logo
Akash Deep reveals priceless advice from Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni

Akash Deep reveals priceless advice from Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni

India Today2 days ago
Akash Deep, the Indian fast bowler, revealed that MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli gave him invaluable advice, encouraging him to put in hard work and keep believing in himself to succeed. The 28-year-old impressed greatly during the 2025 Test series against England, taking 13 wickets across three matches.In the second Test at Edgbaston, Deep made history by becoming just the second Indian bowler after Chetan Sharma in 1986 to take 10 wickets in a Test match in England. He claimed four wickets in the first innings and six in the second, ending with remarkable match figures of 10 for 187.advertisementIn an interview with Aaj Tak, Deep said, 'Virat always says that if you have doubts about something, practice it so much that you never have any questions. Dhoni also says that practice is what gives you confidence. Cricket is a game of confidence, and you will only have belief if you work hard.''Scoring wasn't easy against old ball'
Deep also spoke on The Oval Test, explaining why India opted against taking the second new ball. He said that the older ball was still generating significant movement and hence, India persisted with it. He noted that the wicket had become flat, making scoring challenging, and the team aimed to capitalise on the existing swing to take wickets.'The final match was very important. We were 2-1 down, so we had to stay fully focused. There was a point when the wicket offered no help, and we thought we might lose. But then the ball started moving, and with the crowd's support, we believed we could win,' Deep said.'Big legends with so much experience were in the dressing room. Since the ball was moving a lot and it was an old ball, scoring wasn't easy because the ball didn't race off the bat. Our plan was to try and take wickets using that movement. If that didn't work, we would have gone for the new ball,' Deep added.On the fifth day of the final Test at The Oval, India secured a dramatic six-run win against England, levelling the series at 2-2. England, chasing 374, were 347 for six before collapsing to 367 all out within an hour.Mohammed Siraj starred with five wickets, including the decisive yorker that took Gus Atkinson's wicket, while Prasidh Krishna provided vital support with key wickets.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Aldrin, Shaili struggles weigh on India's long jump
Aldrin, Shaili struggles weigh on India's long jump

Hindustan Times

timean hour ago

  • Hindustan Times

Aldrin, Shaili struggles weigh on India's long jump

New Delhi: Murali Sreeshankar's 8.13m winning effort at Sunday's World Athletics Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneswar continues his steady comeback after a year out due to injury, but Indian long jump otherwise seemed to have tapered off. Murali Sreeshankar won with a 8.13m effort at Sunday's World Athletics Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneswar. (IIS) Sreeshankar's final jump that ensured victory, although still 14 cm shy of automatic qualification for next month's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, was among the positives from India staging a meet of this stature. The men's javelin competition taking place around the same time at the Kalinga Stadium on a hot and humid evening saw a bunch of Indian throwers perform at a promising level, perhaps a reflection of the Neeraj Chopra effect. It didn't seem the case in long jump. While Sreeshankar was straining to win the event from 21-year-old Shahnavaz Khan – his 8.04m was the best till the 26-year-old bettered it in his final attempt – young national record holder Jeswin Aldrin had hobbled off without a jump, citing a left ankle niggle. At 23, Aldrin, whose national mark of 8.42m was set in 2023, should be touching his prime. However, the Reliance trainee has been grappling with a series of injuries instead. His best this season is 7.83m, at the federation championships in Kochi in April. It wasn't very promising in women's long jump either. Shaili Singh, the Anju Bobby George academy product who is trained by her husband Bobby George, only managed a modest 6.28m. The 21-year-old former junior world silver medallist has a best of 6.76m and touched 6.64m at the April federation championships, but she also said an ankle problem in her take-off leg hampered her. When Sreeshankar was ruled out of the 2024 Paris Olympics with injury, Aldrin was expected to provide a good impression of Indian long jump's progress. But he was eliminated after a best of 7.61m in qualification. The last time Aldrin hit 8 metres was in August 2023. He has also struggled with his left knee that he injured during the Budapest World Championships that year. In 16 competitions since, his best is 7.99m. James Hillier, athletics director at Reliance High Performance Centre, said: 'Jeswin is a tremendous talent but unfortunately he is struggling a little with his body. He'll be back stronger next season.' Last year, only one Indian, Aditya Kumar Singh of Uttar Pradesh, crossed 8m. Shaili's stagnation is surprising. Seen as the one likely to surpass Anju's national mark of 6.83m – it was set in 2004 – since her success as a junior, she finished fifth in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games (6.48m). In Bhubaneswar, Shaili managed only two legal jumps, though her 6.28m was good to win from a depleted field. Ancy Sojan, the Hangzhou silver medallist, pulled out citing a muscle strain in her take-off leg. Since May 2023, Shaili has crossed 6.60m only twice and her chance of qualifying for Tokyo looks dim. The entry standard is 6.86m while Shaili's Road to Tokyo ranking is 61 where only the top 36 qualify. Shaili said: 'I am not too disappointed with the result considering that I was competing with a niggle in the take-off ankle. I'll end my season at the Inter State in Chennai (August 20-24) and take time off for rest and recovery.' Perhaps Aldrin and Shaili will benefit from proper recovery and rehabilitation. Shahnavaz though holds some promise. Sreeshankar's younger training partner at SAI Thiruvananthapuram had a second best effort of 7.88m. 'He is a great kid and an amazing talent to watch out for,' Sreeshankar said. 'Even if I had lost to Shahnavaz, I would have been alright because he is a very good talent.' Bihar's 24-year-old Sunny Kumar is also seen as having potential. He disappointed on Sunday – he was 10th with a best of 7.25m – although Kumar jumped a personal best of 7.90m at the Indian Open in Bengaluru in June. Sreeshankar, Shahnavaz and Kumar are all expected to take part in the Chennai Inter State meet.

