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NDTV
a day ago
- Sport
- NDTV
'Be Serious About...": Dinesh Karthik's Blunt Message To Gautam Gambhir After India's Exploits vs England
Gautam Gambhir, at the start of the year, faced extreme heat after India lost 1-3 to Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The new India coach's credentials regarding guiding a Test team came under questions. Though India won the Champions Trophy, under Gambhir's coaching, doubts still persisted when the team embarked on a new journey for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The side was devoid of many big names and not much was expected by many. However, India turned the tables and produced a performance for the ages and drew the series from an unthinkable position. Former India star Dinesh Karthik felt that the next step should be to form a team that can take 20 wickets. "Gautam Gambhir had a very ordinary series vs New Zealand at home, goes without saying. He continued to have a poor series against Australia. Now, he has taken control of the team I feel. This is a team handpicked by him, this is a young team. He is the driving force of this team with Shubman," Karthik said on Cricbuzz. "The one thing that I would think that he can do is, can he almost look at being serious about picking 20 wickets as much as he feels about depth in batting? He's a terrific white-ball coach and the results have been there for us to see. But, in Test cricket, he is also learning on the job. He is a young coach. He's not done too many five-day games, not too much domestic cricket for him to have that volume of experience. We don't know what language he speaks in the dressing room, but they are a bunch of fired up youngsters." Karthik went on to hint that there was a certain level of defensive thinking behind the team selection. "You could almost argue they picked a team not to lose. He is now getting his way, so he will be responsible for everything that happens in the Indian team. If it does well, credit to him. If it doesn't do well, he should put his hands up and say, 'we made a mistake'," the 40-year-old Karthik added. "For this England series, he should be proud of the effort the boys put in." Karthik also mentioned the role of Jasprit Bumrah in the drawn Test series. "You have to look at it from Jasprit Bumrah's point of view. I think, these kind of wins, the way the series has panned out, the way the young team has fought, it will actually help him in his career. I believe Jasprit Bumrah will be very proud of this young bowling attack," he said. "The stat of India winning when he doesn't play is not his mistake. He is so impactful that others pale in comparison. I hope he will have a longer career, knowing he can pick and choose matches. Two back injuries, one nasty ACL that he had, it's not easy."
NDTV
2 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
"Would Have Been His Last In Tests As Coach": Gautam Gambhir Gets Ultimate Reminder
While the whole of India is celebrating a young Indian cricket team's scintillating performance in England, one man who stands vindicated is Gautam Gambhir. After loss at home against New Zealand and another one against Australia at the Border Gavaskar Trophy, there were question marks on whether Gambhir was even fit to be a Test coach. However, after what the Indian team achieved in England with a team devoid of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, that noise will die down. "The most pressure on this tour was on him. As a coach, he was not as successful in Tests. I feel people were waiting that if India lost this Test, the most criticism would be on him. People wait to make his memes on social media and talk bad about him. Maybe this would have been his last in Tests as a coach if India had lost. There was that much pressure on him. But where it is due, we must praise him wholeheartedly," Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel. "We all said that Kuldeep must play in Bumrah's absence but Gambhir stuck to having batting depth. He wanted batting till number eight and his decision proved right. The two Tests we won, you look at Jadeja's and Sundar's roles there. As there was depth in batting, we could score runs and then the series ended in a draw as we could win. It was a good decision. He was there with a young team. I can understand how much pressure was on him," he added. Meanwhile, Gambhir reminded his players of the significance of "keep getting better, working hard and improving areas", which will allow them to "dominate" Test cricket for a "very long time". India fought with grit, valiance, and a never-surrender attitude to leave England with a 2-2 series draw in the inaugural edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. In the fifth Test at The Oval, India looked down and out on the third day, but kept pushing to rebuke the odds and predictions with a narrow six-run victory. While addressing the players in the dressing room, Gambhir emphasised creating a culture that everyone wants to be a part of, irrespective of who stays or leaves and said in a video posted by the BCCI, "The way this series has panned out 2-2 is an outstanding result. Congratulations to everyone." "So remember, we will keep getting better, we will keep working hard, we will keep improving our areas, because if we keep doing that, we can dominate Test Cricket for a very long time. People will come and go, but the culture of the dressing room should always be like that, people want to be part of this culture, that is what we want to create," Gambhir concluded.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
961 days of wait: Abhimanyu Easwaran warms the bench as others race ahead of him
