
"Even If You Are Test Captain...": Ex-India Star's Big Verdict On Shubman Gill
The former opener, who has transitioned into commentary and analysis, also reflected on 'The Great Indian Cricket Show'.
"I have played this sport a little bit, I claim to follow the sport religiously, even for me it is a bit of an eye-opener from time to time when you hear it from someone like Anil Kumble's mouth. I have shared the dressing room with him, the commentary box with him now, there are certain stories, and you say 'oh wow, this also happened, and I was there and I did not know.' So, the attempt is to go in that direction, talk about stories that have inspired a generation, but now go a little deeper, delve a little deeper," Chopra said.
He added, "That is the idea which should cover all aspects, all spheres, whether it's the anecdotal part, whether that's the individual part, whether that's the event-specific part, whether we go into controversies. Indian cricket may have gone into turbulent times, but the attempt is to cover everything that is under the sun as far as Indian cricket is concerned."

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First Post
24 minutes ago
- First Post
Ex-Pakistan pacer urges Babar, Rizwan to follow Kohli's example after Asia Cup snub: 'Consider retiring…'
Batting stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were overlooked by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for next month's Asia Cup in the UAE, with fellow seniors such as Shaheen Afridi and Fakhar Zaman getting included, and former pacer Tanveer Ahmed offered the duo a radical solution. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have been overlooked for the upcoming Asia Cup despite being Pakistan's leading run-scorers in the T20I format. PTI Pakistan batting stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been advised to follow Virat Kohli's footsteps and announce their retirement after getting overlooked by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE. The only difference is that while Kohli remains active in One-Day Internationals, ex-Pakistan pacer Tanveer Ahmed has advised Babar and Rizwan to retire from international cricket altogether in order to preserve their 'respect', his comment causing quite the stir on social media. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Unlike Babar and Rizwan, senior pacer Shaheen Afridi has been included along with senior pacers Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali as well as veteran opener Fakhar Zaman in the 17-man squad led by Salman Agha. 'Meri Babar Azam aur Rizwan say request hai ager ap log yeh samajhtey hain ap logon ke izzat nahi ha tou retirement ley lo international cricket say humarey samne virat kohli ke examples hain. @babarazam258, @iMRizwanPak izzat apney hath main ha (My request to Babar Azam and Rizwan is that if you feel your respect is not intact, then consider retiring from international cricket. We have examples of Virat Kohli in front of us. Babar and Rizwan, respect is in your hands),' Tanveer tweeted. How Babar and Rizwan fell out of favour in the shortest format Babar and Rizwan had starred in Pakistan's historic victory over India in Dubai, where the arch-rivals will square off on 14 September, in the 2021 T20 World Cup. It was the first time Pakistan had ever defeat India in a World Cup match – either ODI or T20. The duo had also played a key role in guiding the Men in Green to the T20 World Cup final the very next year, with Pakistan falling short in the final hurdle against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Their T20 stocks, however, nosedived after Pakistan's dismal campaign in last year's T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean, where they crashed out in the first round following defeats against co-hosts USA as well as India. Kohli had retired from T20Is along with Rohit Sharma after the two superstars propelled India to victory in last year's T20 World Cup. The two would also announce their retirement from the Test format within a week of one another in May, nearly half-a-year after a their underwhelming run in the five-match Test series against Australia Down Under. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Rohit's retirement was largely along expected lines, it's was Kohli's Test retirement that took the cricketing world by surprise, leading to an outpouring of tributes.


News18
an hour ago
- News18
Grateful for the journey and support: Rishabh Pant remembers Test debut
New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant marked the anniversary of his Test debut on Sunday. Pant, who made his debut on August 18, 2018, had received his maiden Test cap from then India captain Virat mark the occasion, Pant reshared on his Instagram story a post originally uploaded in 2018, where he was seen receiving the cap from Kohli.'Special day. Grateful for the journey and Support," he wrote. On August 18, 2018, 10 years after a Delhi-born right-hander Virat Kohli's generation-defining entry to international cricket, another Delhi youngster, Rishabh Pant, stepped up to fulfil the heavy shoes of legendary MS Dhoni as India's premier wicketkeeper-batter and a massive some promising outings in white-ball cricket since his debut in 2017, Pant was handed his debut Test cap during the Test against England at Nottingham. His first scoring shot was a six against Adil Rashid, and it served as the sign of a thrilling ride that was about to his Test debut till now, Pant has entertained Indian fans, saved his team with several counter-attacking knocks, while also frustrating in equal measures with his audacity, which often comes across as 'stupidity' or 'recklessness' to a Test cricket purists accustomed to the traditional defensive, ugly and patient form of red-ball his debut, Pant has played 47 Tests for India, scoring 3,427 runs in 82 innings at an average of 44.50, with a strike rate of 74.16. He has made eight centuries and 18 fifties, with the best score of 159*.The rising 'SENA'pati for India, Pant is Asia's most successful wicketkeeper-batter in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA) nations. In 30 SENA Tests, he has 2,160 runs at an average of 41.53, with six centuries and eight fifties, outdoing all his Asian counterparts in runs and centuries in these tough two of Pant's eight centuries have come at home conditions, having scored four of them in England and one each in South Africa and Australia against some of the scariest bowling attacks in the is also the Indian wicketkeeper-batter with the most Test tons (eight), having surpassed MS Dhoni during the recently concluded tour of the Leeds Test, the 27-year-old swashbuckler was the second designated wicketkeeper batter with a glorious feat of twin centuries to his name, after Andy Flower, who achieved the feat against South Africa in Harare in 2001 with scores of 142 and 199*. Becoming the first Indian to do so was indeed special for the youngster as it marked a shift in their collective brand of cricket.A remarkable six-hitter, Pant matched legendary Virender Sehwag (90 sixes) in six-count after the end of the English summer, with 73 of these sixes coming in the WTC itself. He is the second-best six-hitter in competition's history, with England skipper Ben Stokes (86) at the top ICC World Test Championship run-getter: He ended the English summer with 2,731 runs in ICC WTC history, above ex-skipper Rohit Sharma's (2,716 runs) at an average of 43.34 and a strike rate of 74.25, with six centuries and 16 fifties. He is the 11th-highest run-getter in the competition's history. (ANI)


