Latest news with #Kohli
Mint
an hour ago
- Sport
- Mint
Hayden, Smith feel Indias inexperience could hurt them in England
Leeds, Jun 20 (PTI) India have "lost a lot of experience" with the recent retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and are going to struggle in the seaming conditions of England, reckoned cricket legends Matthew Hayden and Graeme Smith. India will be led by Shubman Gill in the five-match Test series, which is starting at Headingley from Friday, and the touring party's batting line-up will be thin on experience with both Kohli and Rohit announcing their retirements from the format last month. "I feel India are really going to struggle. Shubman Gill is a young captain coming to this hostile environment, seaming conditions, bouncing conditions. It's going to be a real challenge, it's actually absolutely the litmus test as a touring team," Hayden told the ICC. "Generally touring teams come here and it is polar opposite conditions to what you are used to as fundamentally as a player, be it young or old. So lots of adjustments, so I predict that England, let me tell you, are a going to have a pretty good party at the end of that series," the former Australia opener said. Weighing with his prediction for the blockbuster series, former South Africa captain Smith feels the peerless Jasprit Bumrah will be overburdened in conditions too familiar to England. "England at home, they really do play well at home. They understand the conditions and get the best out of it. I think it's going to be a challenge for Shubman and his team, lost a lot of experience, got to come here and that pressure shifts onto different people..." Smith said. "I think Bumrah is going to carry a huge amount of the bowling attack. So I think England will have the better of India in these conditions," he added. Besides Kohli and Rohit, there will also be no R Aswhin, who called it quits after the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Brisbane last December. The last time India won a Test series in England was in 2007, only the third instance (1971 and 1986 being the other two) when the visitors emerged victorious in that part of the world since the start of bilateral engagements in 1932.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
'You don't miss someone who averages 33': Virat Kohli faces sharp jab over England batting credentials
The upcoming Test series in England will be a new experience for Indian cricket fans, with the first fixture set to begin on Friday in Leeds. The Indian cricket team will be without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, as they both announced their Test retirements recently. Meanwhile, even R Ashwin won't be present after retiring from all formats during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shubman Gill has been appointed as the new Test captain, replacing Rohit. Rishabh Pant has taken over the vice-captaincy role. (IND vs ENG Live Score, 1st Test Day 1) The first Test will see a new-look Indian top-order, with Yashasvi Jaiswal expected to open with GT star Sai Sudharsan. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has confirmed that he will bat at No. 4, a position which Kohli made his own. Comeback king Karun Nair is also in contention, and could fill in at No. 3, but will also have KL Rahul eyeing that slot. Many fans and experts have felt that Kohli's absence in particular could be a huge talking point in the series. The RCB star is also a former Test skipper, and it was under him, that India became a Test cricketing giant. He also had his aggressive personality in the field, which saw him get into multiple altercations, but it also motivated him and his teammates. Speaking to Fox Sports, England legend Michael Vaughan stated that Kohli's dressing room presence and on-field energy would be missed more than his batter, and remarked that his batting would not be missed due to his Test average. Kohli has scored 1096 runs in 17 Tests in England, at an average of 33.21. 'Kohli is a legend and a culture creator around this Indian team, and what he brought as a captain to the team is still there in terms of the energy and the drive and the aggression,' he said. 'But he only averaged 33 here in the UK. You don't massively miss someone that averages 33, but you miss someone that brings so much to the dressing room." But Vaughan also feels that the new generation of Indian cricketers selected in the team are capable enough of playing well in England. 'These players that are going to come in and play for India, they're seriously good players,' he said. 'Maybe this new generation has been waiting. Maybe they've been waiting for this moment. Don't be surprised that they play really well,' he added.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Virat Kohli to lay low, lead quiet life in England, stay away from cricket even as India play 2 Tests in London: Report
