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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Virat Kohli's 'cockiness' on debut series revealed by his senior teammate: 'He owned the dressing room'
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan walked down memory lane to recall his first impression of Virat Kohli when he entered the dressing room for his maiden series. Kohli entered the Indian team carrying high expectations on his shoulders, having led the Under-19 squad to a World Cup triumph in 2008. He began his international journey with an ODI debut on the tour of Sri Lanka and, over time, established himself as one of the greatest white-ball batters the game has ever seen. Pathan, a key member of the squad during Kohli's debut series, reminisced about the young Delhi batter's entry into the dressing room, noting how he exuded confidence right from the start. "He won the Under-19 World Cup as a captain in 2008. He came into the dressing room with confidence and cockiness. I saw him very closely in Sri Lanka. He owned the dressing room, and it did not feel like he was a youngster," Pathan said in a video on his YouTube channel. However, when it comes to IPL, he didn't have the best of starts to his journey in the cash-rich league. In his first three IPL seasons, he couldn't cross the 400-run mark, but the 2012 edition marked a turning point as he surpassed 500 runs for the first time. From there, he never looked back, eventually becoming the highest run-scorer in the tournament's history. Pathan also reflected on the RCB superstar's IPL journey and how the peak of his career began in the 2012 edition. "But when his IPL journey began in 2008, he got around 150 runs. It was not that special, but by the time the whole cycle of his youth ends in 2012, before that came in the 2011 season where he scored more than 500 runs for RCB for the first time in his IPL career. The peak of his career started from there," Pathan said on his YouTube channel. Kohli had announced his retirement from the longest format last month after featuring in 123 Tests for India, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries.
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.
India Gazette
29-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
"I want to play all formats, including Test cricket": KKR batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi
New Delhi [India], May 29 (ANI): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi has expressed his desire to play all formats of cricket for India, including Test cricket. Raghuvanshi, a right-handed top-order batter from Mumbai, represented India at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, where he was the highest run-getter, scoring 278 runs from six innings. He made his debut for the Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and was picked up by the franchise again for the 2025 season at a price of 30 lakh. 'I want to play all formats of the game, including Test cricket,' Angkrish Raghuvanshi said as quoted from Radhuvanshi also reflected on how tougher all around is in IPL. 'People bowl faster here in the IPL, turn the ball more. It's just tougher all around here, so I had to practice harder to make my game better,' he said. Raghuvanshi emphasised the importance of playing cricket to gain experience, understand oneself, and adapt to different formats. He stresses the need to play as many matches as possible and to practice regularly. 'It's more about playing as much cricket as you can, and gaining experience. You understand yourself better, and you understand how you can adapt across formats. It's simple: Play as many matches, but more than that, I practice as much as I can.' Raghuvanshi attributed his spin game to his time in Mumbai, where the competition for slots is strong, and to batting alongside Indian T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav. 'Playing on the pitches in Mumbai has helped me develop my game against spin, because the ball turns a lot on some pitches in Mumbai. I like to learn from Suryakumar Yadav on how to play spin. I try to watch him bat and what he tries to do against spinners. He plays the field and the bowlers, and I like watching and learning from that,' he added. The defending Champions had a very lean IPL 2025 season, as KKR finished eighth in the points table, with five wins, seven defeats, and two no-result matches in their 14 fixtures; they have 12 points. However, Raghuvanshi remained a bright spark. Bought back by the franchise at the auction, he emerged as one of only two KKR batters to score 300 runs, the other being KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane. (ANI)
NDTV
29-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Young KKR Star Aims to Shine Across All Formats, Including Tests
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi has expressed his desire to play all formats of cricket for India, including Test cricket. Raghuvanshi, a right-handed top-order batter from Mumbai, represented India at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, where he was the highest run-getter, scoring 278 runs from six innings. He made his debut for the Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and was picked up by the franchise again for the 2025 season at a price of 30 lakh. "I want to play all formats of the game, including Test cricket," Angkrish Raghuvanshi said as quoted from Raghuvanshi also reflected on how tougher all around is in IPL. "People bowl faster here in the IPL, turn the ball more. It's just tougher all around here, so I had to practice harder to make my game better," he said. Raghuvanshi emphasised the importance of playing cricket to gain experience, understand oneself, and adapt to different formats. He stresses the need to play as many matches as possible and to practice regularly. "It's more about playing as much cricket as you can, and gaining experience. You understand yourself better, and you understand how you can adapt across formats. It's simple: Play as many matches, but more than that, I practice as much as I can." Raghuvanshi attributed his spin game to his time in Mumbai, where the competition for slots is strong, and to batting alongside Indian T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav. "Playing on the pitches in Mumbai has helped me develop my game against spin, because the ball turns a lot on some pitches in Mumbai. I like to learn from Suryakumar Yadav on how to play spin. I try to watch him bat and what he tries to do against spinners. He plays the field and the bowlers, and I like watching and learning from that," he added. The defending Champions had a very lean IPL 2025 season, as KKR finished eighth in the points table, with five wins, seven defeats, and two no-result matches in their 14 fixtures; they have 12 points. However, Raghuvanshi remained a bright spark. Bought back by the franchise at the auction, he emerged as one of only two KKR batters to score 300 runs, the other being KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
Express Tribune
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Namibia to play South Africa for first time
Namibia will host South Africa for a historic first meeting between the two sides to mark the official opening of their new ground in Windhoek. The one-off T20I will take place on October 11. Importantly, it will commemorate the opening of Cricket Namibia's first official stadium - previously internationals took place at the Wanderers, also in Windhoek, which is a club ground. The new ground will host the matches during the 2026 Under-19 Men's World Cup and the 2027 Men's ODI World Cup. Namibia is the co-host for the Under-19 World Cup with Zimbabwe and for the ODI World Cup with Zimbabwe and South Africa. The ground has been under construction since 2021 and will have a capacity of 7000. It is also the home of Namibia's high-performance centre. "This truly is a memorable occasion," Johann Muller, Cricket Namibia CEO, said in a statement. "The new ground has been a dream for the last four years and has finally materialised. A match against our neighbours, and one of the top cricketing countries in the world, is the perfect way to open this world-class facility." Despite being neighbours, South Africa have never played an international against Namibia, at bilateral or tournament level, and the trip across the western border indicates the growth in relations in cricket on the continent. South Africa and Zimbabwe are both playing a significant role at the African Cricket Association and there are talks of increased fixtures, such as this one, to grow the game. South Africa will also travel to Zimbabwe for the first time in 11 years later this year to play two Tests and a T20I tri-series. "We are honoured to be part of this historic occasion," Pholesti Moseki, CSA CEO, said. "Namibia are a competitive side, and this fixture reflects the growing strength of cricket on the continent. As a fellow African cricketing nation and the host of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027, we are proud to support the official opening of this new cricket ground, which will be one of the host venues of the tournament." By the time the match takes place, Namibia will have also competed in the Africa T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, where there are two spots available for next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Namibia have played in the last three T20 World Cups, and their highest profile win was over Sri Lanka in Geelong in 2022.
