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Indian Express
36 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Empty slots: Players in contention for the last two spots for India in Asia Cup squad
While most names in the Asia Cup squad may face little debate, two spots may prompt some discussion when the selection panel meets on Tuesday. Here's looking at the choices and what they bring to the table: Mohammed Siraj: After his indefatigable display in England, the only logic that should keep him out of the squad would be the much-debated workload management. If there's any player deserving of a rest, it's Siraj, who played every match of the five-Test series, bowled the most overs and got the most wickets and was instrumental in India earning a share of the spoils. Crucially, he ran in from his first ball to his last, and never let up in pace. Harshit Rana: He is known to lose pace and energy in later spells, but shouldn't have much trouble in managing four overs. He has caught the eye with wicket-taking spells for both franchise and country, and isn't lacking in aggression, as he showed in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth late last year, before losing his wheels in Adelaide. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has seen what he is capable of while being in charge of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Prasidh Krishna: He got better as the England series progressed, but is known to thrive more in conditions that offer bounce and some lateral movement. The tall pacer has got all the tools, but whether he would be the ideal bowler for the pitches in Dubai is debatable. His best performances in an India shirt have come when he has been handed responsibility, often in Jasprit Bumrah's absence, as was seen in Sydney and more recently at The Oval. Shreyas Iyer: If the selectors take a call on pure batting pedigree, they don't have to look beyond the player who led two different franchises, both with the willow especially against spin and his leadership, to IPL finals in two successive seasons. He brings calm and game awareness and can set the game up and also finish it. Shreyas has developed a swagger of late and commands respect in whichever dressing room he finds himself in. The player who defined the last IPL should logically be in the Indian T20 side. Rinku Singh: He has been designated a finisher by his IPL team as well as when he has turned out in India colours, often limiting the number of balls he gets to face. Winning a game for his team by hitting five successive sixes in the final over is a rare occurrence, and that freak achievement, while bringing him into the national spotlight, has pigeon-holed him as an endgame player. It doesn't help that Gambhir doesn't like to designate any player as a finisher in his team. Riyan Parag: He has been earmarked as a promising talent but has not quite delivered, at least not on a consistent basis. He has played the odd impressive knock for Rajasthan Royals, but is not known to win games for his side. The Assam player has a second string to his bow in the form of his part-time off-spin, but that's usually good for only a couple of overs. Selectors have been waiting for the 23-year-old to show a mature head on his shoulders to stake a viable claim to a spot in the national side. Washington Sundar: He did all that was asked of him in England – save a Test, hit some big blows in the company of the tail making the vital difference between victory and defeat, while getting crucial wickets with his underrated off-spin. His skill-set would be useful in Dubai, and he was part of the side that won the ICC Champions Trophy there earlier this year. It helps that Gambhir is fond of depth, in both batting and bowling.
Hindustan Times
36 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Stuck in a loop: India's stagnant marathon scene
Mumbai: Three decades into his triple jump world record of 18.29m from the 1995 World Championships, Jonathan Edwards had this to say to BBC this month about it remaining untouched: 'I don't think it's a good sign for athletics as a sport that you have a record that stands for 30 years.' File image of Man Singh, winner of this year's New Delhi Marathon. (Mumbai Marathon) Every word of that sentence could also well apply to the men's marathon national record in India. Except, that mark goes much further back. The late Shivnath Singh's marathon national record of 2:12:00 set in 1978 in Jalandhar still stands the test of time. As per Athletics Federation of India (AFI) data, it remains the longest standing national mark, with PT Usha's 400m hurdles record of 1984 also equalled in 2023. Two of the country's prominent marathon races, in Mumbai and New Delhi, had Indian winners clock timings around the 2:17 and 2:15 mark. It's pretty much where India's male marathoners have been stuck over the last five years, after Gopi T came close to the national mark when he clocked 2:13:39 at the 2019 Seoul Marathon. In an event where global runners are constantly pushing the threshold – Kelvin Kiptum set the current world record of 2:00:35 in 2023 before his untimely death aged 24 – the Indians have stagnated for quite a while. 'For almost a decade, Indian marathon has been stuck in a loop – one that hovers around the 2:15 mark,' said Nitendra Singh Rawat, the 2016 Rio Olympian with a personal best of 2:16:05. A glaring ailment to that loop not breaking for a bigger leap, concur athletes and coaches, is the lack of a core group of marathoners training together. Surinder Singh Bhandari, India's renowned distance runner turned coach, recalled having a group of 10-12 runners training just under him between 2014 to 2016. Three of them – Gopi, Kheta Ram and Rawat – qualified for the Rio Games where the first two clocked PBs in the 2:15s. For last year's Paris Olympics, no Indian marathoner made the cut. This year, AFI added to the decentralisation by doing away with long-duration national camps. 'Nowadays, marathoners are scattered. And camps have also been done away with. For long distances, training in one place under one coach with a proper group helps,' said Bhandari. 