Mohammed Siraj has matured into a genuine match-winner for India: Moeen Ali
Siraj was named Player of the Match for his nine wickets across both innings - including a five-wicket haul in the first - and his late burst of brilliance under pressure. His performance also saw him jump 12 places in the latest ICC Test rankings to a career-best 15th position, surpassing his previous high of 16th set in January last year."What impresses me most is his ability to control the ball," Moeen added. "He's got a big heart and never backs down - that's what makes him so special. Credit to him for the impact he's making."The 30-year-old from Hyderabad was the only Indian fast bowler to feature in all five Tests of the England series, emerging as the highest wicket-taker with 23 scalps. His fitness, endurance and ability to deliver key spells in pressure moments underlined his transformation from a promising pacer into a reliable leader of India's bowling attack.Moeen, who has retired from international cricket, currently resides in Dubai and continues to pursue cricket in franchise leagues. He recently turned out for the England Champions side in the World Champions of Legends tournament and is expected to participate in an upcoming T20 event.- EndsYou May Also Like
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Hindustan Times
25 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Akash Deep certainly needs a sanction from ICC': Ben Duckett's coach on India pacer's send-off at The Oval
There were many fiesty moments during the India vs England Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Two evenly matched teams gave it their all for five Test matches and sparks often followed. Shubman Gill's exchange with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett on Day 3 at Lord's was definitely a defining a moment in the Test series, then came England Ben captain Ben Stokes' handshake saga at Old Trafford, which was rejected by India batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. When the fans thought they had seen it all, India pacer Akash Deep wrapped his arms around Ben Duckett after dismissing the England opener in the first innings of the fifth Test at The Oval. England's Ben Duckett and India's Akash Deep(Action Images via Reuters) While Akash Deep's gesture was nowhere near being aggressive, pundits believed it could have easily been avoided as no batter would like the arm of a bowler who had just dismissed him. Legends like Ricky Ponting, who said he probably would have punched Akash Deep if he were in Duckett's place, lauded the England batter for keeping his calm and handling the situation well. Days after the Test match went in India's favour in one of the best finishes in recent times, Duckett's childhood coach James Knott said Akash Deep should have been sanctioned by the ICC to prevent this from being repeated by youngsters. "It was part of a competitive series but certainly needs a sanction to discourage youngsters. At the same time, it doesn't bother me personally," Knott told the "Often people say that he is maybe too laid back, but Duckett is very competitive when he is out in the middle, as you saw during the recent Test series. Shubman Gill told me he enjoyed the challenge when Duckett was at the crease." There is a backstory to it. Akash Deep had dismissed Duckett thrice in Test cricket and the left-hander, for the first time, took an upper hand against the Indian quick at The Oval. He reverse-slapped him for a six and charged down the track many times to hit Akash Deep for a four. In between, Duckett also promised Akash Deep that he won't get out to him this time around. When it looked like, Akash Deep had no answer to Duckett's onslaught, the left-hander attempted another reverse sweep and ended up getting an outside edge to the keeper. The dismissal against the run of play provided India with big relief, and as Duckett was walking back, Akash Deep decided to have a friendly word with his arm around his shoulder. Interestingly, the two shared a similar moment when Akash Deep came out to bat in India's second innings. Duckett scored 462 runs at an average of 51.33 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. His coach said Duckett is a hard man to bowl at as he can access both sides of the wicket. "He is short, left-handed, scores square of the wicket, sweeps both sides in multiple areas. In that sense, Duckett is not only a hard man to bowl at but very different to a lot of other players out there. Think of Gill, for example, who is a much more orthodox player," stated Knott. "When I first saw Duckett, he already had the reverse sweep and the switch hit but we added the orthodox sweep. He was always one of the smallest for his age but just hit the ball harder than most of them. The biggest thing he learnt during under-14 or under-15 level cricket was that he doesn't necessarily have the power to clear the boundary. So he had to learn to keep the ball down, which he still does," added the English cricketer's coach.
