Latest news with #Bradmanesque
India Today
10-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Karun Nair eyes redemption at Lord's as second chance at cricket nears expiry date
"Dear Cricket, give me another chance," read a post on Karun Nair's X account (formerly Twitter) on December 10, 2022, as the India batter expressed his desperation to don the coveted Indian jersey once again. Fast forward to 2025, Nair has deservedly earned his place back in the Indian team, having been picked in the squad for the England tour on the back of some stupendous performances in domestic 33-year-old further cemented his place in the playing XI by scoring a sensational double hundred in the tour game. With that, the stage looked set for the return of the prodigal son of Indian cricket, as he embarked on a new chapter of his international got an opportunity to let his bat do the talking on Day 2 of the first Test at Headingley, Leeds. However, much to his dismay, he was dismissed for a four-ball duck on his international return. The second innings was a bizarre outing for the right-hander, as he batted at a strike rate of 37, scoring 20 off 54 balls while India looked to extend their lead beyond 400. The second Test followed a similar script. Nair was dismissed for 31 in the first innings after a promising start, undone by a sharp bouncer from Brydon Carse. In the second innings, he once again fell to Carse-this time edging to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith after scoring to repay management's trustHence, the star batter once again failed to make the most of the opportunity and was subjected to widespread trolling on social media. As Nair walks out to bat at Lord's in the third Test, his career could well be on the line, with bright prospects like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan warming the could easily have faced the axe in the second Test itself, as India needed to accommodate all-rounder Washington Sundar in the playing XI. However, the team management continued to back the Vidarbha batter, which meant that 23-year-old Sai Sudharsan had to make way for Sundar after failing in his debut enjoying the backing of the team management, Nair has failed to repay the trust, with questions about his place growing louder with every low score. As the third Test draws near, the time on Nair's second chance at international cricket could well be running out if he fails to deliver once again.A comeback for the agesWith several youngsters knocking on the selectors' doors by plundering runs in domestic cricket—and a few already warming the bench—Nair's second innings at the international level faces the real danger of being declared early. The Rajasthan-born cricketer had to bat out of his skin to make his way back into the Indian team, with every shot from his willow chipping away at the towering wall that had long kept him out of the selectors' was in the form of his life, producing a Bradmanesque run in the last domestic season. He played a pivotal role in Vidarbha's triumph in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy, finishing as the fourth-highest run scorer of the season. He amassed 863 runs from 16 innings at an average of 53.93, including four centuries and two exploits in the 2024–25 Vijay Hazare Trophy made people question the accuracy of his statistics, as he emerged as the tournament's highest run-scorer—racking up 779 runs from eight innings at a staggering average of 389.50 and a strike rate of 124.04, featuring five hundreds and a Lord's bring the best out of Nair?The Vidarbha batter was sweating runs in pursuit of his elusive dream and understands the foundation on which his career has been rebuilt. As he arrives at the most prestigious venue in the cricketing world at a crucial juncture in his career, Nair finds himself with his back against the wall-another poor show could well mark the end of the all too familiar with the agony a player endures after being shown the door, and the steep climb required to return to the reckoning. Hence, the time has come for Nair to finally repay the faith shown by the team management and do justice to the hard yards he's put in to once again wear the India badge on his has often been a venue that brings out the best in players, and now it's up to Nair to etch his name into the stadium's folklore-by earning a spot on the honours board and helping India take the lead in the series.- EndsMust Watch
India.com
12-06-2025
- Sport
- India.com
Two Indians, One Kiwi & One English Star: Kane Williamson Picks ‘Fab Four' Of Next Generation In World Cricket
Kane Williamson, one of the most celebrated modern-day batters, was a cornerstone of the iconic "Fab Four" of cricket, alongside Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Joe Root. These four batting giants dominated the 2010s, redefining consistency, class, and competitiveness across all formats. They were not just run-scorers but leaders who carried the weight of their national teams and kept raising the bar in international cricket. The Legacy of the Original Fab Four Virat Kohli (India): A modern great who revolutionized chasing in ODIs and brought intensity to Test cricket. Over 25,000 international runs across formats. Now retired from Tests and T20Is. Steve Smith (Australia): The master of Test batting with a Bradmanesque average at one point. Known for his unorthodox technique and unshakable concentration. Recently retired from ODIs. Joe Root (England): Elegant, classical, and dependable. Former England Test captain with over 11,000 Test runs. Still a vital cog in England's red-ball setup. Kane Williamson (New Zealand): The quiet craftsman. Led New Zealand to the WTC 2021 title and remains their most consistent batter across formats. Now all in their mid-30s, the cricketing world is gradually preparing for their eventual farewell. And while they continue to play at the highest level, the conversation about their successors has already begun. Kane Williamson Picks the Next Fab Four In a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo, Williamson was asked: "Who could be the four generational players across formats going forward?" Williamson responded thoughtfully: 'The players that come to mind in terms of multi-format are: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rachin Ravindra, Harry Brook. And also Cam Green. Those are all outstanding players and have shown fantastic moments in all formats. All young, and their games are just growing.' The Future Fab Four: Rising Multi-Format Stars Yashasvi Jaiswal (India): Explosive, fearless, and technically gifted. Making waves in Tests and T20s with a bright future ahead. Shubman Gill (India): The newly appointed Test captain, composed, stylish, and already a proven match-winner across formats. Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand): A rare blend of solid technique and all-round skills. His calm demeanor and ability to adapt mirror Williamson himself. Harry Brook (England): Aggressive and fearless, Brook has already made a mark with his stroke-play in red-ball and white-ball cricket. Cameron Green (Australia): A powerful all-rounder with immense potential. Capable of winning games with both bat and ball.
