New captain, bigger challenge for India
That being said, there is no question that he will be leading India in multiple formats down the line. The question here is whether he is ready to take up the job, which will put him at the front and centre of Indian cricket. There will be expectation to stamp his authority as a match-winner with the bat too. Only time, and Gill, can tell. If he gets the job, Gill, in his very first assignment, will be up against Bazballing England in their own backyard. It will be a challenge, to not just score runs, but also make sure India have the XI and tactics to take 20 wickets every game.
That will be the other key talking points in the meeting on Saturday. Is Mohammed Shami fully fit to deliver prolonged spells? Will Karun Nair and B Sai Sudharsan walk into the playing XI — they are likely to make it to the squad especially after Rohit Sharma and Kohli's retirement. What will the pace attack, which is likely to feature Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna for starters, look like? Who will bat at the coveted No 4 position — one that has provided stability for Indian cricket over three decades from the time Sachin Tendulkar walked out in the spot against Australia in 1992?
For now, some of the questions at least will be answered when Agarkar addresses the media on Saturday afternoon. No matter what decisions they take, who they appoint, the next couple of years could be have its share of ups and downs for Indian cricket, especially in the longest format. For the team would be in transition and the new captain, and the next-gen stars, will face a challenge, not just in winning matches but also taking the legacy of Indian cricket forward. Which is why, the decisions made tomorrow will define how the next decade goes for Indian cricket.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Sinquefield Cup: Gukesh held by Sevian, Praggnanandhaa draws with Abdusattorov
World champion D Gukesh was held to a draw by the lone wild card Samuel Sevian of United States, while fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa also split the point with Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the third round of the Sinquefield Cup here. With his second draw in as many days, Praggnanadhaa remained in the leading group of three players that now include Fabiano Caruana of United States besides the overnight co-leader Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian. Caruana handed Alireza Firouzja of France his first loss in the tournament in the lone decisive game of the day. Aronian was held to a draw by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, while another American Wesley So split the point with Duda Jan-Kryzsztof of Poland. With six rounds still to come in the $3,75,000 prize money tournament, Praggnanadhaa, Aronian and Caruana share the lead on two points each and they are now followed by Wesley, Firouzja, Vachier-Lagrave, Sevian and Gukesh -- who all stand a half point behind. Duda is next in line on one point, while Abdusattorov opened his account to be on a half point from his first three outings here. For Gukesh, first draw in the tournament was rather easy with black pieces. Samuel Sevian tried his hands at the Rosslimo variation against the Sicilian defense but Gukesh was always in control. The middle game arrived and passed smoothly as both players exchanged pieces at regular intervals leading to a drawn endgame. Praggnanandhaa played his first black after two white games and chose the Nimzo-Indian defence wherein Abdusattorov, struggling to find his form, could not get much. The players reached an opposite coloured Bishops endgame where the draw was a just result. It could have been an uneventful day but for Caruana who played a fine positional game to outwit Firouzja. The Fianchetto variation against the Nimzo gave Caruana a spatial advantage as his pieces stood better in the middle game and after a fine grind the American pushed his central passed pawn to the seventh rank for the desired effect. With the top four places in the Grand chess tour at stake for the grand finale later this year, Caruana seemed pleased with his victory. The American observed that Vachier-Lagrave has almost qualified and the rest of the bunch is fighting for the last spots. Results round 3: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 0.5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2) Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 2) beat Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 1.5); Duda Jan Kryzstof (Pol, 1) drew with Wesley So (Usa, 1.5); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 1.5) drew with Levon Aronian (Usa, 1.5) Samuel Sevian (Usa, 1.5) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 1.5).
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
2 hours ago
- First Post
She Shakti 2025: Footballer Ashalata Devi, F4 racer Mira Erda open up on hurdles faced by Indian women in sport, equal pay and more
In a conversation with Firstpost Sports Editor Rupha Ramani on She Shakti 2025, football star Loitongbam Ashalata Devi and Formula 4 racer Mira Erda shared their journeys into professional sport, discuss pay gap between male and female athletes and more. Indian football star Loitongbam Ashalata Devi and Formula 4 racer Mira Erda opened up breaking barriers in sport traditionally viewed as male bastions in an inspiring chat with Firstpost Sports Editor Rupha Ramani on She Shakti 2025, where the spotlight is on women leading from the frontlines. Both Ashalata and Mira have been trailblazers in their own fields; while the former became the first Indian woman footballer to complete 100 international appearances recently, Mira holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to bag a podium in Formula 4. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And at She Shakti, the two shared their contrasting journeys into taking up sport professionally. Ashalata, for instance, became a key member of the Blue Tigresses despite the hostility that she faced during her childhood. More from Football 'I don't remember too many women footballers in action when I started playing the game. My parents did not support me back then, maybe because there was no awareness on women playing football. I would receive a beating for playing football as it was seen as a sport for boys, and not girls,' Ashalata said. 