
Michael Vaughan Calls Ben Duckett 'Best All-Format Player' In The World, Gets Smashing Reminder
Former England captain Michael Vaughan was full of praise for Duckett, the current star who set the stage on fire against India in the first Test, with a century in the second innings. Duckett scored 62 and 149 in the two innings as England beat India by 5 wickets. Duckett undoubtedly became the match-winner for England, and how now been hailed as the 'best all format player in the world' at present. While Vaughan and many others feel Duckett is the best batter across formats at the moment, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra isn't quite on board.
Chopra, sharing his verdict on Duckett, highlighted that the England batter is yet to deliver runs in India, South Africa and England.
"I agree, among the current players, who are playing all three formats, he stands out. If you look at his stats over the last two years, he has been quite outstanding in all three formats. But there is a caveat," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"He hasn't gone to Australia to play Test cricket. He has just played three innings in South Africa. His performance was quite limited in India," he added.
While Chopra didn't deny the quality of performances that Duckett has produced over the last two years, he feels Travis Head is a player who has done more than the Englishman.
"Maybe Pakistan is good, but in other places, his performances haven't been that great. It is not a straightforward, done-and-dusted story. He has been good in all formats in the last two years. You need to look at Travis Head, he has also had a smashing last couple of years," said Chopra.
"He has a knack for standing up in big matches. Look at the 2023 WTC final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final. If you do man-to-man marking, the stats of both are the same. In my opinion, Travis Head is ahead of him slightly," he added.
Among Indian players, Chopra also heaped praise of Yashasvi Jaiswal who has become a certain pick for India in all three formats.
"Somebody like Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has the capability of playing all three formats, hasn't played ODIs. He hasn't gotten much of a chance in T20Is," said Chopra.
"As he plays all three formats, he is one player who can challenge the hegemony. For 'Bazball', there is 'Jaisball'," he added.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
36 minutes ago
- First Post
Praggnanandhaa's trainer reveals real reason behind his recent turnaround: 'Now he's also been adding...'
Indian GM R Praggnanandhaa has impressed in 2025 with his aggressive play and major title wins. His longtime coach RB Ramesh has revealed the secret behind the recent turnaround. Pragg recently won his third title of the year at UzChess Cup Masters. read more Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has impressed everyone with his strong performances in 2025. After winning three titles this year, including the recent UzChess Cup Masters, he is being lauded for his aggressive playing style. Praggnanandhaa's longtime coach RB Ramesh has revealed the reason behind this change. Speaking to The Indian Express, Ramesh said that Pragg was playing too safe in 2024 and that they had discussed bringing more adventure into his games. Ramesh also mentioned that Pragg has been working on new openings and trying different strategies, which has worked well for him so far. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Pragg is quite good in attack, but he was playing too solid in 2024. At least that was my impression. We discussed this and talked about being more adventurous, which you can see now. His chess was always quite good. Now he's also been adding new openings and trying a lot more variety of openings in games,' Ramesh told IE. Ramesh further revealed that there's another key person in Pragg's team, who is helping him with training. Ramesh said Grandmaster Vaibhav Suri has been working closely with Pragg for the past several months, but they had kept it private until recently when he started travelling with him for tournaments. 'Vaibhav has been helping us longer than this year. But we did not want to go public earlier (and reveal his association with Pragg). He has been with us for some time, but only recently he has started accompanying Pragg for tournaments and that has been very helpful,' he added. What's next for Praggnanandhaa? Praggnanandhaa recently joined Team Liquid ahead of the Esports World Cup 2025, strengthening the team's lineup that includes five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen and American GM Fabiano Caruana. However, to take part in the tournament, Pragg will need to earn his spot by competing in the Last Chance Qualifiers, where only four players will make it to the final EWC lineup. 12 players, including Carlsen, have already confirmed their spots for the event. Arjun Erigaisi of Generation Gaming is the only Indian to have qualified so far.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Watch: Shreyas Iyer clean bowled! Mother celebrates after taking sons wicket
Shreyas Iyer's mother Rohini Iyer got the latter's wicket while playing cricket at home (Image via Getty Images & X/@PunjabKingsIPL) Fans on social media recently got a look at a fun and wholesome moment from Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer 's personal life. In a video that has now gone viral, Iyer was seen playing cricket with his mother, Rohini Iyer, inside their house. What made the clip stand out was his mother's joyful celebration after she managed to bowl him out — a moment that delighted fans across social media. The video, shared by Punjab Kings on their official X handle, shows Iyer casually dressed in a white t-shirt and black shorts, playing barefoot with a plastic ball in their living room. The friendly game between mother and son took a hilarious turn when Rohini clean bowled the Indian star, and celebrated with sheer excitement — arms raised and a huge smile, like any proud cricketer. Punjab Kings captioned the post, 'Only time SARPANCH won't mind getting bowled! ♥️', referring to Iyer's nickname. Iyer, who recently represented SoBo Mumbai Falcons in the Mumbai T20 League after the IPL 2025 season, is currently on a break. Pictures of the cricketer in Kazakhstan had gone viral among fans earlier. The Indian Test team is in England for a five-match series, but Iyer was not picked for the squad, despite expectations that he might slot into the middle order following the Test retirements of senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Ryan ten Doeschate press conference: On Bumrah fitness, drops Big Playing XI hint, 2 spinners Iyer made his Test debut in 2021 against New Zealand and has played 14 matches so far, scoring 811 runs with one century and five fifties. The video gave fans a glimpse into Iyer's personal side — relaxed and enjoying family time during a break from the international grind. