Gavaskar, Pietersen want Pant in if Dhawan ruled out; Gambhir calls for Rayudu

Agencies
June 12, 2019

New Delhi, Jun 12: Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen batted for Rishabh Pant's inclusion but Gautam Gambhir said it is Ambati Rayudu who deserves to be called in if Shikhar Dhawan is ruled out of the India's World Cup campaign due to a left thumb fracture.

Dhawan's World Cup was thrown into disarray owing to the thumb injury which he picked up in India's 36-run win over Australia on Sunday. The opener scored a hundred in the match, playing through pain with a swollen thumb.

He is set to miss the next two matches against New Zealand (Thursday) and Pakistan (Sunday). Possible replacements being talked about are standbys Pant and Rayudu along with India A captain Shreyas Iyer.

"...it has to be Rishabh Pant. He has been in cracking hot form in the IPL. He would probably want to show that he deserved to be in the team in the first place," Gavaskar told 'India Today' when asked about his pick for replacement if Dhawan is ruled out.

"But if Shikhar and the doctors say that he can be fit in the next 18 days, then I would wait for him even if it means he sits out of the England game (June 30). Shikhar has shown that his pain threshold is high," he added.

"For your country you bear the pain, you mentally strengthen and control yourself."

The view on having Pant on board, if Dhawan is ousted, was echoed by former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

"Shikha OUT the World Cup. Get Pant on the plane ASAP. KL Rahul to open and Pant at number 4...," Pietersen tweeted.

Offering a completely different take was Gautam Gambhir, who retired earlier this year.

"If Ambati Rayudu doesn't make it as Shikhar's replacement than his career is over. He averages 45 in ODIs and not being part of the World Cup with that average is very disappointing," he told 'Star Sports'.

"If he doesn't make it than he should pack his bags and only concentrate on the IPL because his international career is over," he added.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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