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Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
'How many times did Virat Kohli get out chasing 4th stump balls? Rohit technically better': Gibbs cooks up a storm
When a teenager Virat Kohli was asked about his favourite cricketer, he had no qualms in taking Herschelle Gibbs' name. Apart from his declaration of being a quick bowler, there is nothing to contest in that ICC U19 World Cup introductory video, which can be easily found on social media. 17 years later as Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket, his 'favourite cricketer', Gibbs is making heads turn, not for the right reasons. Often looked at with the corner of the eye for his flamboyance and inhibition-free thought process, Gibbs ruffled the fans of Virat Kohli by criticising his technique. The former South Africa batter, whose muscling of the fast bowlers was as famous as his notorious lifestyle off the field, said Rohit Sharma has a far better technique than Kohli. Gibbs jumped into a debate that many would happily avoid, even among close peers. But then again, when was Gibbs acting goody goody? It all started when a fan posted a comparison video of Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli was seen playing a cover drive against the turn while Rohit, to a delivery pitched in a similar region, decided to play a booming sweep shot. The fan claimed the biggest difference between Kohli and Rohit was that even in his worst days, Rohit adapted to the conditions and the bowler but Kohli didn't. He continued to play the same way even after it got him into trouble. Gibbs took note of that video and wrote: "It's up to the batting coach to give him more options to score no matter who the batter is.. thank me later." Nothing controversial here but it's what happened in the threads of this post that created all the noise. Gibbs was answering fan queries to justify his point. "A coach can't force you to play shots you don't normally play but encourage you to add to your scoring repertoire," he repied when a fan asked him to elaborate more on the batting coach's role. While Gibbs was replying to fans, one of them asked, "What do you think, which batsman is technically correct among the two??" "Rohit was always more technically correct than virat but Virat's desire to dominate especially in white ball format is a major difference between the two batters," Gibbs replied. Yes, it was that easy and straightforward for Gibbs, almost shooting from point-blank distance. When a fan disagreed with Gibbs' assesment by stating that Rohit has never had a settled batting position in Test cricket, the former South Africa batter countered by saying: "You ever see Rohit defend balls on 4th or 5th stump ? How many times did Virat get out doing just that ? Rohit definitely technically better than Virat." Rohit and Kohli, two stalwarts of India's batting unit for the last 15 years or so, retired from Test cricket in a span of five days, leaving a huge void in India's batting unit before the England tour.
Int'l Cricket Council
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Int'l Cricket Council
England call up talented youngster as injury replacement for Zimbabwe Test
Cox will miss out on the opportunity to make his England Test debut for the second time, having previously been ruled out of last year's tour of New Zealand due to a finger injury. England's revised squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, James Rew, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue. Cox's replacement Rew has been in sparkling form in the County Championship, batting at an incredible average of 54.21 with a highest score of 152. His most recent knock of 116 guided his side to victory over Essex. A graduate of the England Lions pathway, Rew was part of the squad that toured Australia last winter and played a central role in the Young Lions' run to the ICC U19 World Cup final in 2022, where he lined up alongside now-established internationals Rehan Ahmed and Jacob Bethell.
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Lhuan-dre Pretorius' roller-coaster ride gets wilder with maiden IPL Rajasthan Royals call-up
Teenage prodigy Lhuan-dre Pretorius is the hottest talent in South African cricket right now. Picture: Sportzpics Image: Sportzpics South African teenage prodigy Lhuan-dre Pretorius' amazing season has just got wilder after he was signed up to the Indian Premier League on Thursday. The 19-year-old was called up by the Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for Nitish Rana, who will miss the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 due to injury. Pretorius has taken the cricketing world by storm over the last 12 months, particularly during his debut season in the Betway SA20, where he emerged as the tournament's leading run-scorer in Season 3. The young Paarl Royals batter amassed an impressive 397 runs at a breathtaking strike rate of over 166.81. His performance included four half-centuries, with an outstanding top score of 97 on debut. "It's a real dream come true. I'm just trying to be like a sponge and soaking everything in," Pretorius said at the time. The rookie cricketer first gained attention at the ICC U19 World Cup in South Africa, where he also finished as the highest run-scorer for the host nation last year. He has since transferred his short-format form to the longer versions of the game where he has struck centuries in both List A and first-class cricket for the Titans. Pretorius showed that he has the temperament to perform under severe pressure too with a superb 114 to save the Titans from defeat in the CSA domestic first-class final at the Wanderers.
