England tour turning point for Indian cricket: Pujara
New Delhi: Veteran top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara believes that the upcoming five-match Test tour of England marks a crucial turning point for Indian cricket, citing the young group of players selected for the series starting on June 20 in Headingley.
India has a new skipper and vice-captain in Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, respectively, as the youthful side looks to step into a new era of playing Tests after the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Historically, India has won only three out of 19 series in England, with the last one coming in 2007 when Rahul Dravid was the side's captain.
'The India-England Test series has always been a true measure of a team's grit and adaptability. In the last 100 years, India has managed to win only 3 out of 19 series played on English soil, which highlights just how challenging this contest has been for us.
'With a young and dynamic squad, this tour represents a significant turning point for Indian cricket. I look forward to witnessing how this group rises to the occasion and sets new benchmarks for future generations,' said Pujara . Edgbaston, Lord's, Old Trafford and The Oval are the other venues for the remaining games of the India-England Test series. The series against Ben Stokes-led England also marks the start of a new ICC World Test Championship cycle for India.
Irfan Pathan, the former India left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder, has backed the Gill-led side to stand up to the tough challengers they will encounter on the tour of England. Pathan will be seen as a panellist for the broadcasters' coverage, whose campaign tagline for the Test series reads as 'Naya India, Dhaakad India'. 'Test cricket in England is the ultimate examination of skill, temperament, and character. With a new generation stepping up, Team India is not just carrying forward a legacy—they are writing a new chapter in our cricketing history.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
AB de Villiers shares tactical insight ahead of South Africa's maiden WTC final at Lord's
As South Africa prepares to play in their first-ever ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, former Proteas stalwart AB de Villiers gave valuable advice and tactical perspective ahead of the all-important clash against Australia. The final, scheduled to begin on June 11 at the iconic Lord's in London, marks a significant moment for South African cricket as they chase a maiden WTC title. While speaking to Star Sports around the historic venue, de Villiers emphasised the unique challenges posed by the conditions at Lord's, particularly the movement off the pitch and through the air that makes life difficult for batters. 'Lord's is a tricky ground to play on. You've got the ball moving around more than most grounds in the world for a longer period of time,' de Villiers said. 'You're never in, and that's probably my best advice to the batters, to sort of respect the bowlers, whether it's the first over or the 67th over. You're never in, so just respect the game,' he added. With Australia entering their second consecutive WTC final and South Africa making their first appearance, the stakes couldn't be higher. Australia, led by Pat Cummins, come in with the experience of having won the title in 2023, while the Proteas are looking to script a new chapter in their red-ball history. From a bowling standpoint, de Villiers stressed the importance of hitting fuller lengths to exploit the traditional Lord's assistance for seamers. 'Lord's, you generally want to be a bit fuller as a seam bowler and try and get the best out of the conditions,' he noted. 'There's always a bit of seam movement for the seam bowlers. So I would probably urge my bowlers to bowl full and straight for as long as possible,' he said. South Africa's pace attack, comprising the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi, is expected to play a pivotal role in swinging the momentum their way. With the unpredictability that Lord's offers, control and discipline with the new ball could define the outcome of the match.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Indian junior women's hockey team beats Belgium 3-2
The Indian junior women's hockey team made a positive start to its tour of Europe with a 3-2 win over hosts Belgium here on Sunday. India opened the scoring through Geeta Yadav (11th minute). However, in the second quarter, Belgium equalised through Marie Goenns (25th). Soon Belgium took the lead as Louise van Hecke (34th) found the back of the net. India made a valiant comeback and levelled the scores through Sonam (40th). The visitors continued to attack, and the tactic paid off as they won a penalty corner soon, which was converted by Lalthantluangi (45th). After that, the Indians did not let Belgium get the equaliser with some stout defending. India will again play Belgium on June 10 in the second game of their European tour.
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
India win six gold on day two to dominate Taiwan Open athletics
The Indian contingent won as many as six gold medals, including double podium finishes in women's 800m final and long jump competition, on the second and final day of Taiwan Open international athletics championship here on Sunday. Three-time national champion Vithya Ramraj, Rohit Yadav, Pooja, Krishan Kumar and Annu Rani won the gold medal in their respective events in an impressive outing by the Indian contingent. Also winning gold was the team of Santosh T, Vishal TK, Dharamveer Chaudhary, and Manu TS, the quartet finishing on top of the podium in the men's 4x400m event with a championship record of 3:05.58s to sign off the country's successful campaign on a positive note. Yashas Palaksha rallied to win silver in the men's 400m hurdles with a personal best timing of 42.22s, the result giving a big boost to his confidence after missing out on the 2025 Asian Championships. Vithya clocked 56.53s to strike gold in the women's 400m hurdles event, her third best time of the year helping the athlete to gain some useful ranking points for the upcoming World Championships. The athlete from Tamil Nadu competes in 400 metres hurdles, 400 metres and 4×400 metres relay. Before this, she had clocked 56.04s in the Federation Cup final and 56.46s in the Asian Championship final. Rohit could not breach the 75m mark in the men's javelin throw competition but a best throw of 74.42m was enough for him to claim gold in the event. Taipei's Huang Shih-Feng won silver with a throw of 74.04m, while his compatriot Cheng Chao-Tsun was third with an effort of 73.95m. Pooja won the women's 800m final with a championship record time of 2:02.79s to edge past compatriot Twinkle Chaudhary, who clocked 2:06.96s to clinch silver. Krishan Kumar then came back from behind to win the top prize in the men's 800m final with a time of 1:48.46s, which is also a new championship record. In the women's javelin final later in the day, Annu Rani struck gold after she threw the spear at a distance of 56.82m. The Indian could not improve on her season's best performance but the sub-57 metre throw was enough for her to finish ahead of silver winner Hatarabage Lekamalage (56.82m) of Sri Lanka and Taipei's Pin-Hsun Chu (53.03m). In the women's long jump event, India's Shaili Singh (6.41m) and Ancy Sojan (6.39m) then won the silver and bronze medals respectively, finishing behind Australia's Delta Amidzovski (6.49m), who won the gold medal.
