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NDTV
5 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Sunil Gavaskar Amazed By Shubman Gill's Act After England Tests, Even Big Stars Didn't Do That
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill, along with several other members of the side that played in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, is set to play in the 2025–26 Duleep Trophy, starting later this month, which will kick off the domestic season this year. The BCCI has made it mandatory for Indian cricket team players to feature in domestic events when there is no international cricket scheduled. This happened after India's 3-1 loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. Following the mandate, top players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma played in the Ranji Trophy after almost a decade. Now, with Shubman Gill playing in the Duleep Trophy, the 'right signals' are being sent to other players, feels former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. "It was good, therefore, to see that after the tour to Bangladesh was postponed to next year, the BCCI resisted the pressure to send a team for a white-ball series to Sri Lanka this month. By doing that, the BCCI has prioritised domestic cricket, as it means that now most, if not all, of the top players will be available to play in the Duleep Trophy tournament starting shortly," Gavaskar wrote in a column for Sportstar. "Shubman Gill captaining the North Zone team is a massive shot in the arm for this tournament. By being available for the tournament, the Indian skipper is sending the right signal to the other members of the team. It would have been understandable if, after a gruelling tour where five Test matches were crammed into a little over six weeks, he had opted to rest. The fast bowlers not playing is good thinking, as it has been an unusually hot summer in England, thanks to global warming, and their energies must have been expended after the untiring spells they bowled throughout the series." Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel is set to lead Central Zone in the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, while Rajat Patidar has been named his deputy, starting later this month, which will kick off the domestic season this year. Gill, who scored a remarkable 754 runs in the five-Test series -- the second-highest ever by an Indian in a single series after Sunil Gavaskar's 774 in 1971 -- is expected to play in North Zone's opening clash against East Zone before leaving if picked in India's squad for the Asia Cup. India begin their campaign against UAE on September 10, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan (September 14) and then will conclude their Group A campaign by taking on Oman (September 19). The 25-year-old Gill, who took over Test captaincy following the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, was one of the standout performers on the England tour. Gill led from the front, amassing 754 runs in the series -- the second-highest by an Indian in a single Test series after Sunil Gavaskar's 774 in the 1971 tour of the West Indies -- as India levelled the series 2-2 for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Gill's appointment as North Zone skipper means he will be back in the domestic fold less than four weeks after an energy-sapping two-month overseas tour one in which all five matches went into the fifth day. North Zone will face East Zone, while Central will take on North East Zone in the season-opening Duleep Trophy matches in Bengaluru on August 28.
Hindustan Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
'Mohammed Shami's body ageing; he is no longer the bowler he used to be': India pacer refused team management's request
The omission may not have come as a complete surprise, but it somehow hints at a closing chapter. Mohammed Shami, one of India's most prolific red-ball bowlers, has been left out of the 18-member Test squad for the England tour, a decision that raises serious doubts about his future in the longest format. While the BCCI cited fitness concerns, a former national selector minced no words when assessing the long-term picture. "If Mohammed Shami isn't available in Australia or England, why would the selectors pick him against West Indies and South Africa at home? They might as well use Akash Deep, Arshdeep, Harshit or Mukesh as Siraj or Bumrah's partner. Shami's body is ageing and one has to accept that he is no longer the bowler he used to be," he told PTI on the condition of anonymity. Shami, who has taken 229 wickets from 64 Tests, has not played red-ball cricket since undergoing ankle surgery. He didn't make a single appearance in the 2023/25 World Test Championship cycle, missing home series against England last year and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. While he returned to action during the Champions Trophy and bowled in this year's IPL, he managed just six wickets in nine games for Sunrisers Hyderabad and was eventually dropped. His lone first-class appearance came against Madhya Pradesh, where he bowled over 40 overs but took frequent breaks between spells; an early sign that his body wasn't ready for sustained Test match demands. Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar confirmed as much on Saturday, when addressing Shami's exclusion. "He has been trying to get fit for the series but he has had a little bit of a setback for the last week or so and he has got some MRIs done. I'd like to mention, I don't think he was going to be available for all five Tests. I don't think his workload is where it needs to be," Agarkar said. "It's what the medical guys told us that he's been ruled out of the series." BCCI's medical and sports science team reportedly assessed him in Lucknow recently and concluded that he remains far from ready to endure the grind of five-day cricket. Agarkar admitted the selectors were hoping to include him for at least part of the England tour. 'Unfortunately, we were hoping that he's available for some part of the series at least. But if he's not fit at the moment, it's very difficult to be waiting. It's rather planned with the guys that are fit and available. So it's unfortunate that a bowler like him will always want to try and pick by himself. At the moment, he's not fit,' said the chief selector.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Kohli-Rohit Test retirements set up daunting English challenge for inexperienced Indian batting unit
With batting mainstays Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from Test cricket in the span of a week, India will be scrambling for resources as a five-match series in England, which kickstarts the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, looms. The new Test skipper, who will take over from Rohit, will have to tide over the challenges of fielding an inexperienced batting lineup in tough conditions, even as the team hopes to paper over the recent rut in Tests, which led to India failing to qualify for the WTC 2025 final. Though both Rohit and Kohli were a mere shadow of their best selves during India's defeat to the Kiwis at home and the subsequent Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, they still lent the team a sense of comfort and stability. Heading into the upcoming tour of England—where India hasn't triumphed since 2007 but came close in 2021-22, drawing the COVID-ravaged series 2-2—a crop of youngsters will be all at sea. In the potential top seven, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are the only ones acquainted somewhat with the British climes, having played nine Tests each in the country. They were also India's second and third best batters during the 2021-22 tour, averaging 39.37 and 38.77, respectively. However, they had the cushion of Rohit, Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane back then. This time, they will have to lead the charge. Shubman Gill, a potential captaincy candidate, is the only other batter with some experience of having batted in England, but a three-match stint is hardly enough to tap into. Four of India's possible top seven, with no experience of playing Tests in England, will be thrown at the deep end. Moreover, the four candidates—Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Sai Sudharsan—primed to fill the vacuum left by Rohit and Kohli have yet to prove themselves in the longest format, and England isn't an ideal test site. ALSO READ | Vijay Lokapally on Virat Kohli's Test retirement: He took the right decision at the right time The tour of England in 2014 was a case in point. India's first Test series in England without Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman meant Pujara, Kohli and Rahane had to shoulder the duties of an undercooked middle-order. While Rahane managed an average in excess of 33 across five matches, Pujara and Kohli had a tough initiation, averaging 22.20 and 13.40, respectively, as India suffered a 3-1 defeat, losing two of those games inside three days. At the crossroads The Indian management has made no secret of its intentions of moving on from the past and investing in the future. Rohit and Kohli were perhaps the last vestiges of the previous era, and with them gone, the management is unlikely to turn to old horses. Pujara and Rahane have kept the rust off them by consistently doing the hard yards in domestic cricket, and with three tours of England (2014-2021) under their belt, they could smooth the transition. But with a new WTC cycle beginning and two of its most celebrated players calling it a day, India is probably not contemplating stop-gap measures but an overhaul. Nitish Kumar Reddy during the Fifth Men's Test Match in the series between Australia and India. | Photo Credit:That Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy were India's most successful batters in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy probably feeds into the belief that experience is sometimes overrated. Perhaps the 3-0 drubbing against New Zealand at home, during which India was out-spun, was further proof of age getting the better of a well-honed skill. Hopefully for India, the tour of England next month will be an affirmation of the next generation rather than a negation of the past.
