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The Board of Control for Cricket in India released the IPL auction rules on Sunday. Each franchise can retain upto 6 players with Right To Match (RTM) option included in it. As the teams have started finalizing their picks ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, former India pacer RP Singh has passed a huge verdict on franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He said that the side will only retain Virat Kohli and release everyone else, relying on the RTM. Notably, Kohli is playing for RCB since the inaugural season of IPL. Kohli is the highest run-getter in IPL history with 8004 to his credit from 252 matches. He has scored 8 centuries, the most by any player in the tournament, and 55 half-centuries. "I feel they don't have any problem. They will just retain Virat Kohli, release everyone else, and use the RTM," RP Singh said during a discussion on Colors Cineplex. Given a total of 6 retentions, including RTM, are allowed, the IPL franchise can choose their combination for it. Howv...

Jemimah Rodrigues struck a crucial fifty as India secured a comprehensive 20-run victory against West Indies in a warm-up game ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup on Sunday. Rodrigues anchored India's innings with a steady 40-ball 52, including five boundaries, as they posted 141 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs. Yastika Bhatia chipped in with a handy 25-ball 24, which featured a four and a six, while opener Smriti Mandhana (14) and Deepti Sharma (13) also made useful contributions. In response, West Indies could manage just 121 for 8 in their stipulated 20 overs, with Chinelle Henry top-scoring with an unbeaten 59 off 48 balls. Shemaine Campbelle (20) and Afy Fletcher (21) tried to stabilize the innings but couldn't see their team through. India's bowling unit worked in tandem, with Pooja Vastrakar taking three wickets and Deepti Sharma (2/11) grabbing two wickets. Renuka Singh (1/15), Asha Sobhana (1/7), and Radha Yadav (1/24) chipped in with a wicket apiece. For Wes...

Travis Head starred with both bat and ball as world champions Australia beat England by 49 runs in a rain-marred fifth and final one-day international on Sunday to complete a 3-2 series win. England were set for a huge total when opener Ben Duckett (107) and in-form captain Harry Brook shared a third-wicket stand of 132 in 98 balls. But from 202-2 slow bowling proved England's undoing as they lost their last eight wickets for 107 runs to be dismissed for 309, with part-time spinner Head taking an ODI best 4-28. Australia made a blistering start to their chase, with openers Matthew Short (58) and Head (31) sharing a stand of 78 in slightly more than seven overs. And when rain stopped play, Australia were 165-2 off 20.4 overs -- well ahead of the target required under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method for weather-affected white-ball games. Steven Smith, leading Australia in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh, was 36 not out before the umpires called the game off at 6:00 pm local ti...

All 10 franchises will be allowed to retain upto six players before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. The IPL General Council members, during a meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday, decided that among those six retentions, one has to be an uncapped player. According to IPL GC's official release, at least one of the six retentions should be for an uncapped player, while the remainings five can all be Indians or overseas. A team can hold on to the six players via the direct retention route or a combination of retention and RTM options. If a team wants to retain five players, the first three retentions would cost them Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore and Rs 11 crore, respectively, from the overall purse of Rs 120 crore, which is Rs 20 crore from last year's auction. For the last two picks, the franchises will lose Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore. To be precise, a team will enter the auction with Rs 45 crore if they decide to retain five players. Also, a maximum of two uncapped pla...

The 10 IPL franchises will be allowed to retain a maximum of six players from their previous squads, including usage Right To Match (RTM) card at the auction that will cost Rs 75 crore out of an enhanced team purse of Rs 120 crore, the IPL governing council decided on Saturday. In a significant move, the BCCI also decided that all those India players, who haven't played any international game for at least five calendar years will deemed “uncapped players”, a move being seen to ensure that Chennai Super Kings can retain the peerless Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who last played for the country in the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal. It is learnt that for an uncapped player, the retention cost will be Rs 4 crore and hence CSK even if they retain Dhoni, can surely save a lot for the auction. A team was allowed up to four retentions in the last mega auction held in 2022. On the day, BCCI secretary Jay Shah also announced a fixed match fee of Rs 7.50 lakh for all players selected to play the le...

The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council on Saturday announced the IPL player regulation 2025-27. Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, the rules hold extra significance. All 10 franchises will be allowed to retain upto six players before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. The IPL General Council, during its meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday,  decided that among those six retentions, one has to be an uncapped player. The auction purse for the franchises has been set at INR 120 Crore for IPL 2025. "Following a constructive dialogue with the owners of the 10 franchises in July at the BCCI Headquarters, the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council (GC) met in Bengaluru today to decide the TATA IPL Player Regulations 2025-2027," the BCCI said in a release.. The following decisions were taken in the IPL Governing Council meeting: 1. The IPL franchises can retain a total of 6 players from their existing squad. This can be either via retention or by using th...

