Latest news with #AakashChopra
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First Post
12 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
Amid reports of Karun Nair being axed, Harbhajan, Aakash Chopra rally behind the batter: 'All players deserve fair chance'
Some of the major media outlets have reported that Karun Nair is set to be axed from India's playing XI for the fourth Test against England. But Harbhajan Singh and Aakash Chopra are against this change. read more Harbhajan Singh and Aakash Chopra feel Karun Nair should play for India in fourth Test vs England. Images: Reuters/Harbhajan Singh on X/ Aakash Chopra on X Former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Aakash Chopra have rallied behind Karun Nair amid reports that the batter may get dropped from the playing XI in the fourth Test against England that starts on 23 July (Wednesday) at Manchester. Reports in the Indian Express and Hindustan Times have stated that Karun Nair could sit out to make way for Sai Sudharsan. Karun Nair, who made a return to Team India after a gap of more than eight years, has returned scores of 0, 20, 31, 26, 40, and 14 in the six innings so far in three Test matches as India find themselves 2-1 down in the five-match series. The batter has been guilty of failing to make the most of multiple starts and there's a feeling that the Indian cricket team management may go back to Sudharsan, who scored 0 and 30 on his Test debut in Headingley. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Anjum Chopra exclusive on Shubman Gill's captaincy and Lord's Test defeat India are also expected to make two more changes to their playing XI. Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur could come in for injured Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Harbhajan, Aakash Chopra come out in Karun Nair's support Former Indian spinner and legendary cricketer Harbhajan feels the management needs to back Nair in the same way they supported captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul in the past. 'Yes, Karun has not scored runs, but if you gave him a chance, then persist with him for a while. All players deserve a fair chance. Karun deserves it now, and the likes of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul deserved it in the past,' Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. Also Read | Manchester weather forecast: Rain could spoil Shubman Gill-led India's party at Old Trafford Bhajji added that dropping Sudharsan after just one match was not the right decision but now that Nair has been given opportunities, India need to show some patience with him. 'So, the criteria should be the same for everyone. If others got five or sixes changes, then what crime has Karun committed? I feel that giving just one opportunity to Sai Sudharsan was not justified, but now that you have persisted with Karun till now, then play him here was well,' he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Irfan Pathan tells Bumrah to learn from Ben Stokes, put in extra effort for India While analysing the matter on his YouTube channel, former India opener Aakash Chopra said that Nair must be given one more opportunity as he has not looked out of place. 'There will be a question at No. 3 as to whether Karun Nair should be given one more chance. Karun Nair hasn't looked completely out of sorts. However, he hasn't scored enough runs for you to say his selection is certain. I am still tempted to play him another match at No. 3 because he might not get a chance again,' Chopra said.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
'Not Fair': India Pacer's 'Workload' In Focus Ahead Of 4th Test. Not Jasprit Bumrah
Former Indian cricket team batter Aakash Chopra believes that no discussion over Mohammed Siraj 's workload management is 'not fair' ahead of the 4th Test encounter against England. There has been a lot of chatter surrounding Jasprit Bumrah 's workload with BCCI making it clear ahead of the Test series that he will no be playing all the matches. Chopra pointed out that although Siraj bowls a lot of overs but his workload management is hardly spoken about in contrast to his other teammates. "He works very hard. He bowls a lot of overs. Interestingly enough, no one is talking about him, and you feel it's not fair that you talk about everyone, but not about him. However, he gives his 100 percent. Whenever he comes to bowl, he bowls wholeheartedly and runs in fast," he said on YouTube. Meanwhile, former England all-rounder Moeen Ali sees shades of Virat Kohli in Shubman Gill's aggressive on-field demeanour, but feels the India batter's approach during the Lord's Test may have triggered a stronger response from the hosts. Gill has been quite aggressive during the series, and his conduct at Edgbaston mirrored Kohli's famous century celebration at the same venue in 2018. "My take is, it's fine. I think he's just trying to be competitive in front of a fight and very similar to Virat, I think it's fine," Moeen, currently featuring for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Global Super League (GSL), said during an interaction on Wednesday. "But then, obviously the other team, what you've done is, I think you've actually brought out the best of England and the fight and that beast England can be. "And I think it's a different side of England. They've shown all the players that it's great for the series to win. I don't know why it's getting criticised."
