Latest news with #Captaincy
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
India's new Test captain Gill ready to lead in his own way
India's new Test captain Shubman Gill knows he has big shoes to fill after the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but he wants to develop his own style of leadership, he said on Thursday. Rohit and Kohli, former skippers and batting mainstays of the team, both quit Test cricket weeks before the start of India's five-test series in England. Gill, 25, impressed as captain of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Gujarat Titans, leading them to the playoffs. "The pressure comes with every tour. The two big players have served us for so long, it is not easy to fill that space," Gill told a news conference in Mumbai. "My style of captaincy will be my own, it will develop with experience. I like to communicate with the players. I would try to get them comfortable with their strengths and weaknesses. The players should feel secure, only then will they perform well." Gill was picked as captain ahead of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in two recent Tests in Australia. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar cited workload management concerns over the 31-year-old Bumrah who will not play all five Tests in England. "We haven't taken the call over which three games (Bumrah is) going to play," India head coach Gautam Gambhir said. "We are going to have a discussion with him and a lot will depend on the results of the series as well, where the series is heading." At least 11 people died and 47 were injured on Wednesday in a crowd surge outside IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru's home stadium during celebrations of their maiden title. "My heart goes out to the people who lost their lives," Gambhir said. "We are all equally responsible for this. Every life matters. If we are not ready to hold a road show, we should not do that."
CNA
5 days ago
- General
- CNA
India test captain Gill ready to lead in his own way
India's new test captain Shubman Gill knows he has big shoes to fill after the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but he wants to develop his own style of leadership, he said on Thursday. Rohit and Kohli, former skippers and batting mainstays of the team, both quit test cricket weeks before the start of India's five-test series in England. Gill, 25, impressed as captain of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Gujarat Titans, leading them to the playoffs. "The pressure comes with every tour. The two big players have served us for so long, it is not easy to fill that space," Gill told a news conference in Mumbai. "My style of captaincy will be my own, it will develop with experience. I like to communicate with the players. I would try to get them comfortable with their strengths and weaknesses. The players should feel secure, only then will they perform well." Gill was picked as captain ahead of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in two recent tests in Australia. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar cited workload management concerns over the 31-year-old Bumrah who will not play all five tests in England. "We haven't taken the call over which three games (Bumrah is) going to play," India head coach Gautam Gambhir said. "We are going to have a discussion with him and a lot will depend on the results of the series as well, where the series is heading." At least 11 people died and 47 were injured on Wednesday in a crowd surge outside IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru's home stadium during celebrations of their maiden title. "My heart goes out to the people who lost their lives," Gambhir said. "We are all equally responsible for this. Every life matters. If we are not ready to hold a road show, we should not do that."
CNA
24-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
India pick Gill over Bumrah as test captain before England tour
NEW DELHI :India named Shubman Gill as their new test captain on Saturday, picking the top-order batter over pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ahead of their five-test series in England beginning on June 20. India were forced into a transition after Gill's predecessor in the role, Rohit Sharma, quit the format earlier this month with batting stalwart Virat Kohli following suit. Bumrah, 31, has been Rohit's deputy and captained India in two tests in Australia last season but chief selector Ajit Agarkar said they could not risk burdening the pace ace with leadership. "I think he's more important to us as a player. We want him fit," Agarkar told a press conference in Mumbai. "There's always that extra burden when you are leading and managing 15-16 people, it takes a lot out of you. "We'd rather have him bowling as well as he does than putting that extra burden on him. He's aware of it. "We had a chat with him and he's okay with it." India will begin a new World Test Championship cycle under the 25-year-old Gill, who has impressed as captain of the Gujarat Titans in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Agarkar said he hoped the captaincy would inspire Gill, an all-format international, to grow even better. "You can look at it as a burden or you can look at it positively," former India pacer Agarkar said. "In franchise cricket, he's obviously relishing the role. It's obviously going to be a lot harder but those are the challenges you face playing international cricket. "He's been around for two to three years in all formats. He can fall back on that experience." "I'm sure he's relishing the opportunity. I mean who would not want to captain India in test cricket?" Bumrah was unlikely to play all five tests in England, Agarkar said, while fellow seamer Mohammed Shami had been left out following a late injury setback. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has been named Gill's deputy in the test squad, while Kuldeep Yadav is the lone specialist spinner. Sai Sudharsan will hope to make his test debut in England while fellow batsman Karun Nair is in line to play his first test since 2017. Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Druv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
New England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt: ‘We are a hard-working side — but we need to make smarter decisions'