Former Bangladesh cricket team captain Tamim Iqbal questioned the DRS decision that led to Shadman Islam's dismissal on Day 1 of the second Test match against India in Kanpur on Friday. The dismissal led to a debate between Tamim and former Indian cricketers Ravi Shastri and Dinesh Karthik . The ball-tracking technology decided that it was a dismissal but Tamim was of the opinion that it was sliding down the leg-side. Akash Deep was convinced that it was a dismissal and after the successful review, even Rohit was left stunned. It was a very important wicket for India in that situation but Tamim was not convinced and he raised questions about the DRS technology used in that particular delivery. "I thought that was sliding down the leg stump but DRS had other ideas," Tamim said in commentary. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was in the commentary box with Tamim, disagreed to his statement and said that the camera angles can sometimes create an illusion. ...

India vs Bangladesh Second Test Day 2 Live Updates: Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim will resume at their overnight scores of 40 and 6, respectively on Saturday. Rain forced early Stumps on the opening day of the second Test between India and Bangladesh at Green Park in Kanpur. There is prediction of rain on the second day too.. Akash Deep struck twice on Day 1 to reduce Bangladesh to 29 for 2 before the visitors made a bit of recovery. Ravichandran Ashwin claimed the third wicket of Bangladesh. The Najmul Hossain Shanto -led side were 107 for 3 after 35 overs when early stumps was called. ( Live Scorecard ) Here are the Live Score and Updates from Day 2 of India vs Bangladesh second Test - from NDTV Sports-Cricket https://ift.tt/k9VixUe

Rishabh Pant is finally back in the Indian whites with his inclusion in the ongoing Bangladesh Test series. This is the first red-ball series at the highest level for the southpaw ever since he suffered a horrific car crash in December 2022. As Pant is back behind the stumps for India in the longest format of the game, he has already resumed his on-field chatter during wicketkeeping, which also keeps the fans entertained. The first India vs Bangladesh first Test in Chennai witnessed some really funny moments that were caught on stump mic and Pant had a major contribution in it. Of late, Pant's chatter behind the stumps on Day 1 of second Test vs Bangladesh in Kanpur is going viral. Bangladesh batter Mominul Haque was batting on the opening day of the rain-hit Kanpur Test when Pant poked fun at him. It was Ravichandran Ashwin bowling the 33rd over of the Bangladesh innings when the incident took place. " Idhar se LBW le sakte hai helmet se. Helmet se ek lbw le sakte hai b...

Sri Lanka will host the West Indies for white-ball bilaterals in October, with a three-match T20I and ODI series, according to the ICC. Sri Lanka will seek to take confidence from their positive run in recent months, with an ODI series win over India, a Test match win against England at The Oval, and a brilliant run in the Test series against New Zealand at home. Though the Men in Maroon had their fair share of disappointments in the Test arena, they recently beat South Africa 3-0 in a T20I contest at home. The T20I series between Sri Lanka and West Indies will begin of October 13. The second and third match of the series will take place on October 15 and 17, respectively. All the matches of the T20I series will take place in Dambulla. Meanwhile, the ODI series will kick off on October 20. The second and third match of the series will be held on 23 and 26 October. All the 50-over matches will be played in Kandy. In the ODI arena, the two sides are evenly matched, with 31 wins to the...

A 2-0 whitewash will be the aim of the Indian cricket team when it takes on Bangladesh in the second and final Test at Green Park in Kanpur on Friday. The Rohit Sharma -led side put a dominating performance in the first game in Chennai and it will try to replicate the show in Kanpur as well. India won the first Test by 280 runs, thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin 's all-round show. The star player scored 113 runs in his only innings in the game before returning figures of 6 for 88. India currently top the World Test Championship table with 71.67 percentage points. They have won 7 of the 10 matches played so far. The side has lost two and drew one game. India are in strong contention to make it to the World Test Championship final and they will aim to keep their hopes strong with yet another victory against Bangladesh. When will the India vs Bangladesh 2nd Test match start? The India vs Bangladesh 2nd Test match will start on September 27, 2024. Where will the India vs Bangladesh 2nd...

