Rahul Dravid

India Star Reveals ‘Lie’ To Rahul Dravid That Led To IPL Selection – Old Video Viral

Danijones8 months ago8 months ago04 mins

Sanju Samson has been a top performer for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024 till now as the wicket-keeper batter has led by example. The RR skipper has been phenomenal with the bat and his sensational form led to his selection for India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. Samson’s journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been an interesting one as he did not get a single game while being part of the Kolkata Knight Riders setup but things changed when he moved to RR in 2013. In a video that has once again gone viral on social media. a young Sanju Samson revealed how a ‘lie’ from S Sreesanth to Rahul Dravid ultimately led to his selection for RR. “Being with KKR, I wasn’t getting a look-in. But during a match against RR, when [Rahul] Dravid was leading them, Sreesanth spotted him in the hotel lobby and vouched for me. He told him, ‘There’s this kid from Kerala who smashed six sixes in an over in a local tournament. We should definitely give him a trial,’” Samson revealed in an old video that has resurfaced on social media. Was in KKR but couldn’t get games, Sreeshanth was in RR & when we had a game with RR where Dravid was their skipper, Sreeshanth stopped Dravid in the hotel & told him, this kid is from kerala, he has hit 6 sixes in an over in a local tourney, we should give him a trial & sanju is… pic.twitter.com/PaxWLb1C90 — arfan (@Im__Arfan) May 5, 2024 Former India fast bowler S Sreesanth earlier confirmed this story in an interview with Sportskeeda where he said that he initially lied to Dravid but the current India coach was impressed with Samson’s batting. “Rahul bhai listened to me when I introduced Sanju to him. I lied to him, I said, ‘This kid hit me for six sixes in a local tournament’. Rahul bhai said, ‘Shree, kuch bhi bol, ye kyu bol raha hai?’ (Say anything, but why are you lying like this),” Sreesanth had said. “He didn’t do too well in a few practice games. But when Rahul bhai saw him bat, he was convinced; he came to me and said, ‘Sree, don’t let this Sanju guy go to any other selection; we are signing him. Whether or not he’d get matches, I don’t know, but we would like to sign him,” he added.

‘Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly were never dropped because…’: Virender Sehwag’s stern message for under-fire Shubman Gill | Cricket News

Danijones8 months ago05 mins

NEW DELHI: Star Indian batter Shubman Gill, the captain of Gujarat Titans, has experienced a fluctuating performance in the ongoing IPL 2024 season. Despite a promising beginning, the star opener has struggled to maintain his form in recent matches, with his last significant score of 50+ runs occurring on April 10 against Rajasthan Royals. Since then, Gill has been dismissed for single-digit scores on three occasions.The young opener was also overlooked for the T20 World Cup squad, although he was included in the four-man reserves list alongside Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed.In Gujarat Titans’ recent encounter against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday, Gill’s struggles continued as he managed only 2 runs off seven deliveries.However, former India opener Virender Sehwag expressed his support for Gill, believing that the young talent will bounce back stronger. Sehwag also offered guidance to Gill during this challenging phase, drawing from his own experiences and referencing legendary batsmen such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman while discussing Gill’s lack of run-scoring in detail.“I think he’s lucky that his name is in the T20 World Cup reserves. KL Rahul and Ruturaj Gaikwad are not even in that. That’s a good point and he should be motivated by that. Next time, he should not let his place go once he gets a chance. He should focus on scoring runs at a good strike-rate so he doesn’t get replaced,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.“In my days, we had Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman. It doesn’t matter how many runs the other guys scored, these guys didn’t go out because they never stopped scoring runs. How will you drop them if they keep scoring runs? They never gave a reason to get dropped. This is what Shubman Gill has to learn. Once he returns to the Indian team and plays regularly post the World Cup, he shouldn’t let such an opportunity arise again. Improve your skills and score big, because big scores will eventually save you,” Sehwag further said.The Titans’ recent loss to RCB further compounds their struggles in IPL 2024, as they now find themselves languishing at the ninth spot in the table. With just four wins from 11 games, the team led by Gill faces an uphill battle to turn their fortunes around and mount a comeback in the season.Under Gill’s leadership, the Titans, who were champions in 2022 and runners-up last year under Hardik Pandya, have failed to replicate their past successes. Their current position offers little hope of securing a playoff berth unless they manage to pull off a remarkable turnaround in their remaining matches.One of the glaring weaknesses for the Titans has been their performance during the Powerplay, particularly with the bat. Scoring only 23 runs in the Powerplay against RCB, they posted the lowest Powerplay total of any team this season.Further analysis reveals that the Titans’ Powerplay run-rate of 7.54 and strike-rate of 118.43 are the lowest among all teams in IPL 2024. Additionally, they have scored the fewest runs in the first six overs throughout the season, tallying just 469 runs.Addressing their underwhelming performance in the Powerplay will be crucial for the Titans if they are to salvage their season and make a late push for a playoff spot in IPL 2024.

Hardik Pandya: Hardik Pandya’s inclusion in T20 World Cup squad depends on IPL bowling performance: Report | Cricket News

Danijones8 months ago03 mins

NEW DELHI: India captain Rohit Sharma recently held a meeting with head coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar in Mumbai during the ongoing IPL 2024 season, according to a media report. The primary agenda of the meeting, which took place at the BCCI headquarters, was to discuss the squad composition for the upcoming T20 World Cup.According to a report by The Indian Express, a crucial decision was made regarding Hardik Pandya‘s inclusion in the team.The trio decided that bowling regularly during the IPL 2024 will be key to Pandya’s chances of making the cut in the squad.IPL 2024: POINTS TABLE | ORANGE CAP | PURPLE CAPThe meeting focused significantly on the selection of fast bowling all-rounders for the T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the USA and Caribbean islands in June. However, the selectors face a challenge due to the limited quality options available. Despite this, they are closely monitoring Shivam Dube, who has been impressive with the bat but has only been utilized as an Impact Player by his franchise, Chennai Super Kings, due to their abundant bowling resources. Hardik Pandya, who is also leading the Mumbai Indians this season, has been struggling with his bowling form. In six games, he has bowled 11 overs, taking three wickets but conceding runs at an alarming economy rate of 12 per over. The Indian team management hopes that Pandya can find his rhythm, as his seam bowling adds balance to the playing XI, and his powerful hitting provides depth to the batting lineup.Reports suggest that the Indian selection committee is set to meet later this month to finalize the squad for the T20 World Cup, with the performance of the hopefuls in the ongoing IPL expected to play a significant role in their decision-making process.