Business Recorder
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Business Recorder
Sarfaraz Ahmed embraces new role as Quetta Gladiators' team director
Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is stepping into a fresh chapter of his cricketing journey as Team Director of Quetta Gladiators in the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) X. The 2019 champions, currently placed fifth on the points table with one win from three matches, have returned to Lahore after playing in Rawalpindi and Karachi. With five home fixtures lined up in the provincial capital, the team has begun training at the LCCA Ground, a venue recently used during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025. Sarfaraz, who captained Pakistan to notable triumphs including the ICC U19 World Cup (2006) and the ICC Champions Trophy (2017), also led the Gladiators to their maiden HBL PSL title in 2019. Now, in a new leadership role, he is focused on steering the team from the dugout. Speaking to PCB Digital, Sarfaraz termed the transition from player to Team Director as both 'exciting' and 'challenging.' 'It's not easy for a player to move into a coaching role, but over time, one has to evolve and adapt,' he said. 'I have been with Quetta since the beginning of PSL, and this role allows me to give back in a different capacity.' He also highlighted the league's evolution: 'The PSL has grown immensely since 2016. The PCB and all stakeholders have worked hard to make it a success. We need to continue collaborating to make it a global brand.' Reflecting on Quetta's 2019 title-winning campaign, Sarfaraz said, 'That win was a memorable one. We had the right combination that year, and we are aiming to recreate that success this season.' On the team's overseas recruitment for this edition, he expressed optimism: 'We didn't perform well over the past three seasons, but this time we've selected overseas players suited to T20 cricket. We are hopeful of delivering better results.' Sarfaraz also praised young talents Hasan Nawaz and Khawaja Nafay. 'Hasan is a promising player and this is a great opportunity for him. Khawaja was picked in the Emerging category last year and has done well domestically. Both have a lot to learn from this platform.' On Saud Shakeel's leadership, he added: 'Saud has the full backing of the team. He showed strong captaincy in our first win, and although we lost the next two, we trust him to take the team forward.'
The Citizen
22-04-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Indoor facility to drive cricket development
In a major stride toward enhancing sport in Boksburg, Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen unveiled the Bateleurs Multisport Centre, which blends sport and recreation, on April 8. Situated in the heart of the school, the indoor facility was donated by the Bateleurs NPO, a group of Boksburg businessmen who have joined forces to erect infrastructure in the community and the school. 'A huge word of thanks to the Bateleurs. They want to enhance schools in Boksburg, especially EG Jansen so that our children won't have to leave Ekurhuleni to get schooling in other areas,' said cricket director Andrew Nel. While the facility will mainly be used for cricket development, with one-on-one and net sessions with professional coaches, its importance to the school is underlined by its multipurpose function. 'It will also host cultural and social functions. It's also a netball court which we can use in case of bad weather. For hockey, the idea is to add an Astro in the future,' explained Nel. Also Read: Woodlands embarks on R25m sport facility project Cricket academy Nel dreams of the school and Bateleurs Centre becoming a cricket hub for Boksburg to enhance the sport in the community and develop players from pre-school to high school. 'We are building a cricket programme and this centre is the pinnacle point of that programme to give cricket an injection within the broader community. EG Jansen is already involved in outreach programmes with communities like Geluksdal on the cricketing side. We want to become a hub for Boksburg and Ekurhuleni,' Nel said. Nel previously served as the cricket head at Hoërskool Marais Viljoen in Alberton. Under his guidance, the school produced U19 junior internationals Dewan Marais and Ashleigh van Wyk, who represented SA at the ICC U19 World Cup and ICC Women's T20 World Cup, respectively. 'We want to enhance cricket in Boksburg. From 16:00 to 20:00, it will be opened to the whole community to get involved.' Also Read: Batting coach praises school's new indoor facility At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