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have parted ways with head coach Trevor Bayliss and head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar ahead of the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season, according to ESPNcricinfo. As per the report, the decision was made recently by the franchise board, which includes the four co-owners. This move is part of the franchise's efforts to revamp its coaching staff. Earlier this month, Punjab Kings appointed Ricky Ponting as their new head coach. Bayliss took over as head coach after IPL 2022, while Bangar joined the franchise in December 2023. The Kings, who have yet to win an IPL title, finished eighth in 2023 and ninth the previous season. Interestingly, Bangar's first association with Punjab Kings was as head coach from 2014 to 2016, after which he became the assistant coach for the Indian national team. He later joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as a batting consultant in 2021 and was subsequently promoted to head coach. In December 2023, he returned to Punjab...

MS Dhoni is famously known as 'Captain Cool' for keeping his calm even in the toughest of situations. Besides his tactical acumen, batting and wicketkeeping, his way of dealing with pressure is also something that is hailed and liked by many. However, even Dhoni at times has been seen losing his cool, though such occurences are extremely rare. One such incident was the IPL 2019 incident when Dhoni got involved in a heated debate with umpires and the entire episode ended on a poor note. Chennai Super Kings were playing against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. During the last over of the neck-and-neck battle, CSK were denied a no-ball as leg umpire was satisfied with a waist high full toss delivery. Dhoni, who was outside the boundary ropes at the moment, could not control himself and jumped into the ground only to have an ugly chat with umpires. Out-of-favour India player and Dhoni's then teammate Mohit Sharma opened up on the incident. "We w...

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria didn't hold back in his scathing criticism of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Pakistan team following their humiliating Test series loss to Bangladesh. It was Pakistan's first-ever Test series defeat to Bangladesh and Kaneria expressed his frustration, even going so far as to say that "a mohalla team is better than them." The two-match series saw Pakistan dominate the first Test with a resounding 10-wicket victory. However, in a shocking turnaround, Bangladesh chased down 185 runs in the second Test with six wickets in hand, marking the third-highest successful run chase by a visiting team on Pakistani soil. The loss has raised serious concerns about the direction of the team under Babar Azam 's leadership. In an interview with IANS, Kaneria didn't mince words while talking about the Pakistan team's recent performance against Bangladesh. "The level of the Pakistan cricket team is so low that even...

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Wednesday revealed that he didn't have the "inspiration" left to take the domestic cricket route for a place in the national side and that was the reason why he chose to retire from the game last month. The 38-year-old Dhawan retired from international and domestic cricket late in August after having played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is for India between 2013 and 2022. "I didn't want to play domestic cricket, which I started playing at the age of 18 or 19 and I didn't have that inspiration from inside to play that (form of) cricket," Dhawan told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket, an event for retired cricketers that he signed up for after calling it quits from the game internationally. Dhawan became India's 25th ODI skipper in an ODI against Sri Lanka in June 2021 when he stood in for Rohit Sharma and went on to lead the country in 12 matches, winning seven and losing three. ...

Former Australia great Adam Gilchrist and former England captain Michael Vaughan had their say on a very tricky question. The duo - who appear together on the Club Prairie Fire podcast - were posed a question that is certain to divide the hearts of many fans. Start one, bench one, sell one between Virat Kohli , Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for their own hypothetical franchise. Despite being given the Herculean task, Vaughan broke down the situation and gave a rather surprising answer. "I'm playing MS Dhoni . I don't think anyone's been better," said Michael Vaughan, appearing alongside Gilchrist in an interaction with the cricket.com YouTube channel . "MS is a captain," he reasoned, as to why he had picked him over Kohli. "I'm getting rid of Virat. He's never won the IPL. Rohit Sharma is a six-time winner. MS Dhoni is a five-time winner," he said. Vaughan said that Rohit Sharma would be on the bench for him, as a substi...

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was on Tuesday recalled as the Pakistan selectors named a 15-member squad for the first Test against England beginning on October 7. Afridi, who was dropped for the second and final Test against Bangladesh earlier this month due to poor form, was back in the squad for the first Test in Multan. Seasoned left-arm spinner Noman Ali, who was not considered for the two Tests against Bangladesh, was also named in the squad. Bangladesh had won both the Tests in a big upset. Ali replaced pace bowler Khurrum Shehzad who is yet to recover from a injury he sustained during the home series against Bangladesh. All-rounder Aamer Jamal, who couldn't play in the series against Bangladesh, was also retained in the squad after coming back from a fitness issue. The rest of the players were those who were part of the Pakistan squad for the two Tests against Bangladesh. Pakistan Cricket Board also announced that head coach Jason Gillispie had asked the selected player...

