching from the T20 mode in the IPL to Test cricket will be the biggest challenge for the Indian players when they take on Australia.
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.
'The discussion before this innings with Dhruv was 'go down to the level of your practice and everything will be fine'. The talk is always about staying hungry.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee makes momos at a local stall in Darjeeling.
Cheteshwar Pujara has now scored 3 centuries in this series, equalling Sunil Gavaskar's record.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar expressed concern over Virat Kohli's prolonged slump in form on Thursday, saying the talented batsman needs to be dropped down the order so that he can regain his run-making ways.
The Motera stadium now rechristened as the 'Narendra Modi' stadium has witnessed some of the iconic moments in India cricket.
'Hard work is there, but I believe in visualisation and manifestation. Whatever match or series, one or two weeks prior I start preparation looking at the bowling line-up, who will bowl and how will I play them. I play out the scenarios and it helps.'
Gavaskar said Pant will give India more flexibility in the first Test, the only day-night game, to be played in Adelaide.
Jaiswal is only the fourth Indian left-hander besides Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and Kambli to smash a Test double ton.
Former captain Rahul Dravid said it will be impossible to replace Sachin Tendulkar once the senior India batsman retires from international cricket but added the game will go on.
The view on having Pant on board, if Dhawan is ousted, was echoed by former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.