Kujur, Sreeshankar, Annu shine
Kujur, Sreeshankar, Annu shine

Deccan Herald

time3 hours ago

  • Deccan Herald

Kujur, Sreeshankar, Annu shine

Star sprinter Animesh Kujur, veteran javelin thrower Annu Rani, and long jump ace Murali Sreeshankar lived up to expectations by winning their respective events at India's maiden World Athletics Continental Tour competition here on Sunday. The bronze level event went off smoothly but the quality of competitions did not rise to any great heights. There was drama in store for Kujur. The 22-year-old pulled up after a few paces in his men's 100m heat race in the morning. He then came out to run his 200m heat half an hour later and qualified for the final with a time of 20.99 seconds. In the evening, he ran 20.77 seconds in the 200m final to win the gold. Ko Seunghwan of Korea (20.95 seconds) and Indian Ragul Kumar (21.17 seconds) were second and third respectively. Kujur, representing Odisha, holds national records in both 100m (10.18 seconds) and 200m (20.32 seconds). Sreeshankar, representing JSW, was up against rising teenager Shahnavaz Khan, who won gold in the Uttarakhand National Games in February. The 17-year-old Khan was leading with his fourth round jump of 8.04m, while Sreeshankar was second with 7.95m. But the 26-year-old produced 8.13m in his final attempt to take the gold in dramatic fashion for his fourth title in a row since coming back from a long injury lay-off. He is, however, yet to breach the Tokyo World Championships direct entry mark of 8.27m. In women's javelin, Asian Games champion Annu Rani bagged the gold with a fourth round throw of 62.01m, thereby strengthening her chances of making it to the Tokyo World Championships in September. The men's javelin event disappointed the crowd at the Kalinga Stadium as the Indian participants barely crossed the 80m mark. India's 20-year-old Shivam Lohakare, the latest entrant in the 80m club at the Indian Open Athletics Meet in Pune last month with 80.95m, took the silver with 80.73m.

Frank chat between Ramesh and Pragg leads to transformation
Frank chat between Ramesh and Pragg leads to transformation

New Indian Express

time3 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

Frank chat between Ramesh and Pragg leads to transformation

CHENNAI: AROUND the time when D Gukesh was crowned as the world champion, RB Ramesh and R Praggnanadhaa had a very frank conversation. The interaction between teacher and student didn't focus on Gukesh's title but the spotlight was on the wider developments within Indian chess. "There were things we discussed at the end of last year," Ramesh told select media during the fifth round of the Chennai Grand Masters on Monday. "Does it have a negative impact on you? Because Gukesh, rating wise, he went up. Pragg was 2740 in January. In December also he was 2740. He had had some ups and downs. 'So do others' performances have an impact on you?' These were some of the issues we discussed." The irony wasn't lost on India's very wide chess community as well. In August 2023, Praggnanandhaa had qualified for the Candidates after advancing to the final of the World Cup. Four months later, Gukesh joined him in the 11th hour. Yet, it was Gukesh who topped the Candidates. Erigaisi, the oldest among the trio, meanwhile went on a rampage and saw his ratings jump by 60 points. Because Ramesh has worked with Praggnanandhaa for a long time, he knew he would get a frank response. "Otherwise, what's the point in having the conversation," Ramesh said. "If you want to hide things, I won't even be asking these questions. If my student is not going to be frank with me, I won't be working with them. And I'm not going to be honest with my students, they should not be working with me. There should be some trust between the trainer and the player." So the duo addressed the 19-year-old's mental state (something they have always spoken about).

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store