Gautam Gambhir just tasted his first success in Tests as Indian cricket team coach. After Rahul Dravid guided the team to 2024 T20 World Cup triumph, the onus is now on Gambhir to take the team forward. After the Sri Lanka limited overs tour, the Indian cricket team has now started a long Test season. After the ongoing Bangladesh Test series, India will play New Zealand and Australia. Ravichandran Ashwin will be a crucial cog in India's wheel in that journey.  Before that, Ashwin described how Gambhir and Dravid are different as coaches.   "I think he is very relaxed. There is nothing at all. In the morning, in the huddle. 'Are you coming?' Like that. Rahul Bhai is like, we will come. As soon as we come, the bottles should be in a place. He is very regimented. He is like, everything should be in order, according to him. He has a relaxed order. I feel that hr captures the minds of the people. He loves the boys. He is not only relaxed," Ashwin said on his YouTu...

In his own way, Ravichandran Ashwin continues to create his legacy in Indian cricket. With more than 500 wickets to his name, Ashwin sits second in the list of wicket-takers for the country in Tests. With 6 Test centuries to his name, the veteran cricketer has established his name as a true all-rounder that the team can rely on in every precarious situation. However, it's been tough for Ashwin to gain recognition in a country that is obsessively in love with its batters. However, veteran Bangladesh cricketer Tamim Iqbal feels R Ashwin's importance is as big as batting greats like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in India. Tamim, who is working as one of the pundits-cum-commentator for Bangladesh's tour of India, didn't flinch as he put Ashwin in the same bracket as Virat and Rohit. "That was brilliant what he did, he was batting like a proper batter. I come from a different country. What I always hear is Virat Kohlis and Rohit Sharmas but Ravichandran Ashwin is e...

Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell said on Sunday that Rohit Sharma-led Team India must focus on ensuring the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant for their upcoming matches. Rohit Sharma-led India clinched a massive 280-run win over Bangladesh in the first Test match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. Currently, India leads the WTC standings . Their upcoming WTC series include New Zealand (three Tests at home), and Australia (five Tests away). In his column for ESPNcricinfo, Chappell said that India's main goal should be to get more players into form. "India's main goal should be to get as many players into form as possible while avoiding major injuries. However, the focus must be on ensuring the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant," Chappell said. The former cricketer added that Pant's evolution from a questionable keeper against spinners to a skilled gloveman showed his dedication. "A keeper who meets these demands not only enha...

India's stalwart Virat Kohli's struggle against spinners in Asia since 2021 continued after another dry outing with the bat in the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Chennai. In both innings of the Test, Kohli delivered subpar scores of 6 and 17. While in the first inning, he chased an outside off-stump delivery by Hasan Mahmud. However, in the second inning, Kohli was exposed in front of spinners once again. He fell victim to Mehidy Hasan Miraz and got trapped in front of the stumps. After his dismissal, in the replay, the Ultraedge showed a spike when the bat made contact with the ball, which would have ruled Virat not out had he opted for a review. As Kohli did not use the DRS, he had to walk back to the dressing room with a score of 17. The dismissal continued the poor string of results against spinners in Asia. Since 2021, in the Test format, Kohli has scored 499 runs after facing 1094 balls. During this period, he has been dismissed 18 times. He has averaged 27.72 with ...

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali compared the dynamic wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant to India's iconic opener, Virender Sehwag. After being involved in a life-threatening accident in December 2022, Pant's return to Test format for India has begun on a breathtaking note. After his promising knock ended on 39 in the first inning, he dug deep and raised his bat to celebrate his splendid century in Chennai in the opening Test against Bangladesh. Basit drew comparisons between Pant and Sehwag after witnessing the southpaw's blitzkrieg against Bangladesh. He pointed out that both batters used attack as a way of defence in the longest format of cricket. "There are two batters in India. The second is Rishabh Pant. The first one was Virender Sehwag, whose defence was attacking. He used to go after the boundary on the first ball. Rishabh Pant came, whose defence is attack. He plays shots and plays well against Bangladesh. He won hearts," Basit said on his YouTube cha...

