Latest news with #Gavaskar
NDTV
2 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
"Shubman Gill Controls His Emotions on the Field": Sunil Gavaskar on GT Skippers IPL 2025 Turnaround
Shubman Gill 's transformation as a leader has been one of the highlights of IPL 2025. Under his captaincy, Gujarat Titans bounced back strongly to qualify for the playoffs with 9 wins from 14 matches. Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar believes Gill has matured both as a player and captain this season, learning from the struggles of 2024. With the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians set for Friday in Mullanpur, Gavaskar explained how Gill has evolved on and off the field—and how that change has brought stability and success to the Titans. Shubman Gill's second season as Gujarat Titans captain has been a revelation. After a disappointing IPL 2024 campaign where GT finished eighth with just five wins, Gill and his team turned things around in 2025. They secured a playoff spot with nine wins, and Gill's performance with the bat—649 runs in 14 games—has been equally impressive. Speaking ahead of GT's Eliminator clash against Mumbai Indians, Sunil Gavaskar broke down what has changed in Gill's leadership style this season. According to Gavaskar, the young captain has become more selfless and composed, learning crucial lessons from last year. 'What he's learned from last year… Remember last year, he was captain and things didn't go well. This year, he's leading smartly—especially with the way he's handled Sai Sudharsan,' Gavaskar told the official broadcasters. 'When Sudharsan is going well, Gill is happy to rotate the strike and let him take charge. That shows maturity.' Gill's batting approach has been more team-oriented, and his willingness to step back and let in-form players like Sai Sudharsan shine has earned praise. Sudharsan himself has enjoyed a breakthrough season and credited Gill's support in multiple post-match interactions. But it's not just Gill's batting or tactics that have evolved—Gavaskar pointed out how he's improved emotionally as well. 'In the field, if there's a dropped catch or a misfield, Gill doesn't show frustration. He controls his emotions, and instead of reacting, he encourages his players. That's what makes a good leader, especially in high-pressure games,' Gavaskar said. The former India captain highlighted that such gestures from a leader go a long way in building team morale. 'He knows the player didn't mean to make a mistake, and by showing support, he makes the team feel he's always with them.' With his calm temperament, smart captaincy, and consistent batting, Shubman Gill has not only revived GT's campaign but also earned the honour of leading India in the upcoming Test series against England.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
"Committing Suicide": Sunil Gavaskar Slams PBKS Star For Failure vs RCB In IPL 2025 Qualifier 1
It was a pathetic batting performance from Punjab Kings during the Qualifier 1 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in Mullanpur on Thursday. After getting an invitation to bat first by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the Shreyas Iyer-led side was bundled out for a paltry 101 runs as none of its batters could take his innings deep. Playing rash shots cost PBKS big and the side ended up losing the game by 8 wickets. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar showed no mercy while commenting on the batting of PBKS, especially Marcus Stoinis. For the Iyer-led team, Stoinis was the top-scorer with 26 runs off 17 balls but he too became a victim of poor shot selection. Stoinis fell as the last recognised batter for PBKS and Gavaskar didn't mince his words while slamming him. RCB spinner Suyash Sharma bowled a googly and Stoinis tried to play a horrible slog-sweep and missed the ball completely. The ball rattled his stumps. "This is unbelievable. This is committing suicide, isn't it?" said Gavaskar said on-air while reacting to the dismissal. Same was the story of other PBKS batters as well. They too did wild swinging and ended up losing their wickets. PBKS captain Shreyas was quite honest in admitting that the batters failed in the game, which led to the side's downfall. "We've got to work on our batting, especially on this wicket. In all the games we have played here, there has been some variable bounce. We can't give such reasons because we are professionals at the end of the day, and we have to bat according to the situation, and we have to live up to it. We have lost the battle but not the war," he said after the game. "Not a day to forget, but got to go back to the drawing board. We lost a lot of wickets (in the first innings). There's a lot to go back and study on. I am not doubting on my decisions to be honest. Whatever we did in terms of planning, outside of the ground, or whatever (planning) we did, I think it was on point. Just that we couldn't execute it on the field, can't even blame the bowlers, as it was a low total to defend," the PBKS captain added. PBKS will get another chance to make it to the final as they will face the winner of the Eliminator game between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians that is set to take place on Friday.
India Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- India Today
Sunil Gavaskar tips 'focused and mature' RCB to win IPL after crushing PBKS
Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has backed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to win the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025), following their thumping win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 1 on Thursday, May 29. RCB hammered PBKS by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 and qualified for the final, fourth time in their Sharma was adjudged Player of the Match for his marvellous spell of 3/17 in three overs as he dismissed Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh and Musheer Khan. The wrist-spinner became the ninth player to win Player of the Match for RCB this season, underscoring their non-reliance on individual performers unlike previous on Suyash's performance, Gavaskar praised RCB for finding new match winners in every game and backed them to win the tournament. 'Yes, I think that actually tells you the story of RCB this year is that they haven't been reliant on one or two players one player in batting or one player in bowling. Everywhere, somewhere or the other has put their hand up and taken the team home. And I think that is the key to what we have seen why RCB are in the final and possibly will be the champions on the 3rd of June,' Gavaskar told India the legendary batter also extolled the team for showing maturity and having subdued celebrations after their win over PBKS, saying that they're focussed on winning the they know that they still have one big game to play and so they're not getting carried away by this win. This is a massive win, as you said, the biggest win in terms of number of deliveries left. So any team could get carried away. But because this team has had the experience of being in the final and the disappointment of losing the final. They know that they have one big battle ahead, so they're not getting carried away, and that's the way to be,' he will play the final on June 3 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. RCB have lost all of their prevoius three finals in IPL history. However, the odds seem to be in their favour this time around as teams winning Qualifier 1 have won the IPL title in 11 of the 14 times in IPL history. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings will now face the winner of the Eliminator fixture between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans, set to be played on June 30 in updated on IPL 2025 with India Today! Get match schedules, team squads, live score, and the latest IPL points table for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Plus, keep track of the top contenders for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap. Don't miss a moment!
NDTV
3 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Sunil Gavaskar Tears Into Shreyas Iyer Amid Punjab Kings' Batting Collapse vs RCB: "A Nothing Shot..."
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar questioned the approach of Punjab Kings (PBKS) batters during Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday. In the battle of the top two teams from the league phase, RCB sparked a PBKS batting collapse at Mullanpur. Josh Hazlewood (3/21) and Suyash Sharma (3/17) shared six wickets between them as RCB rolled over PBKS for 101. Marcus Stoinis top-scored for PBKS 17-ball 26 while Azmatullah Omarzai (18) and Prabhsimran Singh were the other batters to register double-figure scores. After one of the dismissals, Gavaskar blasted PBKS batters on-air for their shot selection, labelling their approach as suicidal. "That's like committing suicide," Gavaskar was heard as saying. Gavaskar also blasted PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer after he was dismissed for a three-ball two in the 4th over. Shreyas went for a wild slog off Hazlewood on his third ball of the innings but was caught behind. "This is not a good shot. This is a nothing shot. One can understand if you are trying to play it over long off, but this is just a wild swing. Two wickets down, just the fourth over going," he said Stoinis was clean bowled by Suyash on the third ball of the 11th over. It was a tossed up delivery on off and Stoinis tried to hack it with the turn over midwicket. However, the ball spun sharply and beat Stoinis' inside edge, going on to rattle the stumps. On a surface where hitting through the line proved to be tricky, the all-out attack strategy of the Punjab Kings contributed to their downfall after they were put in to bat. Their innings lasted just 14.1 overs. Musheer Khan, making an unexpected IPL debut as an impact player with wickets falling in heap, too fell to a sweep off Suyash, who got his googly to turn sharply. Listen to the latest songs, only on
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Sunil Gavaskar reveals ‘selfless cricketer' and ‘team man' Jasprit Bumrah's role in Shubman Gill era for India Test side
Shubman Gill starts his Test captaincy by leading India in a daunting five-match tour of England. Batting great and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that he is happy with ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for ruling himself out of the race for the post due to his recurring back injury. Gill himself has hardly ever played in England – the 25-year-old has played just three Tests in which scored just 88 runs at an average of 14.66. However, Gill's appointment after Rohit Sharma's retirement still didn't come as a surprise to most as he had long been earmarked as the next long-term Test captain for India. Bumrah was seen as the other frontrunner for the post. 'The fact that that a total team-man and a selfless-cricketer named Jasprit Bumrah informed the selectors that since he may not be able to play all Tests because of his back issue, the selectors could zero in at Shubman Gill as the new India captain, made the selection easier. Bumrah will be at hand for Gill to lean on to and will also lead the bowling group as they try and plot the English batters' dismissals,' Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day. Gavaskar also said he is relieved that the time has gone when zones that a player belonged to would lobby with selectors when it came time to appoint a new India captain. 'Thankfully, there was no intrigue about the appointment this time. Fortunately, that time is long gone, where there were pulls and pressures from one zone and the other and the last thing on the minds of these string pullers was what was good for Indian cricket,' said Gavaskar. Gill said that being appointed as India's Test captain is the 'ultimate honour'. He has played under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and shared a dressing room with Ravichandran Ashwin, all three of whom announced their retirements this year. 'Rohit bhai was someone who was very calm and tactically always very present. He's very communicative to the players, what he wants from the players and so these are the qualities that I learned from him,' said Gill in a video inteview on the BCCI's website. 'Guys like Rohit bhai, Virat bhai and Ashwin bhai, they have given us a blueprint on how to tour away from home and win matches and series. Yes, it's one thing to be able to deliver and execute but because we have that blueprint, we know how to tour away from home and win matches and series,' Gill said.
