June 7, 2025
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Virat Kohli retirement

India vs England: Ricky Ponting backs Shubman Gill as Test captain, suggests ideal batting spot | Cricket News

India vs England: Ricky Ponting backs Shubman Gill as Test captain, suggests ideal batting spot | Cricket News

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Ricky Ponting has weighed in on India’s upcoming Test tour of England and the appointment of Shubman Gill as captain, calling it a “smart and timely” decision as the team transitions into a new era following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the longest format.Speaking to The ICC Review, Ponting praised the 25-year-old Gill for his calm leadership and strong batting credentials, both of which he believes will serve India well in a challenging five-Test series starting June 20.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I actually think it’s the right move,” Ponting said. “There’s been talk about why it wasn’t Bumrah or Pant, but Bumrah’s injury history makes it tough. You can’t have your captain missing matches. Shubman’s young, he’s a regular, and most importantly, he’s scoring runs.” Poll What are your expectations for India’s performance in the upcoming Test series against England? Ponting, who observed Gill’s leadership at Gujarat Titans during IPL 2024, believes Gill has grown into a natural leader. However, he feels moving Gill away from the top of the order may help him focus on captaincy duties.“Not having to open or bat at No.3 might ease the burden,” Ponting said. “I see Sudharsan and Jaiswal opening. Maybe KL Rahul at No.3, then Gill at No.4 and Karun Nair at five. It gives Gill some breathing space as a young skipper.” Gautam Gambhir sends stern message after Bengaluru tragedy Ponting also acknowledged the massive void left by the exits of Rohit and Kohli but expressed confidence in India’s depth.“If any country can rebuild quickly, it’s India,” he said. “They’ve got an abundance of young talent. Players like Jaiswal and Sudharsan have already shown their quality.”He was especially optimistic about uncapped left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh.“I’d play him from the first Test,” Ponting said. “He’s skillful, he’s played County cricket, and the Dukes ball will suit him. That left-arm angle adds variety.” Shubman Gill story: From a remote village near the border to India’s Test captain India Test squad for England Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

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'Where is Rohit Sharma?': Rishabh Pant jokes in response at airport; Indian team departs for England | Cricket News

‘Where is Rohit Sharma?’: Rishabh Pant jokes in response at airport; Indian team departs for England | Cricket News

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Rohit Sharma (left) and Rishabh Pant. Team India’s vice-captain Rishabh Pant at the Mumbai airport on Friday said that he will miss former India captain Rohit Sharma in the upcoming five-match Test series, starting from June 20.This will be India’s first bilateral Test series since both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from Test cricket earlier this month. The team is undergoing a transition, with Shubman Gill taking over as captain and Rishabh Pant as vice-captain.At the airport, the paparazzi asked Pant, “Rohit Sharma sir kidhar hai (Where is Rohit Sharma?)”The 27-year-old replied: “Garden mein ghum rahe hai (He is roaming around in his garden).”When coaxed, whether he would miss the garden or not, Pant replied: “Garden ki bahut yaad aayegi (I am going to miss the garden a lot).”The series will be held from June to August 2025, with matches scheduled at Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord’s and The Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester.India has not won a Test series in England since 2007. To prepare, several Indian players had already arrived earlier to represent India A in warm-up matches against the England Lions. The rest of the touring party is scheduled to arrive in the UK on Friday. Gautam Gambhir sends stern message after Bengaluru tragedy Meanwhile, ahead of the Test series, India ‘A’ are currently playing a three-match unofficial Test series against the England Lions. The first match ended in a draw, while the second unofficial Test is set to begin on Friday, June 6, at the County Ground in Northampton.India’s Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.The English squad: Ben Stokes (c), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

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India tour of England | ‘Not easy to replace Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli, but we have the team’ - Team India captain Shubman Gill | Cricket News

India tour of England | ‘Not easy to replace Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli, but we have the team’ – Team India captain Shubman Gill | Cricket News

