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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
'Stubborn' Cheteshwar Pujara ignored Rohit Sharma's advice, regretted it moments later: 'I told him not to...'
India's batting duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma go back a long way. They first appeared for India together during the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, highlights of which are still available on YouTube, before going on to carve out a glorious career with the Indian cricket team. Rohit and Pujara could have batted a lot more together in Tests, but the Indian ODI captain's sporadic runs in Test cricket did not allow it to happen. Pujara, a Test specialist for India, instead, put on some legendary partnerships with Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli. But that doesn't take away anything from some of the most memorable and not-so-memorable moments he and Rohit have shared both on and off the field. Who can forget Rohit's iconic unfiltered call "Bhaag Pujji" followed by an expletive during the 2019 Test series between India and South Africa at home? Even though they may not have played together since 2021, Rohit and Pujara continue to share a strong bond. Last year, when moments after Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket, Rohit's slip of tongue regarding Pujara became one of his peak press conference moments. "Pujara is hiding somewhere in Rajkot, so we don't meet so often. Let me clarify, Pujara has not retired. You'll get me killed," he said. Recently, during the book launch of 'The Diary of a Cricketer's Wife' penned by Pujara's wife, Pooja, which Rohit attended, the India ODI captain reminded his former teammate about an incident that probably got left out. As part of the same Playing XI on numerous occasions, Rohit recalled their tour of the West Indies, where, despite his warning, Pujara did not pay attention and shortly regretted his decision. "I'm sure it's not written in the book. Is there anything regarding that West Indies tour of India A 2012. What happened," Rohit needed Pujara. That's when Puji opened up on the incident. "I haven't told. I mean, she is aware but she doesn't know the details. I am a vegetarian. So we were looking for a vegetarian meal at night. It was in TNT (Trinidad and Tobago) where we went out at 11 in the evening. We didn't find the meal but when we were walking back, I was mugged. I can't tell you in detail about it but that's the story he is referring to." Rohit added his two cents on the matter as well. "Moral of the story is that he can be stubborn," he said. "We told him. We warned him not to go out in the night. Don't step out after 9 PM. This is the West Indies." It should be noted that Pujara had already made his debut for India by then. His first Test for India dates to October of 2010 against Australia in Bengaluru. Between then and January of 2011, Pujara played three Tests for India before getting dropped from the team. He finally made his return in August of 2012, scoring his maiden century – 159 against New Zealand in Hyderabad.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
England name squad for first Test against India
New Delhi: As India ready themselves to take on England in the five-match Test series starting on June 20, there will be a certain reassurance in knowing that while Shubman Gill-led India is undergoing a transition, England too have several challenges to overcome. With several returnees and the rest missing due to injuries, England too seem to be testing the waters based on their announcement of a 14-player squad for the first Test match at Headingley. In what was a rather surprising call-up, bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton, will return to the red-ball setup for the first time since earning his sole cap against New Zealand at Headingley in June 2022. The 31-year-old sustained a broken little finger in the right hand during the ODI against the West Indies last week but continues to be assessed and reviewed daily by the England medical team. Oveton's call-up can be attributed to England's growing list of injury concerns in their pace potential. Gus Atkinson was another absentee in the squad as he remained unavailable for selection due to the right hamstring injury sustained during the recent Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. Atkinson's absence will particularly sting as he has been a consistent red-ball threat with the red-ball 55 wickets in his first 12 matches. Additionally, they are missing out on experience with Mark Wood and Olly Stone both out of the series with knee injuries and Jofra Archer unlikely to attain match fitness until the second Test at the earliest after a thumb issue. Seamer Brydon Carse, who has played five Tests and picked up 27 wickets, has been included in the squad. Chris Woakes is their most-capped seamer, having played 57 Tests and picked up 181 wickets. Carse and Woakes last featured during England's Test tour of New Zealand in December. There could also be a direct fight for the same spot between Woakes and Josh Tongue and it will be interesting to see if Woakes' experience will be prioritised over Tongue's form. On the batting front, Jacob Bethell's inclusion is a significant one. He missed the Zimbabwe Test due to IPL duties but finding a place for him in the Playing XI will give England a headache. Bethell, who has the backing of captain Ben Stokes, scored three half-centuries at No. 3 on his debut series in New Zealand but Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope – his immediate competition – both scored centuries against Zimbabwe. Jamie Smith, who was set to get a break before the India series will now have to step in for Phil Salt, who is on a paternity leave for the West Indies T20Is. However, their batting line-up will look to largely harness the experience of the in-form Joe Root and Ben Duckett. Harry Brook, who scored 58 against Zimbabwe, will be hoping to do more against India. Both the squads have changed significantly since England's 1-4 series defeat in India 18 months ago. Shubman Gill will take over India's Test captaincy for the first time as he leads a squad without the towering presence of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin. England, meanwhile, will be without James Anderson, who retired shortly after that tour, while having moved on from Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson. Squad: Ben Stokes (C), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (WK), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