Abhimanyu Easwaran (X) The wait continues for Abhimanyu Easwaran . It has now been 961 days since he was first selected in the Indian Test squad, yet he is still waiting to make his debut. Follow Live: IND vs ENG 5th Test A quiet figure in the background, Easwaran has travelled with the team across tours, often as a backup opener, but the cap has never come. Since his first call-up, 15 other players have gone on to make their Test debuts. That list includes names like KS Bharat, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Sai Sudharsan, and Anshul Kamboj. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! What makes it harder is that he has been with the team across multiple leadership changes. Rohit Sharma was the captain when he first came in, and now Gautam Gambhir is part of the think tank. Yet Easwaran has remained a reserve option. 13:11 Shubman Gill press conference: Defends Gautam Gambhir, lashes out at curator; on India Playing XI So far he has not played a single match despite being part of both the Border Gavaskar Trophy series and the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England. Zero games in two major Test series says a lot about how unlucky or sidelined he has been. Poll Do you think Abhimanyu Easwaran deserves a chance to play in the Test squad? Yes, he has waited long enough No, there are better options available For someone who has done the hard yards in domestic cricket and been around for so long, it is a tough pill to swallow. The team has often picked younger or more aggressive options ahead of him. Easwaran waits patiently. But how long will that patience last? Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Indian Express
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Why Ben Stokes and Indian cricket should now handshake Ravindra Jadeja in respect
After a net session, before the Old Trafford Test, Ravindra Jadeja, while walking to the team bus, had tapped his index finger on his temple. This was his way of answering a query about his phenomenal run-making spree in England. His match-saving hundred in the fourth Test on Sunday had come on the back of four successive 50s in the previous two Tests. Was he trying something new or had he added some new strokes to his game? 'No … it's about leaving the ball in England,' the all-rounder would say. Over his 13-year long international career, Jadeja has left many balls, especially the curved one that life keeps throwing at him. Now he is enjoying the rewards of the years of patience. For a cricketer with non-existence PR, no real backer, no godfather or even a mentor – Jadeja has had a miraculously long career. His unfaltering fitness, constant skill update and his capacity to bounce back has made him outlast the game's poster boys and brand ambassadors. Jadeja has been sidelined, undermined, written-off and a few months back he was about to be left out of all Indian teams for good. But the all-rounder didn't make noise, or get stories planted or make his angst public. Jadeja's world is his cricket, family and the farm house where he nurtures and rides his favourite horses. Those in the know say that, earlier this year, post the Border Gavaskar Trophy loss, Jadeja was to be given the golden handshake. Along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli; plans were in place to politely tell him that his days are over. The inputs from the earlier team management hadn't been laudatory. Jadeja could be dispensed with – that was the message on the sticky note that the last set of decision-makers left behind. It was the intervention of the present set of coaches that gave Jadeja one more chance, it is learnt. Post BGT, when picking the team for ICC's 50-overs tournament, his name wasn't to be in the Champions Trophy side. After a discussion among the present team management, Jadeja got a reluctant nod. His name was the last to be added to the Champions Trophy squad. And as it has happened so often in his career, this was all that Indian cricket's greatest survivor, needed. Whenever the curtains threaten to fall on his career, Jadeja changes the script and lives to tell the tale. A formidable performance with the ball at Champions Trophy was to be followed by his Gary Sobers-level runs in England – only the great West Indian has 5 scores of 50 plus in England from N0. 6 or lower in a Test series. Once again at 36, Jadeja, for now, is the team's indispensable member. After the Lord's near-miss, the Indian skipper Shubman Gill gave 'rare' praise to his team's senior-most player. 'He is one of the most valuable players in India. The experience that he brings in, the skill set that he brings with his bowling, batting and fielding is very rare … the kind of composure that he showed is tremendous … ,' the captain had said. Such words haven't been used for this one-of-a-kind cricketer who has served Indian cricket silently for years now. From being the main all-rounder who helped Virat Kohli win the under-19 World Cup in 2009 to the Great Escape at Old Trafford in 2025, Jadeja has a staggering body of work. In between there are his Player of the Tournament achievements in Champions Trophy 2013, many Man of the Series performances in Tests and winning the IPL with a six and four. But still he wasn't projected as a star. Somehow, over the years, Jadeja wasn't taken seriously by fans or the teams he played for. In teams of the past, he was one of the boys or the friend to the captain. Once on the Kapil Sharma comedy show, Virat Kohli was asked – 'Kaun sabse jyada phekta hai (Who tells tall tales the most?'. The answer was Jadeja. Dhoni once called him 'Sir Jadeja' in his tweet and that would inspire a million funny memes and give him a title he hates. 