Telegraph
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Why another England win will push India cricket coach towards brink
Gautam Gambhir is only 12 months into a four-year contract as India head coach but is already feeling the heat leading the world's most well-resourced team. On his watch, India have won three Tests in 11, lost their first series at home for 12 years and after Headingley – when his side became the first in Test history to score five hundreds in a match and still lose – former players questioned his management of the team. In Leeds, just one game into a five-match series, he snapped in the post-match press conference at an innocuous question from an Indian journalist, bringing to light the tension. With his team 1-0 down, defeat in Birmingham will pile on more scrutiny over his position and man-management. 'He has been losing and losing,' said former India batsman Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel this week. 'What I feel at times is that the way he is aggressive as a captain, you can't be as a coach,' Dinesh Karthik told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast (listen in full below). 'Tactically, Gauti [Gambhir] is a very good coach. Man-management is the area that I am sure he would be looking at. But one thing about him is that he is looking out for his players, which is massive.' Gambhir, who won the Champions Trophy in his only ICC tournament to date since replacing Rahul Dravid this time last year, is is contracted until the 2027 World Cup. Two of his three wins as coach were in his first series to Bangladesh but that was followed by India's shocking 3-0 defeat at home by New Zealand, the first time they had been whitewashed at home in a three-match series. His other Test win was a fine victory in Perth, but India could not sustain their performances in Australia and lost the series 3-1. Despite being 430 for three and 333 for four, India let slip the Leeds Test, with England chasing 371 to win by five wickets. 'The situation is becoming increasingly tense,' said Chopra. The uncertainty over whether Jasprit Bumrah plays at Edgbaston adds to the sense of confusion, unless it is a wise bluff designed to lure England into a trap and he is named in the team at the toss. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced before the tour that Bumrah would play only three Tests and Gambhir, his assistant Ryan ten Doeschate and captain Shubman Gill have doubled down on it since. It harks back to England over-planning Ashes tours in the past, holding back Mark Wood, James Anderson and Stuart Broad only to be too far behind once they picked their best bowlers. England named their starting XI on Monday, but Gill was still mulling over his attack at the final practice session. Nitish Kumar Reddy seems likely to replace Shardul Thakur as the seam-bowling all-rounder while left-armer Akash Deep could come in for Prasidh Krishna, who went at 6.2 an over in Leeds. The hot weather and dry pitch suggests two spinners – and India spent half an hour looking at the pitch on Monday and another good spell assessing it on Tuesday – so then the decision will be between Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav to partner Ravindra Jadeja. Washington offers more with the bat and Gill hinted he is more likely to play but would be the defensive pick for a team 1-0 down. Rain is forecast for the Edgbaston Test but trying to hang in against England for a draw is dangerous. The pitch looks flat and England can accelerate a game like no other team in the world at the moment. England have not lost three Tests in a row at home since the 2001 Ashes so if India are beaten at Edgbaston, a ground where they have never won a Test, they will have to overturn 24 years of results to win the series. Gambhir is a punchy character and taking pot-shots at the media is not unusual for head coaches and managers. But at 43 and after scoring more than 10,000 international runs, Gambhir has been around the block a few times so it was revealing to see him snap so early in the tour. 'I think it's pretty clear that there's always pressure on the shoulders of international sportsmen but playing for India, especially in cricket, there's probably a bit more of it than any other nation,' said Ben Stokes. India are in transition and Gambhir is working with a new, young captain in Gill. It is likely Gambhir was influential in the retirements of Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma – and the need to build a new team at the start of a World Test Championship cycle is understandable – but with them gone, India will need time to rebuild. They played like a team of individuals at Headingley. A string of catches were dropped but that can happen to any team. It was the fumbles in the field that revealed more about a team unable to back up the efforts of the bowlers. Thakur laid sprawled on the ground when he misfielded at mid-on instead of chasing the ball to the rope, as Brendon McCullum insists from his players. While Thakur day-dreamed, Joe Root turned one into three. Bumrah wanted the captaincy on a full-time basis after leading India in Australia in the absence of Rohit but lost out to Gill for the job. Gill, at 25, is an appointment for the future and less likely to clash with the head coach over policy than a powerful, well-established figure such as Bumrah. The coach and the captain have to be united, and if Gill was Gambhir's pick then it is only right he was appointed. They will stand and fall together and Gambhir is already well aware of the realities of the job.