NDTV
25 minutes ago
- NDTV
'KKR Should Be Desperate...': Big Verdict On Sanju Samson's IPL Future
Sanju Samson's long-standing association with the Rajasthan Royals could be nearing its end. After a mixed 2025 IPL season, reports have emerged that the Kerala batter has formally expressed his desire to leave the franchise, stirring up the transfer market ahead of the mega auction. According to reports, Samson has informed the Jaipur-based franchise about his decision to explore opportunities elsewhere, marking a possible end to a near-decade-long IPL journey. While speculation has linked Samson to a move to the Chennai Super Kings - particularly after his meeting with CSK head coach Stephen Fleming during the MLC season in the US - former India opener Aakash Chopra believes there's another team far more desperate to acquire Rajasthan skipper. 'The first name that comes to my mind is not CSK. KKR should be the most desperate team,' Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 'KKR don't have an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, and that just ties their hands behind their back. Secondly, what's wrong if you get a captain? I am not denying that Ajinkya Rahane has captained well and has scored runs as well.' Chopra pointed to Ajinkya Rahane's limitations as a batter and his age as key reasons for KKR to consider Samson seriously. Despite KKR's success in 2024 under Shreyas Iyer, the former cricketer believes the team lacks batting flexibility and depth in the wicketkeeper slot - an area Samson can immediately strengthen. 'Ajinkya Rahane as a batter -either he opens or else the batting order has been a bit of a problem,' Chopra added. 'They have a player they can release as well. If they wish, they can release Venkatesh Iyer, free up nearly Rs 24 crore, and then they can actually make a difference.' The 30-year-old Samson began his IPL journey with KKR in 2012 before rising to prominence with Rajasthan Royals, where he eventually became captain. But changes in RR's squad strategy ahead of the 2025 mega auction may have prompted the decision to move on. Notably, the team released England's Jos Buttler and opted for a stronger Indian core, promoting young domestic stars like Yashasvi Jaiswal and breakout teenage talent Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Chopra suggested that this shift may have limited Samson's role and possibly influenced his decision. 'Why would Sanju Samson want to leave? It's interesting because when the last mega auction happened, they let Jos Buttler go, and I felt they let Jos Buttler go because Yashasvi had come and Sanju wanted to open, and Sanju and Rajasthan Royals were really, really thick,' Chopra noted. 'I felt there would have been a massive input from Sanju in the players they retained or released. However, now it seems it might not have been there. Vaibhav Suryavanshi has come, so two openers are already ready, and you also want to bat Dhruv Jurel up the order. So Sanju wishes to leave. If he is thinking like that, it's possible. These are conjectures. I don't know what's in his and Rajasthan's minds.'
Indian Express
25 minutes ago
- Indian Express
India vs England Tour diary: From Rishabh Pant's ‘rolly-polly sweep' and Shubman Gill's silky hundreds to memorable cafes and bus rides – much to bring joy during an enthralling series
June 18: Chaotic first few hours in England. Land at London Heathrow, the ticket shows a connection from Terminal TN for the trip to Leeds, the venue for the first Test. The travel person back home insists it's a flight. No one at Heathrow agrees. 'There's no Terminal TN here, unless Hogwarts School has started air services for overseas wizards,' jokes a witty Black Customs lady. 'Maybe, it's a bus'. A 20-something Indian at the bus reception solves the case. It's a train from King's Cross. By the way, King's Cross has a platform 9 ¾ – fictional point from where Harry and wizards go to school. The Customs lady wasn't totally wrong. June 19: Leeds has the Yorkshire Cricket Club – an institution of great legacy and stickler of tradition. As luck would have it, I get a chance to speak to two cricketing giants – Sachin Tendulkar and Cheteshwar Pujara. They both played for the north England club and share memories. 'One needed to wear formals and leather shoes when you landed up at the ground before the match. At the ground you change to whites and store the formals in the locker,' informs Pujara. Tendulkar chuckles when reminded of the summer of 1992 when he became the first cricketer not born in Yorkshire to play for the county. You tell the master the Pujara formal wear story and he laughs more. 