
Yuvraj Singh gets credit after Shubman Gill's appointment as India Test captain: ‘Greatest cricketing brain'
Young Indian batting star Shubman Gill was elevated to the position of India Test captain as the BCCI announced the squad for the England tour on Saturday. After Gill's official appointment, former India cricketer and Yuvraj Singh's father, Yograj Singh, credited his son for the success of Shubman Gill.
In a statement to ANI, Yograj said, "The credit for Shubman Gill's performance goes to his father and Yuvraj Singh... If Shubman Gill has become the captain today and will stay for a long time, Yuvraj Singh's guidance will play and has played an essential role in that... Someone like Yuvraj Singh, the greatest cricketing brain in the world, taking Gill under his wing is a big thing."
Notably, Yuvraj Singh is often given credit for training and grooming young Indian players like Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, who have gone on to become mainstays in the Indian team.
At the age of 25, Shubman Gill has become the youngest-ever Indian Test captain after his successful IPL captaincy stint with the Gujarat Titans. While Gill doesn't have much experience leading the national team, he will have a lot of learning to do on the job—especially with the first assignment being a five-match Test series in England.
Moreover, Gill has a poor batting record in England, having played three matches with a highest score of 28 and an average of 14.67. The young batter's numbers aren't exactly impressive in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries either, scoring 481 runs in 10 matches at an average of 25.32 and a highest score of 91 in Australia.
The young Indian batter could now replace Virat Kohli in the number 4 spot for India, a position that was earlier held by Sachin Tendulkar as well. Moreover, he will also carry the major responsibility of rebuilding the Indian team after the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

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Hindustan Times
16 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Fans deserve a better deal from sports administrators
The aftermath of the Bengaluru stampede made for an interesting case study. The police, the politicians, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the franchise were all in a race to shirk responsibility and put the blame on someone else. 'The fans were uncontrollable,' said deputy chief minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar. BCCI quickly issued a statement saying that they had no role in the event. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) said 'the unfortunate incident' only came to light through media reports. The police, meanwhile, said they had not expected so many people to turn up and only deployed 1,000 personnel to manage the lakhs who turned up. While the compensation and financial support announced will help, it isn't the long-term solution India needs. The incident in Bengaluru was tragic, but the reality is that almost every well-attended Indian sporting event could so easily turn into a stampede. People (even if they are senior citizens) are made to walk long distances to the stadium because the parking lots are kilometres away, then they stand in line for hours and finally, enter through bottlenecks with police and private security ever-ready to use the omnipresent lathis. If that isn't enough to make you lose your cool, then comes the actual experience of the game itself. The view from the stands is poor, the toilets stink and the food often runs out. Some stadiums don't even offer the comfort of shade. That this happens in cricket, the most popular game in India, and one managed by the world's richest cricket board, suggests that it is likely the case in other sports as well. It's not that the tickets come cheap. In Bengaluru, the tickets during the IPL 2025 season went for anything between ₹2,300 and ₹42,000. At the top end, this is comparable to prices elsewhere in the world. But if stadium experiences were to be ranked, India would rank somewhere near the bottom. In Australia, by contrast, getting into a stadium means getting dropped by car right at the gate. There are so many volunteers around that help is never far away for the elderly, every stand has spots for the physically disabled and when it is too sunny, they hand out free sunscreen too. One would imagine Cricket Australia makes a lot more money than the BCCI, but it is not even close. To the Indian sports administrator, the fans are little more than cattle. Huddle them in, fill the stands, make them cheer the team and ignore their complaints. For even if they do, there are more than enough people waiting to take your place in the stands. While the number of fans is a boon for the sport, it is a curse for the fans themselves. The stampede must serve as a wake-up call for BCCI, which runs IPL as one of its subcommittees and earns millions of dollars from it. They must put in place protocols for any such celebration so as to ensure no human lives are lost in future. But it shouldn't end there. Addressing poor stadium conditions, improving ticket access, and fostering a more welcoming environment is important but showing empathy for the fans is a must. After all, who does the Indian team play for? Who does RCB (or any other team) play for? So many people turned up