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Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli in race for Test skipper

December 29, 2012

Gumbir


New Delhi, December 29: The debate over India's Test captaincy could be settled after the ongoing Pakistan tour of India, with Delhi stars Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli seen as likely replacements in case selectors decide to relieve Mahendra Singh Dhoni of his charge.

With the two T20 matches ending tied 1-1, a victory against Pakistan in the three-match one-day series may yet give Dhoni a breather. But the Indian cricket board (BCCI) slowly seems to be acknowledging that it might be time to split the captaincy and blood a new leader in Tests.

Voices calling for a change of guard have grown after India suffered a humiliating 1-2 defeat -- the first loss to England at home in 28 years. This followed disastrous tours of England and Australia -- both lost 0-4 -- which means India has lost 10 of the last 12 Tests played against quality opposition.

While Dhoni's place in the side is hardly in question, cricket bosses are looking at a future scenario in the context of a new look India squad. Of the two candidates, Gambhir has displayed leadership skills as a stand-in skipper in ODIs and also in the IPL, but Kohli has been in far superior form this year.

In the past, Gambhir has led India in six one-day internationals, winning all of them, and also captained Kolkata Knight Riders to victory in IPL-5. He is seen as an inspirational skipper who leads from the front, but his current patchy form may go against him.

Kohli initially struggled against England in the Tests but a superb century at Nagpur won him many plaudits, including from Sunil Gavaskar, who said making Kohli Test captain could energize the side. He was also in outstanding form in the ODIs and T20s throughout 2011. At 24, he may seem a tad young for the responsibility but BCCI sources point out that Dhoni himself wasn't much older when he was appointed captain of the T20 squad in 2007, four years after his international debut.

The trend of banking on youngsters is also seen to weigh in favour of Kohli. South Africa skipper Graeme Smith took charge at 21, barely a year or so after his debut for the Springboks in 2002. Likewise, England's Alastair Cook became Test captain six years after his debut while taking charge of the ODI team even earlier.

Sources, however, point out that India's troubles are unlikely to be settled by a change of captain alone. Dhoni can hardly be blamed for the lack of incisive quick bowlers, the failure of spinners--England's Monty Panesar comfortably outbowled India's tweakers--and the indifferent form of key batsmen like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gambhir.

On the other hand, a process of rebuilding is inevitable and Tendulkar's decision not to grace ODIs again points to the inexorable passage of time taking a toll even on legends. Tendulkar's final call on the Test format cannot be too far away and the BCCI is looking to prepare and even hasten change.



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News Network
January 18,2020

Hobart, Jan 18: In a dream start to her second innings after a two-year break, Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final, here on Saturday.

The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.

Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.

It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik.

Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.

The two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set.

There was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first set.

The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.

The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.

Sania and Nadiia were now feeling the heat at 0-30 in the sixth game but Peng and Zhang let them hold serve for a 4-2 lead. The Chinese though kept fighting and made it 4-4 with another break in the eighth game.

The Indo-Ukraine team raised its game when it mattered as it broke Peng and Zhang for one final time in the ninth and served out the match in the next game.

Sania and Nadiia split USD 13580 as prize money and eared 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: India is not at risk of losing hosting rights for next year's Twenty20 World Cup despite its cricket board's failure to secure a tax exemption for the event, a key BCCI official has told Reuters.

Tax exemptions for International Cricket Council (ICC) events are listed as a requirement in host agreements and the BCCI was supposed to confirm they had secured one by May 18.

ESPNcricinfo, citing correspondence between the two bodies, has reported that the ICC has threatened to shift the tournament away from India over the issue.

However, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal told Reuters that would not happen and that negotiations were continuing.

"There is no risk to the tournament," he said by telephone.

"That is a work in progress. We are discussing it with the ICC and we'll resolve it."

The BCCI encountered a similar problem when it hosted the event in 2016 when the government refused to provide a tax exemption, and there has been no change in New Delhi's stance despite the board's appeals.

Failure to secure that exemption in 2016 saw the ICC withhold an equivalent sum from India's share of revenue from the governing body's grants and it appears to be taking an even harder line this time around.

"There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket," an ICC spokesperson told Reuters.

"In addition to this the ICC Board agreed clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by."

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