'When Pujara played for Yorkshire, he was in his late 20s, I was just 19 years old … and putting on the Yorkshire blazer each morning was new to me. There was also a tie to be put. So what I did was I tied the knot and kept it like that for my entire stint … I ensured that whenever I put it on the knot would not break.' June 22: Rishabh Pant hits his tumbling shot, also does a handspring, a basic floor routine gymnastics to celebrate his hundred. England is head-over-heels in love with his behind the stump falling shot – they call it roly-poly sweep. It proved to be a roller coaster series for him. June 23: There is a church, not far from the local Jama Masjid, that has a neatly carpentered wooden box. The front is a wooden frame with glass with lovely leaves painted on it. This is the Little Free Library with two shelves of about a foot long. There is a dictionary and few pulp-fiction paperbacks. June 24: Ben Duckett reverse sweeps England to victory. The England opener has strong wrists, he played hockey as a child. There is an endearing story about Duckett's mom and her risk-taking, reverse sweeping son. She once went for a Duckett game and was seated in the stands. A guy behind her would say, 'He isn't going to last long .. he will get out to one of his reverse sweeps'. At Leed's he didn't, he completed his 100 with three reverse sweeps. England win because of Duckett's knock. It is unlikely, Duckett's mom would be hearing reverse-sweep taunts from fans any more. England 1, India 0. June 25: Bradford is also called Bradfordistan. It mostly has those with Pakistan roots. It's a short drive from the Leeds stadium. Meet Nasa Hussain, he is a curator, narrator of cricket stories and scholar on social issues. He is 55, has faced racism and is now checking discrimination and derogatory remarks entering cricket fields in the local leagues. Nasa is in-charge of the Park Avenue ground, he has been manning these grounds for years. The other day he got a call from his daughter, who told him that he's got an official letter from the King. Why would the King write to me? – Nasa wondered. He was getting a BME – British Empire Medal for keeping the grass green for all these years. It's like a Padma for the Kotla curator. June 26: Barely 10 paces from the Airbnb I stay at, a room in the attic co-hosted by two men, is a local café. A tall hard-working Polish lady runs it. She cooks, cleans and also does small talk. It's a place for the working class men to move. Not the one in suits and tie, but men in stained dungarees and dirty cargos walk in with a loud 'Hi Angela' to leave with a warm 'Bye Angela'. She offers simple breakfast but the basic 'bacon sandwich' is to die for. The local postman is fiddling his change as Angela waits. 'Whatever you have, just give,' shouts the hands-on owner who has just returned from cleaning the large glass shop window. Postman leaves with the loudest 'Bye Angela, thank you'. June 27: Serious problem, Augustine's cat is missing, she found this out after returning from school. She is ginger in colour, her eyes are either brown or green. She isn't sure. Please don't call on Tuesdays and Wednesday since Augustine doesn't carry a phone to the club she goes to. There are also chances that she might go dead. All this information is on a cute 'missing poster' – a page torn from a single-lined school book – on the electric pole in the lane next to the place I stay. Passed the place two days later, the posters were still there. Pray for the return of Augustine's cat. June 28: Take a bus to Birmingham for the next Test. Most seats are empty, settle for the one behind the driver. It has business class leg-room. After a couple of stops, a young boy, travelling alone, walks to the driver. He looks worried, he has got into the wrong bus. What follows is something unseen and unheard. The driver, while on wheel, makes at least 10 calls, probably to the control room of the bus network. In half an hour, the boy has a smile on his face. The bus takes a small detour, leaves the motorway for a bit, drives to a village bus stop where another bus is waiting. A pleasant matronly lady receives the boy and takes him to the bus he should have been on. June 29: Airbnb entries for self-check in homes are nothing short of a treasure hunt. The one at Birmingham would need Holmes and Dr Watson to both get in. The instructions are detailed but tediously intricate. This went as – Collect the building key from the box outside, use combination 1249. Enter the building, go to the first floor and return left. Pick another key from under the doormat and enter the flat. Place the key back under the mat as the cleaners need it. Go to the kitchen, under the sink is another key box. Use combination 3434 to collect the key for your room. Phew. The most difficult part – crawling under the sink, trying to get the sequence of code right in complete darkness using a phone torch. June 30: Birmingham is buzzing, certainly not for the Test but Black Sabbath's farewell gig. It's called Back to the Beginning. Check with the friendly corner shop lady at the till, if it's possible to get tickets. 