News18
02-06-2025
- Sport
- News18
BCCI Punishes Hardik Pandya, Mumbai Indians After Defeat To Punjab Kings
Following the defeat, MI were found guilty of maintaining a slow over-rate and were subsequently penalised. This is the third time this IPL season that MI have committed this offence. Hardik Pandya has been found in breach of the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences and has been fined Rs 30 lakh. 'The rest of the members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, were each individually fined either INR 12 lakhs or 50 per cent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser," the IPL said in a statement. Batting first, MI posted 203/6 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma scored 44 runs each, while Jonny Bairstow made 38 in a combined middle-order display. Like MI, PBKS also lost an opener cheaply but overcame this setback to overhaul the target in 19 overs, with captain Shreyas Iyer hitting an unbeaten 87 off 41. PBKS will now face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final at the same venue on Tuesday. This will be the fourth time that these two sides will clash in the ongoing season. Pandya attributed PBKS' win to Iyer's outstanding batting. 'The way Shreyas batted, took his chances, and some of the shots he played were really outstanding. I think they definitely batted really well. I think it (MI's total) was par, but it needed some great execution as a bowling unit, which I think in these big games it really matters," Pandya said. This was the sixth consecutive occasion that MI have lost a game in Ahmedabad, with their sole victory coming in 2014 against Rajasthan Royals.
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
IPL 2025, PBKS vs RCB: Hazlewood back in Playing XI for Qualifier 1 after injury break
In a big boost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood was named in the Playing XI for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on Thursday. Hazlewood was named in the Playing XI in place of Nuwan Thushara, who picked one for 26 from his four overs on his RCB debut against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday. Hazlewood last featured in this edition of the IPL against Delhi Capitals on April 27 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The Australian pacer had returned home during IPL's week-long suspension earlier this month. He is nursing a shoulder injury and returned to India only on Sunday. The 34-year-old is fourth in the list of the leading wicket-takers this season, with 18 scalps in just 10 matches, and has been the linchpin of RCB's bowling attack.
NDTV
27-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Shubman Gill Called '3rd Best Option' For Captaincy. Virender Sehwag Says "How Many Matches..."
Shubman Gill was appointed Indian cricket team captain for the upcoming Test series against England with Rishabh Pant serving as his deputy. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announcing their retirement, it will be a huge task for Gill to lead the side in such a crucial series. According to media reports, although Jasprit Bumrah was a major option, the selectors decided to go with Gill over him and the likes of KL Rahul and Pant. Former India batter Manoj Tiwary believes that Gill was the second choice for the selectors and the decision was mainly taken due to the uncertainty around Bumrah's fitness. 'He was the second-best option. But how can someone who doesn't even fit in the Playing XI be made captain? So I feel the logic here was that they looked at who the second-best option was, and that was Gill, and that is how it happened,' he said on Cricbuzz. Legendary India batter Virender Sehwag agreed with Tiwary but said that for him, Rishabh Pant was the second choice for captaincy if not Bumrah. India legend Virender Sehwag, who was also on the panel, agreed with the selectors that Bumrah should not be given the responsibility amid uncertainty over his availability for all Test matches for India. However, he disagreed with Tiwary, saying it Rishabh Pant was the second-best option and not Gill. 'For a series, Bumrah is okay. But as a long-term option, you need to ask if India play 10 Tests in a year, will he be able to play all those matches? Or, how many matches can he play? That is a major factor in picking a captain. So that I feel was the right decision, because they felt they could not put that pressure and load on Bumrah. Tiwary said Gill is the second-best, but I feel that is Rishabh Pant, and Gill is the third-best,' he said. 'What Pant did for Test cricket, no other player has done. After Virat Kohli, if there is one player who has compelled fans into watching Test cricket, it's Pant. But because he had that accident, got injured and then came back, he did not have that much of an impact, and hence he was made the vice-captain, thinking that if he can bounce back to form, they can take that decision of making him the captain in the future. But there are very few bowlers who are made the captain. In my career, it was just Anil Kumble, who loved the format, was available and was a certainty in the XI.' Listen to the latest songs, only on