Australia were indebted to Alex Carey as they beat England by 68 runs in the second one-day international at Headingley on Saturday to go 2-0 up in a five-match series. The world champions were in trouble at 221-9 after losing the toss. But Carey made a dashing 74, with the wicketkeeper dominating a last-wicket stand of 49 with Josh Hazlewood that took Australia to 270 all out. That proved more than enough as a new-look England, who collapsed to 65-5, were dismissed for 202 with nearly 10 overs remaining after none of their batsmen made a fifty. This was Australia's 14th consecutive ODI win, with only the Australia 2003 World Cup-winning side led by Ricky Ponting , enjoying a longer unbeaten run at this level of 21 straight victories. Mitchell Starc (3-50) and Hazlewood (2-54) struck early in England's reply after the veteran fast bowlers missed Australia's seven-wicket success at Trent Bridge on Thursday with illness. Jamie Smith 's 49 merely delayed the inevitab...

Virat Kohli 's 'sledging history' with Mushfiqur Rahim came a point of discussion on commentary during Day 2 of the first Test match between India and Bangladesh in Chennai on Friday. When Mushfiqur came out to bat in the first innings, former Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal said on commentary that he expects something interesting considering his 'history' with Virat. It referred to Mushfiqur's comments that Virat earlier sledged him on the field. Former India coach Ravi Shastri was in the commentary box with Tamim and did not miss the opportunity to take a cheeky dig. “Mushfiqur Rahim is batting, Virat Kohli is in the slips. Watch out now. Keep an eye on them. They have quite the history,” Tamim said. Reacting to Iqbal's comments, Shastri asked, “What history?” The ex-Bangladesh skipper replied - “Oh, you know, Ravi. You know what history I am talking about.” Earlier, Mushfiqur said that Kohli tends to say things to him when he comes out to bat agains...

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli share a great camaraderie on and off the field. On Friday, a heartwarming video went viral on social media in which the duo could be seen bursting into laughter. It all started with India captain Rohit jokingly taps Shubman Gill 's jaw with his left hand while talking to the player in the dugout. Kohli, who was sitting adjacent to Rohit, quickly reminded him that his act was being recorded by the camera. As soon as Rohit realised this, both Rohit and Kohli could not help and laughed their hearts out. Watch it here: Rohit casually hit Shubman Gill on his jaw Virat told Rohit that we are on camera Then all started laughing together Watch this #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/8YlDwi2T2R — Rohit Fan For Life (@RohitFanForLife) September 20, 2024 Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar series 2024-25 against India, Australia right-arm seamer Josh Hazelwood opened up on the game plan that his team will make for players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the upcomi...

Indian cricket team batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has been extremely impressive in his fairly short Test career and he added a massive feat to his name during Day 2 of the first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai on Friday. After scoring 56 in the first innings, Jaiswal failed to score big in the second innings as he was dismissed for 10 but that did not stop him from becoming the first Indian batter to achieve a huge milestone. After his first 10 matches, Jaiswal has scored 1094 runs - the most by any Indian batter ever. Jaiswal is the first Indian batter to score more than 1000 runs in the first 10 matches with the record previously belonging to Sunil Gavaskar (978 runs). Overall, Don Bradman holds the record as he scored 1446 runs in his first 10 matches. Most runs scored by a batter after first 10 Tests 1446 runs - Don Bradman (Australia) 1125 runs - Everton Weekes (West Indies) 1102 runs - George Headley (West Indies) 1094 runs - Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) 1088 runs - Mark...

Former captain Mithali Raj reckons that India will enjoy a significant edge over other teams, as the conditions in the UAE resemble those found on home soil. The women's T20 World Cup is set to be played in the UAE -- Dubai and Sharjah -- from October 3. The ICC moved marquee event from Bangladesh owing to the political unrest in that nation. "The UAE is, again, in very similar conditions, so we can say that, you know, our team has the advantage," Mithali told Star sports. However, the former batter warned against complacency, emphasising that every team will arrive fully prepared for showpiece event. "But again, the World Cup means every team comes well prepared," she added. Despite reaching the finals of ICC events, including a couple of senior World Cups, the Indian women's team is yet to grab its maiden global title. "The Indian women's team, so far, hasn't won, other than the Under-19 World Cup," Mithali said. "I think I will...