'Yeah … sure' – she says sarcastically. Stick to cricket. Life's cruel in a few weeks time, see a ticker on a television in a shop that announces Ozzy Osbourne's death. Beginning and End weren't too far. We are excited to announce the theatrical release of Back To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow – coming early 2026. The feature-length concert film will be a big-screen celebration of Ozzy Osbourne and the legacy of Black Sabbath, capturing the raw power and emotional weight of… — Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) July 18, 2025 July 1: An English reporter reminds Shubman Gill that India has never won in Birmingham. The most amazing thing about most young Indian cricketers is their articulation and poise at press conferences. They pick the right words, have a sense of humour – all in a language that is not their mother tongue or the language of the dressing room. Gill snubs the man without being rude. First with his words and later with his bat. July 2: Live close to Birmingham Uni. Striking things about the area are the businesses catering to overseas students. Real estate sharks seem to be making a killing. Watch two worried Indian parents – father holding a folder with papers, mother keeping her hand on the daughter's shoulder – following an agent-type into a building. Overhear a line from the mother – 'Is it a safe area for girls at night?' July 3: Saw VVS Laxman hit 281 in 2001 and now Shubman Gill's 269 in 2025. VVS's silken drives still stay in the mind, even Shubman's strokes have no polyester in them. There are some players who are just born to play cover drives, their body aligned by the Maker for the purpose of spreading joy. The initial drive to cover this tour was to see the last of Rohit and Virat. As a witness to their sparkling storied career, there was desire for closure. They retired, and didn't turn up here. You wait for two buses and a Rolls Royce comes your way. They say something sounding similar about public transport in England. July 5: Walk to a café near the University – it turns out to be an unusual place. It's almost like a 2BHK, there are sofas, couches, dining tables, and a courtyard with chairs. It has a notice board with brochures about support groups that stand by those unable to deal with life away from home. It's a café that has a lot more than a coffee to deal with mental fatigue. July 6: India get a new hero in Akash Deep. India won the Test. In the streets outside the stadium, a busking guitarist has composed a song for him. The same can't be said about him in a month's time. This was that kind of series. There were ups, downs, ebbs, flows, spikes, dips. England 1, India 1. July 7: Have a serendipitous moment on the way to Lord's. The walk from the Airbnb takes one past the world's most famous zebra crossing. On Abbey Road, near the Abbey Studio, is the Abbey crossing. Four young men once got clicked while crossing the road and many decades later, the world wants to replace themselves on the same frame. Buses and cars stop patiently as tourists from around the world, almost 24×7, try the Beatles walk. July 8: Another day, another walk to Lord's, another brief stopover at Abbey Street to enjoy watching the tourists do the walk while apologetically keeping an eye on the traffic. Everyone is excited but there is a girl with many piercings who is delirious. She is on the footpath and busy clicking pictures of a group of men who themselves are having a fan moment with the iconic studio where Beatles recorded songs. She wants to share her joy with someone. The men she is excited about are the members of Molotov, Mexico's top band. The Molotov are here to pay homage to the Beatles. At the Abbey Hill crossroad she came to experience the presence of one set of heroes, she got two. July 10: Day 1 at Lord's is a ritual. Dressed in smart suits and the very ugly orange and yellow tie, MCC members stand in queues reading newspapers to get in. Next to them are Indian fans wearing not India's whites but the white-ball blue. It's a stunning contrast. It takes all types to fill a cricket stadium. July 11: Lord's stadium arena is a busy place with a