Maternity leave may seem a strange time in which to accept a promotion – but then this wasn't really a job that Nat Sciver-Brunt could turn down. Still fresh from welcoming baby Theo to the world with wife Katherine, England 's premier all-rounder returned to work last week to a new boss and a new title, adjusting to life as captain of a side in need of repair as the first appointment of the Charlotte Edwards era. 'To be asked is a huge privilege, and one that I didn't want to turn down,' Sciver-Brunt admits, speaking for the first time since her appointment. 'It doesn't come without its challenges in terms of where I'm at in my life, becoming a mum and getting used to all of that. It will be a new thing to get used to but hopefully one I can take in my stride. 'Obviously I'm doing everything I can to get back into cricket, so doing that and also being at home for Katherine and Theo has been tricky at times, but looking after a newborn is really rewarding. We are working our way through the new normal.' If it seemed obvious that the vice-captain would be the strongest contender to succeed Heather Knight after a disastrous Ashes, there was a degree of doubt about Sciver-Brunt's appointment. The 32-year-old has occasionally suggested she would be uncomfortable the idea of taking the role on a full-time basis in the past, while past auditions in the absence of Knight at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and last year's T20 World Cup haven't necessarily gone smoothly. There was also a thought that England may look outside the leadership corps for more or a reset – perhaps entrusting the leadership to a younger squad member like Charlie Dean, or plucking a captain from the county game like Grace Scrivens or Georgia Adams. But in Sciver-Brunt, Edwards has opted for the standard-setter her side will perhaps need to close the gap to Australia. Their tendency to falter under pressure and in the Ashes has worked to undermine their evident development under Jon Lewis, not helped by clumsy comments made by the former head coach or missteps by his squad that thrust them more greatly into the public eye. Sciver-Brunt, though, rarely wilts against the toughest challenge that women's cricket has to offer, averaging more than 58 with the bat against Australia in ODIs. 'Obviously as a player going through a series like [the Ashes whitewash] is not very nice and not a brilliant experience,' she admits. 'We've got a great chance with a new coach and a new captain to start afresh and look forward. Hopefully we can win a few games. 'As a leader, I want to empower everyone to be the best version of themselves. As a group, I want us all to work really hard for each other and the team, and make smarter decisions, using what we've done really well in the past and tweaking a little. We are a hard-working side, and I hope that will come out in the games that we play. 'We've had some great success when I've stepped into captain but lost a few games as well. It is about learning from those experiences and helping everybody on the pitch stay level and in the best place to perform well. I'll be having conversations with everybody to work out the best way to work with them on the pitch, and what they need from me to best work.' The new skipper also has the benefit of extreme familiarity with her new head coach. It was Edwards the captain who gave Sciver-Brunt her England debut against Pakistan in 2013, the surroundings at Louth Cricket Club in Lincolnshire perhaps a touch less swanky than those now regularly enjoyed by the elite of the sport. More recently – and pertinently – the pair combined to help the Mumbai Indians to Women's Premier League triumph, Edwards's supreme record as a coach continuing as Sciver-Brunt producing a sublime 523-run season to be named player of the tournament. 'She's really been good at making each individual feel comfortable. She certainly did that for me and got the best out of me. Hopefully we can do that together for the England side and make everyone feel comfortable and confident in their abilities.' Sciver-Brunt has also learned from both Knight and Edwards during their tenures as England skipper the importance of connecting with the past, even when looking towards a bright future. 'We've ridden a wave of women's cricket growing in the last 10 to 12 years,' Sciver-Brunt explains. 'But remembering where we've been and we've come from is a great thing to do to ground you and keep you present in what you are doing. I'd like to keep that legacy going.' The last few weeks have been spent with wife Katherine, the former England fast bowler, and their newborn rather than in the revamped domestic structure, though Sciver-Brunt has been impressed with what she has seen from the streams as top England stars and squad hopefuls alike have pushed their case. A new era dawns at Canterbury on Wednesday 21 May in the first of three T20s against the West Indies that will be followed by three ODIs, and a few new faces should get an opportunity to make their mark. Sciver-Brunt will not be directly involved in picking the squad for the series, though has fed her thoughts in to Edwards and a new, soon-to-be-revealed national selector. She will retain responsibility for the playing XI along with her head coach, with the balance of it likely to be impacted by the fact that the captain is currently unable to bowl as she works her way back from an achilles issue that addled her over the winter. 'I've checked the scorecards and watched a bit of the Blaze, and there have a lot of great performances out there. There have been a lot of runs scored for early in the season, which is a bit of a change from the last few years. The more competitive the domestic competition is, and the more we can play, will stand us in a good place. 'There's a new national selector which has been appointed to lighten the burden of being captain and really focus on the on-pitch things, and winning games for England. The whole point of having a great domestic set-up is to give opportunities to anyone who has scored a bulk of runs or taken a bulk of wickets. Having that competition is the reason why we have great depth in the England side, so using that is really important.'
CNN
12-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
India great Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket
Virat Kohli, one of India's greatest ever players, announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday. 'It's been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It's tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I'll carry for life,' Kohli wrote on Instagram. 'There's something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever. As I step away from this format, it's not easy – but it feels right. I've given it everything I had, and it's given me back so much more than I could've hoped for. 'I'm walking away with a heart full of gratitude – for the game, for the people I shared the field with, and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way. I'll always look back at my Test career with a smile.' After making his Test debut for India in 2011, Kohli quickly became one of the most proficient batters in world cricket. He scored his first Test hundred in Adelaide, Australia, in 2011 before becoming captain of the team shortly afterwards. During his time leading India, he had 40 wins from 68 Tests, making him the winningest Indian men's captain in the five-day format. The 36-year-old retires as the fourth-most successful Test captain in terms of wins behind South Africa's Graeme Smith (53) and Australia's Ricky Ponting (48) and Steve Waugh (41). Outside of his captaincy, Kohli was a potent run-scorer for the Indian Test side. He retires with 9,230 runs from 123 Tests to his name, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties at an average of 46.85. His 30 centuries are the fourth-most by an Indian player. Kohli had already retired from the T20 format of cricket, having done so after India won the T20 World Cup last year. Kohli's decision comes just days after India's Test captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format.