Khaleej Times
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
India coach Gambhir faces growing pressure ahead of second England Test
Gautam Gambhir is under growing pressure ahead of the second Test against England after India's loss at Headingley made it seven defeats in 11 red-ball matches since he became coach last year. The 43-year-old former opening batsman is facing flak from some quarters for his selections, man management and how he carries himself in press conferences. India are ushering in a new era following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, with Gambhir widely reported to have played a part in the exit of at least one of the two veteran stars. Led by new captain Shubman Gill, the visitors were beaten by five wickets in the opening Test of the five-match England series, adding to a growing sense of alarm. The second Test at Edgbaston starts on Wednesday and patience is wearing thin back home. "Gautam Gambhir is under significant pressure. The situation is becoming increasingly tense," former India batsman Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel. "He has managed two wins against Bangladesh and one against Australia, but we've lost three matches to New Zealand, three to Australia and now one to England. "He has been losing and losing." Gambhir, who as a player had a key role in India's ODI World Cup triumph in 2011, succeeded Rahul Dravid in July last year. Dravid signed off a largely successful three-year tenure by winning the T20 World Cup. Gambhir was chosen as his successor almost exactly a year ago but he and his side suffered a significant bloody nose when they went down 3-0 to New Zealand. It was India's first Test series defeat at home in 12 years. 'Aggressive' Along with chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Gambhir was criticised for leaving middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan out of the squad for England. Karun Nair was picked ahead of Sarfaraz, who had scores of 68 not out and 56 against a visiting England last year, and made 150 versus New Zealand in Bengaluru. Gambhir's detractors say he is hot-headed and accuse him of acting too much on instinct. Speaking ahead of the series, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik said that "tactically, Gauti (Gambhir) is a very good coach. "Man management is the area that I am sure he would be looking at," he told Sky Sports' cricket podcast. "But one thing about him is that he is looking out for his players, which is massive. "What I feel at times is that the way he is aggressive as a captain, you can't be as a coach." Critics don't like Gambhir's press conferences. Following the defeat at Headingley, Gambhir looked ruffled and snapped in reply to a question about Rishabh Pant's centuries in each innings. The visiting batsmen scored five centuries in the match but still lost. Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Gambhir should be kept away from the media, after the coach hit back at Ricky Ponting ahead of the tour to Australia last year. India went on to lose the series 3-1. Bumrah mismanaged? On the last day of the first England Test, when the hosts chased down 371, senior batsman KL Rahul and Gill's deputy Pant were seen making the fielding changes, rather than the skipper. In the final overs it appeared pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah rejected Gill's idea of bringing him back into the attack. Bumrah, who will only play two more Tests in the series to manage his workload, returned figures of 5-83 in England's first innings of 465 but went wicketless second time around. A fit, firing and content Bumrah is key to India's chances. South African great AB de Villiers questioned whether it was "mismanagement" or injury that was the cause of Bumrah being rested at a crucial point of the match. Lack of bowling support for Bumrah and India's lower-order collapses — from 430-3 to 471 all out in the first innings and 333-4 to 364 in the second — also hurt the team in Leeds. In a country where cricket is an obsession and every match is dissected for days afterwards, Gambhir needs to quickly find some answers.
News18
28-06-2025
- Sport
- News18
'Gautam Gambhir Must Deliver Against England': Former India Cricketer Warns Team India Head Coach
Former India opener Aakash Chopra questioned Gautam Gambhir's suitability as Test coach after India's poor red-ball record under his leadership. Despite winning the 2025 Champions Trophy, Gambhir's Test tenure includes only three wins in 11 matches and heavy series defeats. Chopra warned that with selectors granting all his requests, Gambhir has no excuses if results don't improve in England. This series could define his legacy and impact India's World Test Championship hopes. and subscribe to our channel and never miss a to CricketNext YouTube channel to never miss a video: CricketNext on Facebook: CricketNext on Twitter: CricketNext on Instagram: : vs ENG Test Series, India England Test Series 2025, Aakash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir, Indian Cricket, Gautam Gambhir Coach, Test Cricket, Aakash Chopra Analysis, India Test Cricket Record, Cricket News, IND ENG Highlights, IND ENG Live, Cricket Controversy, Gambhir Under Pressure, Indian Cricket Team, World Test Championship, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, BCCI, Cricket Updates, Gambhir Test Record, Cricket Discussions, England Cricket, Indian Cricket Coaching, Cricket Opinions, Gambhir Criticism, Gambhir Legacy, Cricket Analysis, Cricket Debate