lot happening. There is a museum to see, there are food courts that sell cheese toasties, coffees and even strawberries and cream. There's the WG Grace statue in a small garden-type area where fans sit on benches to discuss cricket. A new addition is the games section. There is one where about 10 tennis balls hang from the wooden circle. You need to stand below as balls drop suddenly and randomly. Grown up men take the challenge as a crowd watches them. They fail, they get embarrassed. July 12: It's the last over before lunch. KL is in his 90s, his partner Rishabh Pant wants that his mate has the medal as a centurion. Pant takes off for a run and is found out of his crease. At the samosa stall that's India's good old Bajaj three-wheeler, they can't stop talking about who was to blame. July 13: It is late at night, only a Persian eating place open. They have rice with a layer of saffron with baingan stuffed in. It's one of the meals of the series. England 2, India 1 July 15: Travel to Guildford to meet Shoaib Bashir's one-time captain Olly Birts. You ask him about him getting Siraj's wicket while bowling with a fractured finger, he tells you about him losing his teeth while taking a catch in a club game. July 16: Take a short trip to Bristol. It is the place where the mysterious painter Banksy lived and for cricket tourists it is where Ben Stokes punched the living daylights out of a few pesky men outside a bar. Visit the Stokes pilgrimage place but the staff there can get a whiff of inquisitive reporters from a mile. Beer is all that you end up with. July 18: Move to Kingsbury, the very Gujarati part of London. On the street, men are settled in a huddle, chewing paan and a family on the road searching for a post-dinner snack, a Gujarati tradition. There are shops selling peanuts with 10 flavours and a Gujarat Express restaurant shop that has undhiyu and sev tomato on the menu. But the flagship of this high street is GJ-07 pan shop – it gets its name from Nadiad's RTO registrations for vehicles. July 20: A train trip in England that reminded me of a Delhi-Kanpur ride in the general compartment of a rail journey from hell. It's a Bristol-Manchester trip on Sunday. First there is a platform change at the last minute. And after sprinting with luggage in tow, standing space outside the toilet is all you get. A lady with kids and heavy luggage is in tears. She is struggling to breathe, someone offers a seat. July 23: Here's an expert tip from a Airbnb regular. If words like 'quaint' and 'bohemian' are used in description of the home, see it as a red flag. What you get is an unequipped, wifi-less, shared toilet space. July 27: India snatch draw from the jaws of defeat. Jadeja and Washington are the miracle men. Jadeja does the sword swirl after completing his 50 and after 100 he rubs his bat against the forehead. He writes his fortune with his bat. England 2, India 1 July 28: Walk to accommodation after bus ride. There are lots of gardens in the area. See a small fox crossing road. Think eyes playing tricks, must be a dog. Find another little one is following. Was this London or Jungle Book? Next day take cab at night, spot another one. Cabbie says there are 10,000 of them in London. Is he serious? Yes, he was. July 29: Get off at Green Park, pass the periphery of Hyde Park. See a familiar face with family. It's Rohit Sharma. He has a kiddie scooter in one hand as his wife and kids follow him. No one really bothers him. He is enjoying family time – it's the picture perfect frame for what stars miss in India. No wonder, they love London and the space, read Hyde Park, which it gives them. July 30: Curator vs Gambhir – that's the fight of the day. Someone mixed the weight category. Curator is a giant, Gambhir isn't. There is an angry exchange of words. It is rumored that during the confrontations some from the ground staff said 'now you see the pitch you get'. It wasn't true, the Oval pitch was great. July 31: Late night adventure. Return to Airbnb after dinner, realise the key is inside. The host doesn't answer calls, the phone is dying. Call a reporter who isn't too far. Spend night on couch. Host wakes the next morning, says there is a spare key in the key box. What a night! Aug 1: What a day. 15 wickets fall. Siraj is winning hearts. He is playing the cheerleader to the Bharat Army. He is like a rock star playing to the crowd. Aug 4: To watch a match that would last barely an hour, a full house turns up. Siraj does it for India. Gets a hug from Shubman. They both are at the press conference. You wait for one and two turn up. Before the series, you would be fine with just 1 win but you get 2-2.