at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru because the messaging around the passes wasn't clear: It was done just a few hours before the event. Then, that is what people usually do for games: Turn up and there are usually a few passes or tickets to be had — for a price of course. Administrators argue that the fans don't know better but the fans could argue that neither do the administrators. The voice of the cricket fan on subjects like these is ignored. It is worrying that India now wants to hold mega events such as the Olympics. In November 2024, the Indian Olympic Association formally sent a Letter of Intent to the International Olympic Committee's Future Host Commission expressing India's interest in hosting the Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2036. The infrastructure will be built, the stadiums will shine and the athletes will compete for glory. But what about the fans? Who, other than the lathi-charging policemen, will cater to them? An estimated 11.2 million people visited the Greater Paris area during the Paris 2024 Olympics — by 2036, the count may be way higher. Does India have a plan in place to deal with this influx? Or will they all be treated like the fans in Bengaluru? The truth is, there is no quick fix for this problem and small but concrete steps will be needed to change things. It may take time but it'll be worth it. Major events are as much about the fans as they are about the athletes. The experience matters to everyone and unless a stern message is sent to the administrators, things won't improve. Being a fan shouldn't be a dangerous business but in India, it clearly is. If the fans want better, they need to make themselves heard in a way that cannot be ignored. Just imagine the message that empty stadiums will send. Treat fans better or play to the sound of silence. The views expressed are personal.
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First Post
21 minutes ago
- First Post
Rohit Sharma reveals how his father reacted to sudden Test retirement: 'He was a little disappointed…'
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First Post
22 minutes ago
- First Post
'Hope this doesn't stop players and fans': Michael Clarke counters Gautam Gambhir's call to avoid roadshows
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has reacted to the tragic Bengaluru stampede during RCB's IPL 2025 victory celebrations, saying fans should not be kept away from celebrations. His remarks are in contrast to Gautam Gambhir's call for avoiding roadshows. read more Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke has reacted to the tragic stampede incident in Bengaluru, which led to 11 deaths and many injuries. Clarke said that fans are the heart of every sport and they should not be kept away from celebrations. He was talking about the stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium after Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2025 victory celebrations. Clarke's comment comes a day after Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir criticised RCB's victory celebrations, saying that he was never in favour of roadshows. Speaking at the team's pre-departure press conference before leaving for England, Gambhir said the celebrations should have been held behind closed doors or inside a stadium, adding that the lives of people are far important. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Michael Clarke reacts to Bengaluru stampede However, Clarke has made a contrasting statement without naming Gambhir, as he believes that no team should be stopped from celebrating with their fans because they are the ones who make the sport worth playing. Speaking on his Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, he also mentioned how deeply Indian players, including Virat Kohli, care for their fans. 'Very true. I think the fans make every game and every competition. The fans in India are phenomenal. I love how every game is packed — even the players know what they're playing for. You listen to Virat and so many others; they love their team, and you want the fans to be a part of it. You want them to celebrate,' Clarke said. 'For RCB, it's devastating to see anybody get injured or, even worse, pass away. It's absolutely heartbreaking. Hopefully, we never see something like this again. I think players should be able to celebrate with fans. Even if it's just packing the stadium and letting the players do a lap of honour at their home ground — something like that. Whatever it is, I hope this doesn't stop players and fans from celebrating together, because the fans truly deserve it,' he added. He ended by sending his condolences to the families of the victims, who were injured or lost their lives in the tragic incident. 'But you never, ever want to see someone get hurt, injured, or worse. My thoughts are with all the families. It's devastating news,' said Clarke, who was part of the commentary team for IPL 2025 final between RCB and Punjab Kings. Who is to blame? Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has suspended the police commissioner and an FIR has been filed against RCB, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and DNA Entertainment, the company responsible for managing the event. The KSCA has shifted the blame to RCB and DNA Entertainment, saying that gate management was their responsibility and the state body only sought government permissions.