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India’s captain Rohit Sharma, right, and teammate Virat Kohli leave the field after their loss in the second cricket test match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia. AP/PTI( Mumbai: A black SUV zooming in through the gates of the Wankhede on Wednesday evening, and a group of BCCI employees showing extreme urgency to open the doors of the swanky vehicle, were the new signs of power and importance that Shubman Gill, all of 25 years old, has now acquired.The elegant right-hander would have no doubt preferred to handle the seam and swing of the Dukes ball rather than field questions from reporters. India’s 37th Test captain, however, did an earnest job of negotiating the queries on the eve of the team’s departure for the five-Test series in England.There is an air of pessimism surrounding the competence and ability of India’s batting lineup in the absence of retired stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. “Yes, we have lost two experienced players who have won many games for us, but this team has the right batting and bowling combination to compete well in England,” Gill said at the BCCI headquarters here on Thursday. Gill will have to make a few decisions as soon as he lands with the rest of the team in London. One of them would be around his own batting position. In his 32-match and 59-innings Test career, he has either batted as an opener or by choice opted to bat at No. 3 since India’s tour of West Indies in 2023. Many feel that he is ideally suited to take the No. 4 spot, now lying vacant after Kohli’s retirement. Gautam Gambhir sends stern message after Bengaluru tragedy Gill was non-committal. “I haven’t decided on my batting position yet. We still have some time. We still have an intra-squad match (vs India A), and we will be having a 10-day camp in London,” he said.In his short Test career, Gill has played under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah and he has been a studious observer of their captaincy styles.Gill wants to imbibe something different from all the leaders he has played under. His appointment as Test captain raised a few eyebrows considering his limited exposure to leadership across different age groups. While he had a poor stint as Gujarat Titans captain in the IPL in 2024, in 2025 he has looked more in control and more engaged.Who’s that IPL player?So, what exactly is the Gill captaincy playbook? “I believe in communication with the players and making the players feel secure. Only then can they give you their 100%,” Gill stressed.The Indian players have all been playing a surfeit of white-ball cricket and IPL matches on flat tracks leading up to the England sojourn, where conditions will be as different as paneer and pizza. In the past, Test-bound players in the middle of IPL games took time out to practise with the red ball, especially the Dukes ball. Did he as captain advocate the same to the players? Gill said it was an individual call. “It all depends on what a player wants. If someone is playing the IPL, his commitment is for his franchise first. But many times we get breaks between games and players use that time to train,” he said.

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'I saw a very different, angry Virat Kohli in Australia': Aussie legend's fresh theory adds fuel to Test retirement saga

‘I saw a very different, angry Virat Kohli in Australia’: Aussie legend’s fresh theory adds fuel to Test retirement saga

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It’s almost a month since Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket. He has since won the IPL trophy with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and racked up over 600 runs in the season. Indian cricket seems to have moved on, too, with the BCCI announcing an 18-member squad for the tour of England. However, a discussion that continues to rage on is the circumstances behind his retirement. With Kohli still 36, the belief was that he would continue to play Tests at least for another couple of years, given his love for the format, which the world is aware of. Heck, even after winning the IPL after 18 long years, Kohli places this accomplishment of his ‘five levels below’ Test cricket. That’s how much he loves Test cricket. Virat Kohli’s retirement received a fresh twist(AP) So, why retire? After his poor returns in Australia – 191 runs from 9 innings – Kohli even turned up to play for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. It clearly showed that he was keen to continue. So what exactly happened in two months’ time? As the conspiracy theories refuse to die down, former Australia captain Mark Taylor reveals he noticed something very unusual in Kohli when he was in Australia this time around, and that could well be a factor in the great man making up his mind. “Last year, I saw a different Virat Kohli [in Australia]. An angry one. And I have never seen an angry Virat Kohli. I have seen a very highly competitive Virat Kohli, and I love that about him. I always saw the gentleman. Last year I saw a different Virat Kohli and I said a month ago that it is time for him to retire. And he did. Because once you get angry, you’ve got to get out. And I think he realised that. If you start getting angry, you are gone,” Taylor said on the LiSTNR Sport podcast. Also Read: BCCI makes last-ditch request for Virat Kohli to reverse retirement, but with an RCB catch The one instance of Kohli being angry was during his last innings of the fifth Test in Sydney. Having nicked himself out caught behind for the eighth time, Kohli thudded his bat onto his pads and let out a huge scream. As it turns out, after this dismissal, Kohli kept saying ‘I am done’, which his teammates did not take seriously. Nonetheless, on a very practical note, more than the frustration, it was his vulnerability outside the off stump that may have cast doubts inside Kohli’s mind. For someone who took the bull of Test cricket by its horns, Kohli didn’t want to be a pale shadow of his former, once-dominating self. Mark Taylor’s meeting with Virat Kohli To prove this point, Taylor recalled another instance with Kohli, which showed just how much the man respected the format and held it in such high regard. “Like a lot of cricket fans, I was disappointed with Virat last year. Because I had always greatly admired Virat and was his fan. I was lucky enough to interview him many years ago when he first came out as captain at the Adelaide Oval (2014). We had a half-an-hour time slot. We had this big interview lined up. Cameras everywhere,” said Taylor. Also Read: Virat Kohli ‘wasn’t ready to give up Test cricket’, something happened in 2 weeks; ‘His relation with Gautam Gambhir…’ “And about 25 minutes into it, the PA system kicked in around the ground and made a hell of a noise. I had a handful of questions left – three or four – and we had to stop the interview. He sat there in his chair and the media manager came out and said ‘we got to get out of here’. Kohli got up and as did I to say goodbye. He looked at me and said ‘Mark, have you finished this interview?” And I said, no but I understand you might have to go. He said “No. We are going to finish this interview”. Now that was great respect to me but also to the game of Test match cricket. He talked in that interview about his love for Test cricket, looking forward to playing Australia. Beating Australia in Australia. That’s the pinnacle.” Kohli has yet to open up on his decision to retire from Test cricket. Barring the Instagram post he uploaded in the afternoon of May 12, which broke a million hearts, there isn’t much to know. Perhaps, with time, it will become clearer what his rationale was behind the decision. Until then… keep guessing.