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Edgbaston Test, India's playing XI puzzle: Bumrah's uncertainty, Kuldeep-Washington face-off, NKR poised for comeback
Jasprit Bumrah (Photo by) in Birmingham: Two closed-door practice sessions meant there was no opportunity to see how the Indian cricket team worked on their fielding, specifically after the Leeds Test, where there were far too many drops that cost Shubman Gill and Co. dearly. With the gates opening on Monday and India resuming business after a rest day, all eyes were on what fielding coach T Dilip did with the unit. The usual ground fielding started the session, but it was the catching drill, and the unique start to it, that caught everyone's attention. Dilip placed a black cloth on a makeshift stand and fired catches from the little opening underneath it to test the fielders' reflexes. The slip-catching was next, and there was a tweak in the slip cordon, which also dropped major hints, later confirmed by assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, about the playing XI. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Karun Nair at first slip, KL Rahul at second slip, and Shubman Gill at third slip were the usual suspects, and there was a swap of sorts as Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy featured in the fourth slip and gully positions, while Yashasvi Jaiswal was asked to do drills for the short-leg and silly point positions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Alarme c/ Câmera Mais moderna do Mercado por até 40% Off Alarme Verisure Saiba Mais Undo Two things were clear with this arrangement: Nitish Kumar Reddy is in the playing XI mix, and extra attention on close-in catching means the spin department is set to be beefed up for the Edgbaston Test starting Wednesday. It has been very hot and dry for the last few days, and ten Doeschate confirmed at the presser that the wicket, which has some grass right now to hold the surface together, is very dry underneath. The Indian camp confirmed playing two spinners on this surface but didn't reveal which two out of Ravindra Jadeja , Washington Sundar , and Kuldeep Yadav will feature in the playing XI. "There is a very strong chance of playing two spinners. It's just which two we play. And that goes back to the previous question about juggling the batting depth. All three spinners are bowling very nicely. Washi (Sundar) is batting very nicely. So it's just which combination we go with. All-rounder spinner or the out-and-out spinner. Then obviously you have to play the bowling all-rounder again. So there are so many different variables. The wicket's got 11 mls (grass) on at the moment. Poll Should Jasprit Bumrah be rested for the Edgbaston Test? Yes, to manage workload No, he should play "11 or 12, I can't remember which of the two. But it's quite grassy and patchy. It's quite dry underneath. But there's also rain forecast for Wednesday. So again, trying to weigh up the two options of how we want to go attacking-wise. But I'm pretty sure two spinners will play," says ten Doeschate. The suspense around Jasprit Bumrah continues, and while he is "ready to play," the management will take the call at the very last moment. There is a possibility of him sitting out this fixture to manage his workload for the remainder of the series, and the remaining pieces of the playing XI puzzle will only fall in place when the think tank gets absolute clarity on Bumrah and then decides on the balancing act between 20 wickets and batting depth. If Bumrah doesn't play, the primary focus has to be putting a bowling attack in place which can pick 20 wickets for you. Both head coach Gambhir and captain Gill have emphasised that, and now is the time to walk the talk. There are options in Nitish and Sundar to beef up your batting, but if Bumrah doesn't play, India must find a way for Kuldeep Yadav in the starting XI. Edgbaston Preview | Yashasvi Jaiswal faces the brunt, exits slip cordon If not in dry and hot Birmingham, then when? Leeds was definitely a missed opportunity because there was a lot of rough to be exploited, and Kuldeep is one bowler who can be the X-factor in Bumrah's absence. It may come at the cost of runs, as Reddy or Sundar can contribute with the bat, but if the emphasis is on picking wickets, which India struggled to do on Day 5 in Leeds, then Kuldeep becomes a no-brainer. The fine balancing act needs to be played with perfection, as India have often looked the all-rounder's way in the past, and the trend could force them to look at Reddy or Sundar again. It gives them the depth which they have often desired but puts a lot of pressure on the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep—likely to be the three quicks if Bumrah doesn't play—to do the job. Bumrah & Gambhir in Deep Chat at Edgbaston Nets | Tactical Talks Before 2nd Test? Sundar, if preferred over Kuldeep, can give you control and even run through oppositions if the wicket offers purchase, but what if it doesn't? What if it continues to be true and flat? That is where India will miss Kuldeep, like they did in Leeds. And it's for situations like those that India need to start taking the bold call of playing the wrist spinner. Because if not now, then when? Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.