India Today
14-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Virat Kohli, 2023: The year of Team India's gale force
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated January 8, 2024)Virat Kohli is among those few who have surpassed the predictions, nay demands, of greatness thrust upon them early on in their careers, turning in annual exhibitions of excellence over nearly the span of a generation. His 15 years in international cricket—chubby-cheeked wunderkind, then a youth icon with a sharp goatee, neatly prefiguring his present status as the GOAT—define an epoch. Much like Sachin Tendulkar, whose record Kohli broke this year. That he became the first one to score fifty one-day tons in the presence of his childhood idol seemed like divine providence to a man who has kept his tryst with wasn't the only time the protg surpassed the master this year. Racking up 765 runs in the World Cup at a Bradmanesque 95.62—a shoo-in for Player of the Tournament—Kohli went past Tendulkar's 2003 record for most runs at cricket's big event. Earlier, he also reached 25,000 international runs, in just 549 innings, 28 less than the previous record held by Tendulkar. The year would eventually see him cross the 26,000 mark—again the fastest to do career coincides with a period of change in how cricket is played, analysed and consumed. Back in 2008, his debut year, T20—still in its infancy then—barely exacted any influence on the dominant formats. Today, the exigencies of a T20 innings have permeated modern batsmanship, eclipsing more conventional batting styles. Yet, the traditionalist in Kohli swims against the tide. Blending strategic aggression with situational adaptability—each inning a crescendo that braids old-style watchfulness with modern derring-do—he has excelled in a format bristling with heavy-handed supple wrists come into play in defence and the trademark off-drives; the bottom hand helps swipe balls to the leg-side fence. Then there's the relentless pursuit of singles and twos, a constant flicker. That run-making machinery of many moving parts is what goes into his records—like his unflagging prolificity at his pursuit of white-ball excellence, his steely desire to excel in cricket's toughest format didn't diminish one bit. Perchance the milestone that most satisfied the true-blue Test romantic in Kohli may have been his Test ton versus Australia in March. His 186 in Ahmedabad, though it came on a featherbed, signalled a self-willed course correction—it was his first Test century after a scarcely-believable gap of three-and-a-half only thing that could possibly have topped that was if his three tons and six 50-plus scores had earned India a World Cup. As the Men in Blue froze against a canny Pat Cummins and his well-knit unit in the final, Kohli's 54 off 63, alongside K.L. Rahul's 66 off 107, came in for plenty of bad press for their timid approach. Those who have seen Virat ply his trade long enough would argue that the one thing the Delhi lad couldn't be faulted with was 'timidness'. Nor did that trademark Kohli aggro ever ebb, as a bust-up against Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq in the IPL the Kohli of 2023 was a senior statesman, not the untamed fire-eater of the past. At the World Cup, the 35-year-old, dipping into the sageness born of experience, asked the Delhi crowd not to heckle the Afghan for what he might have said eight months ago on a humid night in Lucknow. Quite in the fitness of things. For, if 2022 marked VK's return to form after a 1,020-day-long dry spell, 2023 firmly re-established him among the best all-format batters in world cricket now—a short-arm jab away from a place in an all-time to India Today MagazineMust Watch
