virender sehwag

Virender Sehwag Schools ‘Lucky’ Shubman Gill, Triggers Another ‘Strike-Rate Debate’

Danijones6 months ago04 mins

Former India batter Virender Sehwag has suggested that Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill is lucky to have his name in the travelling reserves for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas. Gill did not find a place in the 15-man squad, with the selectors preferring another youngster in Yashasvi Jaiswal for the openers slot. Gil, however, is one of the four travelling reserves. Gill, who was the Orange Cap winner last season, has only scored 322 runs in 11 matches during the ongoing season of IPL. Sehwag feels Gill should focus on scoring more runs so that he doesn’t get dropped from the team in the future. “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 said during a discussion on Cricbuzz. Recalling his playing days, Sehwag recalled how the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman hardly gave the selectors any solid reason to drop them. “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 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,” he added. Gill is having a torrid season in IPL 2024, with his team also languishing in the bottom half of the points table. He had taken over captaincy from Hardik Pandya, who returned to Mumbai Indians ahead of the season to fill in the same role. With back-to-back defeats against RCB, Gill’s GT have slumped to ninth in the points table with eights points from 11 matches. Topics mentioned in this article

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

Danijones6 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.

“Are Hardik Pandya, Tim David That Bad?”: Virender Sehwag Fumes At MI, Demands Serious Actions

Danijones6 months ago04 mins

Former India batter Virender Sehwag questioned Mumbai Indians (MI)’s tactics during the 24-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2024 match on Friday. Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium. While analysing the match, Sehwag said he was “baffled” with captain Hardik Pandya and Tim David arriving at No.7 and 8 in the lineup, respectively. Sehwag also posed a similar question for KKR after star all-rounder Andre Russell batted down the order. “KKR saved Andre Russell; he played only two balls. Mumbai Indians saved Hardik Pandya and Tim David. What did you achieve by doing that? There were many deliveries left, and they all got out. You could’ve come earlier, or maybe you could’ve finished the game earlier, too. I don’t know what happens to them when they chase… Hardik Pandya at seven and Tim David at 8. I just don’t understand what they did. Are these players that bad that they will get out if they come earlier?” Sehwag told Cricbuzz. Sehwag also slammed Hardik for batting down the order for MI, and pointed out how the all-rounder used to bat in the top order for Gujarat Titans. He added that the MI owners should take serious actions against the players and management. “Hardik Pandya batted at 4 consistently when he was the GT captain. What has happened here? It baffles me that the experienced players are coming so low. “I’m baffled by this. Management needs to take severe action on players and ask them what’s happening. Or, players should speak up about why their batting positions are changed. The captain, batting coach, bowling coach, and support staff are at fault here. Owners need to ask strict questions,” he added. Speaking on the loss, Hardik said after the game that his team failed to form any needed partnerships, and there are a lot of questions that will take time to answer, but he has not much to say at the moment. “I mean obviously in the batting inning, we couldn’t form partnerships and kept losing wickets, in T20s if you don’t form partnerships, it will cost you. Not much, there are a lot of questions that will take some time to answer but for now, not much to say,” Pandya said in a post-match presentation. Topics mentioned in this article

‘Some Players Going To T20 World Cup On Reputation’: Ex-India Stars Unhappy Over Rinku Singh’s Snub

Danijones6 months ago03 mins

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on April 30 announced the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup set to be played in USA and West Indies. Among the major snubs from the team was Rinku Singh. The swashbuckling finisher was not picked in the 15-member India squad while he was kept in the list of reserves alongside Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan. The idea of the selectors dropping Rinku surprised many former cricketers and experts of the game. Rinku made his India debut in a T20I match against Ireland in 2023. So far, he has played 15 matches in the format scoring 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.24. The southpaw played his last T20I match for India in January 2024, against Afghanistan. Former India cricketer Rohan Gavaskar was unhappy with the selection committee’s decision of dropping Rinku, while another ex-India player Virender Sehwag tried to understand the rationale behind the call. “If IPL 2024 is the metric, where has Mohammed Siraj picked wickets for RCB? Suryakumar Yadav… he was always in my team, and he should be there in T20 World Cup too. But even he hasn’t performed (for MI),” said Rohan Gavaskar on Cricbuzz. “Some players are going there on reputation. Like Suryakumar, his reputation is that he is an explosive hitter. Yes, he can have bad days. Rinku Singh is also like him, the difference is that he is young and Suryakumar is experienced. And Indian selectors have preferred experience. Rinku is young, he can play later too,” said Virender Sehwag. “We said after the previous World Cup that Rohit and Virat won’t play in 2024, but this time, I’m sure they won’t play the next,” said Sehwag. India squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserves –Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan Topics mentioned in this article