'I hate being called Sir. If you wish, call me Bapu, that's what I like. This Sir-Var, I don't like at all,' he had once said. These days Jadeja gets treated as Sir in the dressing room. Unlike his position in the Indian team led by MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma; Jadeja 2.0 is the distinguished senior of the team. He is among the few players who is seen having long discussions with coach Gambhir. In Shubman's team, Jadeja is an example to emulate and an influential voice in the dressing room. Unlike others, he hasn't positioned himself as some 'captain without a captain's armband.' The other day during a press conference on this England tour, he was asked if he ever aspired to be a captain. He almost broke into a chuckle and said 'that time has gone, I have been playing cricket from 13 years now.' Strangely such has been the timing of his career that he often gets overshadowed by the stars he plays with. As an all-rounder, Jadeja would score 300 plus scores in first-class cricket but the main run-getter of his domestic team Saurashtra would be Cheteshwar Pujara. He would be Dhoni's trusted go-to player but Suresh Raina would be designated Man Friday. He would be India's main spinner for years but somehow it would be R Ashwin who would be called the spin spearhead, thinking spinner and match winner. Jadeja's numbers were better than Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Bishan Bedi but 'greatness' was not bestowed on him. On this England tour, the team doesn't have the towering presence of the just retired mega-stars and that's why the shadow that hid Jadeja has lifted. Over the years, Jadeja has got maligned as the selfish cricketer who doesn't work towards the team cause but bats to keep his position safe in the team. It is said that in tough tight games, Jadeja would expose the tailenders to the bowling and stay unbeaten. On this England tour, Jadeja has squashed that narrative. At Lord's, he methodically farmed the strike when batting with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to take India so close to an unlikely win. At Old Trafford he enhanced his image. This was an inning that in a way defined Jadeja. Very early in the innings, Joe Root dropped him at slips. Jadeja rarely wastes a second chance. Not making a fuss over it, Jadeja would mentor Washington and also listen to him. He has inside him a unique kind of aggression. The only manifestation is when he turns his bat into a sword and swirls it around. Like most kids in Jamnagar, the region where a King still rules, Jadeja has grown up hearing stories of valour. He often mentions the 12th century Sorath Chudasama king Ra Khengar on his social media. All around Saurashtra, folk singers, till date, regale large audiences with tales of his bravery at Lok Dayros (folk assemblies). Jadeja is a war veteran, he knows which battle to pick. So when Ben Stokes and men showered him with sledges, he was unfazed. He has been in such situations before in these parts. On the 2014 tour, James Anderson had picked on him and he got booed at Lord's. But that didn't stop him from shining with the bat and swirling his sword. Stokes didn't want him and his partner to complete their tons but that didn't blow Jadeja's lid. He smiled and said it was his captain's call. He kept leaving balls but would also keep delivering blows in between.
India Today
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Was Harbhajan Singh jealous of Ravichandran Ashwin? Spinners address popular belief
Legendary India spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin recently addressed the popular belief about the former being jealous of the latter. Ashwin made his Test debut for India in 2011, replacing Harbhajan Singh in the squad and in no time became a regular mainstay across all three Ashwin continued his meteoric rise in international cricket, Harbhajan had a few sporadic appearances for India but could never re-create his old magic. As a result, there were widespread rumours that the veteran spinner was jealous of Ashwin. Recently, Ashwin asked Harbhajan about the rumours and asked if he at any point in his life felt jealous of whole jealousy bit. Before I allow you to answer that, let me clarify something. People look at everything from their perspective. For example, if they are passing a comment on me, they believe that others would see the world through their eyes. This comment that you are jealous of this person who is interviewing you today — what would that be about, Bhajji pa" Ashwin asked Harbhajan on his Youtube channel. Harbhajan once again dismissed the rumours and asked Ashwin's thoughts on the matter."Do you think I am jealous of you? You are sitting with me today, and we have spoken at length. Do you think I am that kind of person?,' said Ashwin said that he would understand it fully if Harbhajan was jealous of him at any point as they're both humans. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kutti Stories with Ash (@crikipidea)"Even if you are jealous at one point, it is justified. That is my point. I would never take it the wrong way because we are all human. Naturally, it is bound to be like that. Some people believe I retired because of Washington Sundar. He is in the thick of things now. All of this is the perspective of others," Ashwin announced his international retirement in December 2024, midway through the Border Gavaskar Trophy after the third Test in Brisbane. He retired as the second-highest wicket taker for the country in Tests with 537 wickets from 106 matches and as well as international cricket, having 765 wickets to his the other hand, Harbhajan announced his retirement in 2021. He remains the third most successful bowler to play for the country having 707 wickets to his name from 365 matches. The off-spinner played a pivotal role in India's T20 World Cup 2007 and ODI World Cup 2011 triumphs.- EndsMust Watch