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From tears to triumph: Virat Kohli’s emotional IPL coronation after 18-year wait | Cricket News

From tears to triumph: Virat Kohli’s emotional IPL coronation after 18-year wait | Cricket News

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Virat Kohli holds the IPL trophy. (Pic credit: IPL) TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: After Josh Hazlewood bowled the second dot of the final over, Virat Kohli’s face appeared on the big screen at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He was seen wiping tears from his eyes. The moment the last ball was bowled, he fell to his knees, and the emotions flowed.He was mobbed by his current RCB teammates. Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers, his former RCB mates with whom he lost the final in 2016, were there to give him warm hugs. His biggest supporter, wife Anushka Sharma, was there to live the moment. In another emotional video, he jumps and hugs former India coach Ravi Shastri.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Right from the start of the day, it felt like it was written in the stars. There was a sea of Jersey No. 18 entering the stadium. The chants of “Virat, Virat” and “RCB, RCB” were easily heard from afar. The crowd was one-sided. They cheered for every RCB boundary, six, and wicket — but fell silent when Kohli was dismissed.Who’s that IPL player?When he collapsed onto the ground after the final ball, the first person to reach him was a cameraman — who probably had only one job: to capture his emotions.Virat generally wears his heart on his sleeve. The usual post-wicket roar was there, but after winning the IPL — the trophy he had chased for 18 years — something was missing. It was a subdued celebration from Kohli. Perhaps because he never truly believed this day would come. He even admitted as much. ‘A particularly special feeling’: Andy Flower hails Virat Kohli, RCB after historic title win “I never thought this day would come,” he told broadcasters after the match.“It has been 18 long years. I have given this team my youth, my prime, and my experience. I have tried to win this every season that I have played, and I have given everything I have. To finally have this moment come — it’s an unbelievable feeling.”The past few years hadn’t been kind to Virat. He was dogged by poor form, self-doubt, criticism, and mental health struggles. He relinquished captaincy in all three formats — including the IPL. And it seemed like Kohli was fading away, like so many sporting icons do.But he fought his demons. He produced one of the greatest T20I knocks against Pakistan at the MCG in the 2022 T20 World Cup. While T20s were never considered his forte, 50-over cricket has always been his domain — where he has reigned supreme. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where, heartbreakingly, the dream was shattered at this very venue.Yet again, he picked himself up. He was asked to open alongside Rohit Sharma ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. He struggled through most of the tournament, only to score a stunning 76 in the final against South Africa in Barbados. He then added another feather to his cap by winning the 2025 Champions Trophy.Kohli shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from Test cricket — the format he loved the most.Even after winning the IPL after so many years, he didn’t consider it anywhere near his achievements in Test cricket.“This moment is right up there with the best moments I’ve had in my career, but it still ranks five levels below Test cricket. That’s how much I love and value the format,” he told Matthew Hayden after the match.“I would just urge youngsters coming through to treat that format with respect. If you perform in Test cricket, you can walk around anywhere in the world, and people will look you in the eye, shake your hand, and say, ‘Well done, you played the game really well.’ If you want to earn respect globally, take up Test cricket, give it your heart and soul — and when you walk out the other side, you’ll have earned the respect of the cricketing world and legends like yourself.” ‘Daring, Dynamic, Different’: Ponting hails PBKS young guns despite final loss Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting echoed Kohli’s sentiments.“I’m probably one of the biggest purists still involved in the game, whether I’m coaching or commentating. My first love is Test cricket — always has been,” he told reporters.“I totally understand what Virat means. He’s had a magnificent Test career, and an even better white-ball career that’s still ongoing. I’m not sure how much of a celebrator he is, but I reckon he’ll be celebrating long and hard tonight — and over the next few days,” said Ponting.Now, with the 18-year wait finally over and the monkey off RCB’s back, the question is: Will we now see a dominant RCB in years to come? And with Virat Kohli still scoring runs for fun, it’s a dangerous sign for all other teams.So, fasten your seatbelts — because as Virat said, his heart and soul are with Bangalore. That clearly means he’s not done yet, and the all-time great is coming for more.

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