Travis Head 's superb career-best 154 not out saw depleted world champions Australia to a seven-wicket win over England in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Australia, set 316 for victory, finished on 317-3 with six overs to spare as they went 1-0 up in a five-match series to make it 13 ODI wins in a row against all opponents. Earlier, Marnus Labuschagne was the unlikely hero with the ball as Australia fought back after losing the toss. England, on 201-2 off 30 overs, were set for a colossal total as Ben Duckett eyed a hundred on his home ground. But left-hander Duckett departed for 95 when caught and bowled by part-time leg-spinner Labuschagne, who also removed Harry Brook -- out for 39 in his first innings as England captain -- in similar fashion soon afterwards. Labuschagne returned ODI-best figures of 3-39 as England, succumbing to spin, lost their last six wickets for 59 runs. First-choice leg-spinner Adam Zampa marked his 100th ODI with 3-49...

Whatever happens on the field, stays on the field. Don't think there is a better sentence to describe the relationship between India head coach Gautam Gambhir and star batter Virat Kohli . The two share a history when it comes to on-field altercations, having played plenty of cricket together and against each other. The two Delhi boys, in a video shared by the BCCI, sat down to discuss their careers, highs and lows, and the on-field battles in the past. During the light-hearted chat, Gambhir asked Virat, "So Virat, the next guest is Rohit. What do you want me to ask? What should be the first question?" Kohli told Gambhir to ask Rohit whether he eats soaked almonds in the morning.  "I think it is a very simple question to Rohit. Ki subah bheege badam khate ho ki nahi (Do you eat soaked almonds in the morning?)." This prompted laughter from Gambhir, who replied: "That will help Rohit remember to come in at 11 am, not at night. Ke subah 11 bhaje ke jagah...

India captain Rohit Sharma commands great respect from his peers and has often been described as an easy guy to hangout with. Rohit's on-field communication with players has also given fans a glimpse of they style of his captaincy. Delving deep into the topic, India all-rounder Axar Patel explained how Rohit gives bowlers complete freedom to execute plans, but also likes to do his own homework beforehand, drafting strategies before matches, not just for the opponent teams but individual players as well. "Simple funda hai unka . He doesn't like to complicate things too much. He comes in after learning his lessons. He knows which bowler will be used in what kind of situation and which one won't and after that he would leave it to the bowlers," Axar said in a chat with Vimal Kumar on YouTube. "He doesn't interfere much with the bowlers. Yes if I ask that I want this thing and I am planning this, then he will give that without any qualms. But if that didn...

In a heart-to-heart conversation, Indian cricket stalwarts Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir gave fans the memory of a lifetime. Often making news because of the 'masala' in their relationship, Kohli opened his heart in front of Gambhir, the man who recently took up the role of Team India's head coach. As the two discussed their careers, personalities and vision through this journey of Indian cricket, some brilliant tales were narrated. While discussing the famous Australia series of 2014-15, Virat opened up the on the challenge he found ahead of him as MS Dhoni announced his decision to quit Test captaincy, leaving the responsibility of a young team on Kohli's shoulders. "The thing that excited me about Test cricket and when I was coming up as captain was the challenge. We were transitioning when you guys had made way for a youngster team and Mahi bhai left Test captaincy. I was 25, so for me it was like 'I am here with a bunch of 24-25 year-old guys. How do...

Star India batter Shreyas Iyer is currently not in the scheme of things, as far as Test cricket is concerned. Iyer, who was not picked by the selectors for the 1st Test against Bangladesh, has endured a torrid run in the ongoing Duleep Trophy scoring just 104 runs in four innings. The batter has fallen behind in the pecking order, with youngsters like Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel impressing in the whites against England earlier this year. With Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul also part of the squad for the series opener, Iyer's form in the Duleep Trophy has further dented his hopes of making a Test comeback any time soon. Now, a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official has claimed that there's no room for Iyer in the current Test team, raising concerns over his inability to capitalise on batting pitches in the Duleep Trophy. "At the moment, there's no room for Shreyas to be in the Test team. Who will he replace? Besides, his shot selection has been a conc...

Captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday warned his India team there is "no dress rehearsal" in cricket as they face a Bangladesh side fresh from a historic Test series win over Pakistan. India lead the World Test Championship (WTC) standings ahead of Australia, where Rohit's team will tour for a five-match series later in the year. But first they host Bangladesh in a two-Test series, starting with the opener in the northern Indian city of Chennai from Thursday. India are clear favourites but the visitors recently celebrated a landmark 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan. "There is no dress rehearsal kind of stuff happening here," Rohit told reporters, cautioning against minds turning too quickly to Australia. "Every game is important because of what is at stake -- the WTC table is quite wide open," Rohit added. "We want to win here, and start the season on a high." The skipper added: "In terms of preparation, in terms of readiness, I feel we are qui...