News18
an hour ago
- News18
Marquez battles past Bezzecchi to end Red Bull Ring winless streak
Spielberg [Austria], August 18 (ANI): The Red Bull Ring jinx is over for Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) as for the sixth time on the spin, the runaway MotoGP title race leader clinched maximum points. His path to BWIN Grand Prix of Austria victory wasn't a simple one though as eventual third place finisher Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) led for large parts before rookie star Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), the Sunday silver medallist, mounted pressure on Marquez in the closing stages. However, neither were able to stop the #93 winning MotoGP's 1000th race, as per a media fluffed the start in the Sprint, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) nailed it to flirt with claiming the holeshot from polesitter Bezzecchi, but it was the latter who held onto P1. It was red vs red on the opening lap as Marc Marquez chucked it up the inside of Pecco and Turn 3 from deep, but Pecco was able to hold onto P2 on the run down into Turn 4.A lap later, Marc Marquez made that Turn 3 effort stick to move past his teammate into P2, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) making Alex Marquez's life difficult after the KTM star got a great launch from the third row. Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) then grabbed P5 from Acosta before the Italian ran wide at Turn 1, as Alex Marquez took his Long Lap penalty a lap later that saw him drop to the front, Bezzecchi set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix on Lap 4 to hold Marc Marquez 0.6s behind him, while Pecco defended P3 from Acosta. That lead was being chipped away at by Marquez though and at the start of Lap 8, it was 0.2s between Bezzecchi and Marquez, with Pecco 1.1s behind in P3.A few laps down the line saw Marquez drop to 0.9s behind Bezzecchi in what was now the biggest gap between the pair for pretty much the entire Grand Prix. Was the #93 just cooling his front tyre, or was this Bezzecchi demonstrating superior pace? Meanwhile, Bezzecchi's teammate Jorge Martin saw his Grand Prix end after Aprilia Racing's #1 crashed at Turn 7 on Lap Lap 18 of 28, the gap was back down to 0.2s as Marquez reeled in Bezzecchi. And in the battle for P3, Acosta put an aggressive move on Pecco at the penultimate corner on the same lap to move into P3, and it's a move that cost the Italian two places as Aldeguer followed Acosta the blue touch paper was lit in the battle between Bezzecchi and Marquez. Turn 3 saw Marquez throw it up the inside and down the hill into Turn 4, Marquez led. Bezzecchi counterattacked at Turn 6 to retake the lead, before Marquez parked his Ducati on the inside of Bezzecchi at Turn 1 on Lap 20 to snatch the race lead was a rider on the move. The rookie shoved his way past Acosta at Turn 2B and his pace was unbelievable. Aldeguer was the fastest rider on track and on Lap 22 of 28, the #54 was 1.7s behind Marquez and 1.1s away from soon became 1.1s away from Marquez and 0.5s off Bezzecchi. Aldeguer set a 1:30.120 on Lap 22, over half a second quicker than the top two – and it was the same on the next lap. And on Lap 24, Aldeguer was P2 at Turn 3 to now act as Marquez's main threat for to go. Aldeguer was 0.9s away from Marquez and after passing Bezzecchi, two tenths were taken out of Marquez's lead. Two more tenths were taken on the next lap, so it was now 0.7s between the Spaniards at the front with three to steadied the ship with two to go though. His lead was up to 0.9s and now, it was only a mistake that would cost him another victory as Aldeguer just ran out of steam. And heading onto the final lap, the buffer remained at mistakes were made on the run to the chequered flag as Marquez won the 1000th MotoGP race, and grabbed a 25-point haul for the first time at the Red Bull Ring. Double wins in the last six Grands Prix, and that seventh MotoGP title creeps closer. Aldeguer was superb to push Marquez in the latter stages, and Bezzecchi's weekend was another to remember as the Italian's strong form continues – that's back-to-back podiums for the first time since 2023 for led the KTM charge on home turf in P4 and 1.8s behind was another KTM in the form of Bastianini. No podium, but a double top five signals a good day at the office for the Austrian manufacturer. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) battled his way to a positive P6, while Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came home in P7 after he was embroiled in some intense fights. Eighth went the way of a disappointed Bagnaia, who lost ground in the latter Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) held off Alex Marquez for P9, with the latter unable to recover from his Long Lap penalty. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) pocketed P11 ahead of Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR), Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and first of the Yamahas, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – the Frenchman taking the final point in a weekend to forget for the Iwata not a weekend to forget for Marc Marquez and Ducati though. Not many have been in 2025 as the six-time MotoGP World Champion heads to Hungary boasting a whopping 142-point lead in the standings. (ANI)