'When the three of us trained together, we pushed each other,' said Kheta Ram (PB 2:15:26) of the Rio trio. 'Now most train on their own.' Rawat said: 'Ideally, 10-12 runners should be identified, supported and clubbed into a group to train together. The focus should be on a group, rather than individuals.' That group, according to both Olympic marathoners, would also benefit from a lengthy training block outside India. Both cited the example of Gulveer Singh, who rewrote the 5,000m and 10,000m national records last year, training in USA's Colorado Springs where India's other distance runners including Avinash Sable were also based. Sable, currently out injured, was later based in Bengaluru. 'We used to have weekly practice plans. Maybe in a country with better marathoners, they make monthly programmes. We need to go out and understand such things,' said Kheta Ram. AFI has, over the last few years, sent India's race walkers and relay teams for training blocks abroad. 'We need to spend 5-6 months training with runners in the 2:05-2:10 region, no matter the country. We have to observe the training methods and technology advancements of those better groups and countries,' Rawat said. Marathoners of those better countries have been aided by advancements in shoes and running equipment, which has not only challenged the world benchmark frequently but also upped qualification standards. At the 2019 Mumbai Marathon, Rawat's timing of 2:15.52 was enough to clear the 2019 World Championships qualifying cut. For next month's Tokyo Worlds, that cut is 2:06:30. The fast-evolving super shoes may have changed the pace of marathon running, yet it hasn't translated to faster times in India. 'Shoes have made a big impact overall,' said Kheta Ram. 'For Indians, they can be expensive. Some can afford it, but even for them it hasn't impacted timings to that extent.' 'In India,' said Bhandari, 'athletes can win medals and rewards with a timing of 2:15 or so. And most are happy to be in that comfort zone.' It comes back to that loop, where Indian marathon lies in danger of retreating. 'We will have to get out of that loop soon,' said Rawat.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Arsenal wins 1-0 at Man United as Chelsea held by Palace in Premier League
Arsenal kept at bay Manchester United's expensively assembled forward line and scored again from a set piece to win 1-0 in the marquee match in the opening round of the Premier League on Sunday. Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori nodded in from close range in the 13th minute after United back-up goalkeeper Altay Bayındır - starting ahead of Andre Onana - flapped at the ball from a corner whipped in by Declan Rice. While Arsenal followed likely title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City in claiming an opening-weekend victory, United fell to a loss that is all-to-familiar under Ruben Amorim following a woeful 15th-place finish last season by English soccer's fallen giant. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Here's The Average Price of a 6-Hour Eavestroughs Upgrade in Ontario Leaf Filter Partner United spent around 200 million pounds ($270 million) on revamping its attack in the offseason, with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha starting the match and Benjamin Sesko coming off the bench in the second half. While the team played with a good intensity at Old Trafford, Arsenal's strong defense stood firm. Live Events At the other end, Viktor Gyokeres endured a difficult first competitive start for Arsenal, whose goal came from a familiar route with Mikel Arteta's team so imposing from set-piece situations in recent seasons. Chelsea also failed to score in its opening league game, held 0-0 by Crystal Palace in its first competitive match as the club world champion. A month after stunning Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final, Chelsea toiled at Stamford Bridge after a short preseason because of its exertions in the United States. Eze's farewell? Eberechi Eze has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham so the England midfielder might have been making his final appearance for Palace. He almost marked it with a goal. In the 13th minute, Eze smashed a direct free kick past Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from the edge of the area but the goal was ruled out after a video review spotted an infringement by Palace captain Marc Guehi as he attempted to push aside Chelsea's Moises Caicedo in the defensive wall. The Premier League confirmed Guehi was standing less than one meter (yard) from the wall as the shot was taken, which is not allowed. Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, stars for Chelsea in the Club World Cup, were quiet. The hosts lacked intensity because they've only been back in training for a couple of weeks, while Palace has had a long preseason and was coming off beating Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield last weekend. Wood starts hot for Forest Nottingham Forest hit the ground running with a 3-1 win over Brentford, with striker Chris Wood - the team's top scorer last season with 20 goals - netting twice in the first half either side of a goal on debut by Dan Ndoye. Wood started quickly last season in the best goalscoring top-flight campaign of his career and he needed just five minutes to open his account this time round, making the most of a poor clearance at a corner to poke home a finish. Ndoye headed in a second in the 42nd minute and Wood rounded the goalkeeper in first-half stoppage time to stroke in a third. Igor Thiago converted a late penalty for a consolation for Brentford, which might struggle this season after selling star forward Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and not having first-choice striker Yoane Wissa available. Wissa has been linked with a move to Newcastle. Jota tribute All matches on Sunday featured a period of silence before kickoff as a tribute to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, the brothers who were killed in a car crash in Spain last month. Jota was a player for Liverpool at the time.