'It was quite difficult back then, but it was when I got the opportunity to represent India at the U-17 level that my parents finally began to support me. They have been quite supportive since then, urging me to not give up every time I got injured. It was quite difficult back then, but we've come a long way since then with greater awareness among parents as far as women's sport is concerned,' she added. 'Still a struggle for a lot of people to consider motorsport and women together': Mira Mira, on the other hand, revealed that while her father was quite supportive of her not only exhibiting an interest in motorsport but taking it up professionally, she revealed that it was her competitiveness with her brothers than inspired her to get behind the wheel and accelerate her journey towards becoming a racer. 'I was nine when I started racing professionally, but before that, anything with speed – I'm happy, I'm up for it. My dad used to take me on long drives, and I used to enjoy that. And when my dad started a go-karting track in Vadodara where we are based out of, I used to look at my brothers drive, and no – I'm very competitive when that happens. I don't want to let them enjoy, I want to enjoy too. The first time I ever sat in a go-kart, I hit the tyre barriers,' Mira said at the event. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Only the fact that they were enjoying, and I enjoyed speed, I was like, 'I am going to get over that fear, and get back into it.' She (Ashalata) said that her parents were not supportive, but over here, it was totally opposite for me. My dad was the one who pushed me into it and he's seen that there's a spark in me, and I am lucky to have parents who have supported me into such an unconventional sport because back in 2010, nobody could relate motorsport and women together. 'Even now, it's still a struggle for a lot of people to consider both of them together. But over the years, I've been lucky enough to see the change and be a part of the change where now if we wear the helmet, nobody knows if it's a girl or a boy. And then it's all about who works hard and who drives the best out there,' she added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ashalata, who is part of the Indian women's side that after a clinical qualifying campaign in Thailand, used the occasion to raise awareness on the disparity of pay between male and female footballers in India. The Indian women's football team qualified for the AFC Asian Cup on merit for the first time ever after a clinical qualifying campaign in Thailand. AIFF 'Not only do women get less opportunities compared to men, on top of that we keep fighting for equal pay. Female footballers earn a meagre five per cent of the salaries of male footballers. It's very difficult for us, and makes us think that we're not professional footballers in the first place. 'Equal pay will help give women footballers a sense of belonging in professional sport. And if there's no job security and decent pay after working so hard and achieving so much, then parents understandably will be apprehensive about their daughters taking up sport as a career. Equal opportunity and pay thus are important,' Ashalata added. Watch the full episode here:
Deccan Herald
2 hours ago
- Deccan Herald
Manikanta sprints to silver
Karnataka opened their account in the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships with three medals on the opening day at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. Karnataka's leading sprinter Manikanta Hoblidar clocked 10.35 seconds in the men's 100m dash to clinch the silver medal behind Tamil Nadu's Tamil Arasu (10.22), who smashed the national meet record. None, however, could make the cut-off mark of 10.00 set for the qualification for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo next month. The five-day domestic event is the last chance for Indian athletes to qualify for the Worlds, whose cut-off date is August 24. The women's sprint saw Karnataka's Sneha SS claim the bronze medal with a timing of 11.61s behind the Tamil Nadu duo of S Dhanalakshmi (11.36) and Abinaya R (11.58). Earlier, another state girl, Dhaneshwari T, couldn't go beyond the semifinal heat as she clocked 11.96. The cut-off mark for Worlds for the event was set at 11.07. In the men's 10000m, Shivaji Parashu Madappagoudra opened the state's account early in the day as he won the silver medal behind UP's Abhishek (30:56.64). Competing in the event for the first time, the 2023 Asian U-20 Championships silver medallist clocked a 30:57.69. The effort, however, was well short of the qualification mark of 27:00.00. In the women's 400m, veteran MR Poovamma clocked 54.52 seconds in the semifinal heat and qualified for the final, while Continental Tour gold medallist GK Vijayakumari pulled out of the race due to a heel injury sustained during practice. Seema posts NMR Meanwhile, Seema posted the new meet record in the women's 5000m with a timing of 15:42.64 to clinch the gold medal. The timing was short of the direct qualifying mark of 14:50.00. However, an alternate route of qualification is through the world ranking quota, which takes into account the three best performances of the season. With 42 berths to fill in total for the event, Seema's latest race was her third best timing of the season and is expected to improve her rankings. At the time of writing this report, the World Rankings were yet to be updated. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu's Reegan G set a new meet record in the men's pole vault with an attempt of 5.20m, obliterating S Siva's 5.11 from 2023. His state-mate M Gowtham also matched the effort to take silver. Results: Men: 100m: Tamil Arasu (TN) 10.22s (NMR; Old: 10.27s, Gurindrvir Singh), 1; Manikanta Hoblidar (Kar) 10.35, 2; Ragul Kumar (TN) 10.40, 3. 10000m: Abhishek (UP) 30:56.64, 1; Shivaji Parashu (Kar) 30:57.69, 2; Shivam (UP) 30:59.14, 3. Pole vault: Reegan G (TN) 5.20m (NMR; Old: 5.11, S Siva, 2023) 1; M Gowtham (TN) 5.20, 2; Kamal Loganathan (TN) 5.00, 3. Women: 100m: S Dhanalakshmi (TN) 11.36s, 1; Abinaya R (TN) 11.58, SS Sneha (Kar) 11.61, 3. 5000m: Seema (HP) 15:42.64 (NMR; Old: 15:46.92, Suriya Guntur, 2017) 1; Ravina Gayakwad (Mah) 16:53.24, Sanghamitra Mahata (Jha) 18:04.36, 3. Triple jump: Sandra Babu (Ker) 13.20m, 1; Aleena Saji (Ker) 13.15, 2; Niharika Vashisht (Pun) 13.09, 3.
