&w=3840&q=100)
Why 2025 feels like 2012 as Kohli, Rohit retire from Test cricket
Australian tours appear to have a decisive role in concluding the careers of Indian batting greats
Vishal Menon
Listen to This Article
In many ways, 2025 feels eerily similar to 2012. Thirteen years ago, the Indian cricket team's calamitous tour of Australia ended the careers of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. The stalwarts, with vastly contrasting batting styles, bowed out of international cricket after a humbling series Down Under.
The halo around India's golden generation had begun to fade. The team was at a crossroads. Their retirements created a void that seemed difficult to fill. Indian cricket was forced to rebuild, recalibrate, and reassess.
Fast forward to 2025, and a similar sense of transition hangs over the Indian cricket team. Rohit Sharma

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India.com
39 minutes ago
- India.com
Will Steve Smith Play In Second AUS vs WI Test In Grenada? Heres The Latest Update
After winning the first Test against West Indies inside three days, Australia could be boosted further before the second match with experienced batter Steve Smith all set to join the squad by Sunday. Smith missed the first Test between Australia and West Indies in Barbados due to a finger injury. The 36-year-old had flown to his home in New York after dislocating his finger during the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's. After his side took a 1-0 lead in the series, Australia skipper Pat Cummins provided an update of Smith, saying that the veteran batter has resumed batting practice. "He's had a few hits over in New York, which I think was with a tennis ball and an incredi-ball," said Cummins. "I think his wound is looking good, so the next stage is to come over here and hit some balls in the nets. So we'll know more over the next few days," he added. With Marnus Labuschagne getting dropped and Smith dealing with his figure, Australia's top four struggled in the first Test. In the first innings, Australia were reduced to 22/3 and they lost top four with just 65 on the board in the second innings. However, Cummins reiterated that the team management would back their young batters. "You saw today how tricky a wicket that was, there weren't too many 50-run partnerships throughout the whole game," the Australian skipper said. "Of course, the top order would like to score some more runs. The challenge of Test cricket, especially for young players, is when you get thrown different conditions, you've got to find a way to be effective. That's the challenge for our young batting group," he added. The second match between Australia and West Indies begins on July 3.


New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Mandhana, Shree Charani sizzle as India crush England in 1st T20I
STAND-IN captain Smriti Mandhana hit a scintillating century (112 off 62 balls) while left-arm spinner N Shree Charani, with figures of 4/12, made a dream debut as India Women crushed England Women by 97 runs in the opening T20I at Nottingham on Saturday. Mandhana's maiden century in T20 internationals guided India to 210/5, India's second-highest total in T20Is, after being asked to bat first. The 28-year-old's 112 was also the highest individual score for an Indian in WT20Is. In reply, the hosts, despite Nat Sciver-Brunt's 42-ball 66, lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 113 in 14.5 overs. Shree Charani was the destructor-in-chief with the ball as she accounted for four wickets, including the big wicket of Sciver-Brunt. Mandhana, who was deservedly adjudged the Player of the Match, was in her element as she tore apart the England bowling attack. The left-handed batter punished the likes of Em Arlott, Linsey Smith and Sophie Ecclestone and reached the three-figure mark in 51 balls. The Mumbai-born batter's innings included as many as 15 fours and three sixes. Mandhana's splendid innings finally came to an end in the final over. This was incidentally England's heaviest defeat in this format. Brief scores: India 210/5 in 20 ovs (Mandhana 112, Harleen 43; Bell 3/27) bt England 113 in 14.5 ovs (Sciver-Brunt 66; Shree Charani 4/12) by 97 runs.


The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Smriti Mandhana's elegant maiden ton leads India to 97-run win over England in 1st T20I
Stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana's graceful maiden T20 International hundred adorned India's smooth 97-run win over England in the opening match here on Saturday (June 29, 2025). The visitors now lead the five-match T20I series 1-0. Mandhana (112, 62 balls) and Harleen Deol (43, 23 balls) added 94 runs for the second wicket as India posted a commanding 210 for five after being invited to bat. Skipper Nat Sciver Brunt (66, 42 balls) waged a lone battle for England, who were limited to 113 all out in 14.5 overs by the on-song Indian bowlers. For India, debutante left-arm spinner Shree Charani (4/12) was the most successful bowler, as there was nothing much left in England's innings after they lost half of the line-up inside the first 10 overs for a sub-100 score. Mandhana, who led the team in the absence of injured regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur, stole the day with an innings that was a full-fledged display of her style, aggression and ability to play shots around the field. She gave the Indian innings some early impetus, making 77 runs with a struggling Shafali Varma (20, 22 balls), whose return to top-flight cricket after a gap of eight months was less than satisfactory. Mandhana was the dominant figure in that alliance off just 8.3 overs. Shafali's dismissal did not deter Mandhana as the left-hander raised a further 94 runs for the second wicket with an equally aggressive Harleen, who was dropped on 26 by Danny Wyatt-Hodge off off-spinner Alice Capsey near mid-wicket. Mandhana did not give any such chances to England, and she started off with three boundaries off left-arm spinner Linsey Smith in the fourth over, and hardly took her foot off the accelerator. Later, she also punished another left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone for two sixes in the seventh over as the Indian innings chugged along. Mandhana brought up her fifty in 27 balls, and the next 50 came off just 24 balls. Mandhana soon went past 87, her previous best in T20Is, and touched the three-figure mark for the first time in her career that has 30 fifties. She reached the coveted milestone in style too, hammering pacer Lauren Bell for two consecutive boundaries. Her knock is the highest for India in T20Is, surpassing Harmanpreet's 103. At the other end, Deol relied more on sweeps to fetch boundaries, using the general lack of direction of English bowlers on the day till she fell to Bell, who was England's most successful bowler (3/27). Mandhana was eventually dismissed by Ecclestone but not before taking India to a position of strength. England tried to stage a late comeback as Bell removed Richa Ghosh (12) and Jemimah Rodrigues (0) in the 18th over but by then India were already closing in on the 200-run mark.