As India prepare for a highly-awaited five-Test series against England, the most talked-about absence is undoubtedly that of Virat Kohli, who, while not part of the squad, remains very much in the vicinity. The former captain, now retired from Test cricket, is based in London with his wife Anushka Sharma and their two children, choosing a life of quiet anonymity just miles away from the cricketing field he once dominated. A report in The Telegraph sheds light on Kohli's current life in England: understated, private, and deliberately distanced from the sport, even as the Indian team gets ready to play two Tests in the very city he now calls home. Unlike Sachin Tendulkar, who was spotted at Lord's recently, Kohli skipped both the World Test Championship final and the MCC's 'World Cricket Connects' symposium, despite being within touching distance. London has long offered Kohli a kind of refuge that India never could. Here, he is occasionally seen at restaurants or even riding the tube, an unthinkable scenario back home. Kohli has, on a number of occasions, also acknowledged the privacy he enjoys on foreign soil, which seems to be the primary reason behind his shifting his base to England. The couple is believed to reside in Notting Hill, a neighbourhood they have quietly occupied for a few years now. In contrast to his iconic on-field persona, Kohli's off-field life has become intentionally minimal. Recently, County side Middlesex had shown interest in roping in Virat Kohli for the season; however, Kohli has yet to show any inclination towards the offer. His only recent cricketing involvement came earlier this month when Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the IPL franchise he led, finally won their maiden title, prompting wild celebrations that also, tragically, resulted in a deadly stampede during the victory parade. Kohli is expected to return to action in August for India's ODI tour of Bangladesh, the only format he now plays. Until then, his relationship with the England series will remain a curious one: geographically close, otherwise distant. Kohli did, however, host a number of Team India players, including newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill, at his London home for lunch before the start of the series.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
'Playing alongside those two is very comforting': Karun Nair plots Test redemption with oldest allies in India squad
Comeback king Karun Nair has been one of the main attractions for Indian Test cricket fans in this post-Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era. Nair's comeback comes eight years after he last played in the format for India. Nair also justified with his return by scoring a double century for India A, in their preparatory unoffcial Test vs England Lions in Canterbury. In the upcoming Test series in England, which is scheduled to begin on Friday in Leeds, Nair is expected to be part of a new-look top-order, which won't have Kohli and Rohit, who annoucned their retirements from the format recently. Speaking ahead of the first Test, Nair opened up on his comeback after stunning domestic performances. Speaking to he said, 'My first thought when I woke up was I want to play test cricket, I want to play for India again. That's probably what kept me going and kept me hungry. The driving force, go to training every day, go to practice every day. I had a goal of I want to play test cricket again and I was always looking at playing test cricket and every day, every morning I used to wake up thinking what should I do to reach that goal.' 'Never losing that belief and having that target to reach was something that helped me. Feeling honored to wear this jersey and honored to be representing my country. 'When I saw everyone for the first time, that's when I really, you know, felt it that I'm finally in the team. Till then it was like a wait for me to kind of start feeling like I've made it again. It's been a few years, I used to always watch everyone on TV, now to be back again in this dressing room feels amazing. You know, getting that first session under the belt was relief, grateful to get that opportunity. Life has come a full circle because I went out of the team in England and now I'm coming back into the team in England. So it's been a while and I'm trying to embrace that.' Nair also rejoiced the fact that he would be sharing the dressing room with KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna, revealing that they have played together since childhood. 'I try to keep it very simple, always think about the positive, have certain goals in mind, visualize things and have real belief in what you visualize. Playing alongside Rahul and Prasidh is also a very comforting factor. We've played cricket for so many years since probably we were young kids and grew up together,' he said. Nair's return comes after he registered 863 runs at 53.93 for Vidarbha's Ranji Trophy-winning team. Before that, he smacked five tons in eight innings at an average of 389.50 at the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Deccan Herald
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Deccan Herald
Stokes sings paeans about Indian talent
England captain Ben Stokes hailed the contributions of Kohli and Rohit but felt the talent in Indian cricket is so deep, his side can't afford to take the transitioning side lightly.
