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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘Shafali should have been in the ODI team as well'
Chandigarh: Over a career spanning two decades, Jhulan Goswami established a legend whose absence Indian cricket is still struggling to fill. The lanky pacer from Kolkata was India's main pace bowler and led the bowling attack in 204 ODIs, 68 T20Is and 12 Tests. In this photograph taken on January 15, 2020, 16-year-old cricket player Shafali Verma trains at an indoor net inside a stadium in Rohtak in the northern Indian state of Haryana. - Shafali Verma once disguised herself as her brother to play in a cricket series, and went on to win "man of the match and series". Now the teen sensation wants to help win the women's Twenty20 World Cup for India. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP) / TO GO WITH Cricket-IND-Shafali by Faisal KAMAL (AFP) Since her retirement, Jhulan has been associated with Cricket Association of Bengal working for women's cricket and also as a mentor at Mumbai Indians team in Women's T20 Premier League (WPL). Ahead of the India tour of England, where they are scheduled to play a T20I and ODI series, the 42-year-old speaks about how the fielding needs to pick up, why Shafali Verma would have made a difference to the ODI team and the impact of Harmanpreet Kaur's captaincy. With opener Shafali Verma making a comeback in the India T20 team, how crucial will this be for her and the team? Shafali has done well for her state Haryana and also for Delhi Capitals and her call-up to the Indian team is well deserved. I am sure she was hungry to make this comeback and leave a mark. Her strokeful batting not only helped her make an impact but will also help India get good starts. She has been great at the top with Smriti for India in the past and her good form will elevate India's chances in the T20I series. She has played in England before and done well. I am sure she will adjust well to the conditions. Wouldn't it be right to include Shafali in the ODI team as well may be against Australia at home ahead of the World Cup? Definitely, when she made her India debut at 15, she surprised everyone with her talent. Hitting established bowlers out of the ground with ease. And she has regained her form to earn the call-up. But I feel she should have been in the ODI team as well against England. She has that X-factor and should have been there in the India ODI team as well. She is an impactful player whose innings in any format can change the course of the match. With Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Thakur and Kashvee Gautam missing out, will the lack of experience hurt India? It is unfortunate that some quick bowlers are injured for the series in England and doing their rehab. England have some quality and experienced batters in their team. Renuka has done well in England before and her missing out is a huge loss for India. At the same time, it is a great chance for the youngsters to grab the chance. Amanjot has progressed well since her comeback in the Indian team with her bowling. So what would be India's strength in English conditions? Indian batting looks rock solid and having batters like Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues along with Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma is great. They need to take more responsibility and play a key role in India's success against the hosts. Since you have left, no medium-pacer has made a lasting impact... It is not that since I quit the game quality medium-pacers have not surfaced. Unfortunately, injuries have put them down and they have taken a long time to recover. I think these days it is very easy to plan one's cricket routine as cricket calendars are now available. Bowlers can plan accordingly and be very professional about the process. They need to prepare well for big matches or series and give priority to fitness. India has had issues in catching and ground fielding in recent years. How can this be dealt with? I believe Indian fielding has improved in recent years. Fielders like Radha Yadav and Jemimah are perfect examples of sharp fielders. But, yes, they need to put in more effort and make it top-notch if they consistently want to win against teams like Australia, England or even South Africa. It is relatively a young team and they should put more effort into mastering catching and fielding. You have seen Harmanpreet Kaur closely since she made her debut and also at the Mumbai Indians dressing room in the WPL. How would you rate her as a captain and a batter? She has been a great leader and inspiring too. I have seen young players coming up to her and seek her advice about their game. MI winning two WPL titles says it all for her captaincy as well as her batting swagger. Her innings 171* against Australia way back in 2017 was a great one but such knocks do not happen often. I feel she might not have recreated a similar amount of hysteria but she has won many matches for India and I know how passionate she is about winning matches for the country. I think the fact that India has not won any ICC trophy under her captaincy mostly leads to this debate. Her work ethic is phenomenal and we need to back her to win ICC trophies.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Doshi, the ‘Prince' who ruled cricket in his own way
Kolkata: If cricket is a gentleman's game, then Dilip Doshi, who passed away at the age of 77 in England on Monday night, was its truest son. He was born in Rajkot, but except for one season with Saurashtra right at the end of his career, Doshi played all his cricket in Kolkata representing Sporting Union Club in the Cricket Association of Bengal's local league matches. He also played for Calcutta University, Bengal and the East Zone sides. Long before Geoffrey Boycott called Sourav Ganguly the 'Prince of Kolkata', Doshi was known as the 'Prince', among his contemporaries for his impeccable and smart dressing sense. It was for Bengal he achieved the remarkable figures of 6 wickets for 6 runs against Assam in 1974. Overall, he picked 318 wickets in his long Ranji Trophy career, 16 seasons of which were spent with Bengal. Staying in the Bhowanipore area at the heart of Kolkata, always a soft-spoken Doshi was a Bengali 'bhadrolok' in the truest sense of the term. No wonder he had friends across society like Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Playing at a time when spinning legends of Bishan Sigh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar were ruling the roost, Doshi got to debut for India under Sunil Gavaskar's captaincy against Australia in Chennai in 1979 as late as age 32. He would, however, go on to pick 114 wickets in 33 Test matches. "The statistics speak about his ability. Tell me how many bowlers have claimed 100 wickets in just 30-odd matches?" former India pacer Karsan Ghavri told TOI on Tuesday. Ghavri still remembers Doshi's contribution in scripting India's famous victory against Australia in Melbourne in 1981. Nursing a toe injury, Doshi picked three and two wickets in the first and second innings respectively, while Ghavri claimed two wickets each in both innings. "I would say that Doshi and I laid the foundation for Kapil (Dev) to finish off with five wickets in the second innings," Ghavri said. The former left-arm pacer remembers Doshi as a thinking cricketer. "It was a pleasure talking to him as he had immense knowledge about the game which he gathered while playing the county (for Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire) games alongside Gary Sobers, Gordon Greenidge, Imran Khan and others," he said. "He had the hunger to do well and followed the game closely even after retirement," Ghavri said. Doshi watched the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's and was planning to come to the venue for India's third Test against England next month. "Doshi was an orthodox left-arm spinner and could generate bounce from the pitch," former Bengal skipper Sambaran Banerjee, who had kept to Doshi in a number of matches, said. "He had the ability to spin the ball on any surface," Palash Nandy, another of Doshi's Bengal teammates, stated. "Standing at non-striker's end during club matches, I could actually hear the seam cutting through the air when Doshi bowled," Nandy said. Not a great fan of improvisation, Doshi used to say "Ninety-eight per cent of spin bowling is your stock ball. So master your stock ball first." This was quite an advice to bowlers living in today's world of T20 cricket.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Time of India
CAB chief, wife survive boat capsize in Puri
1 2 3 Bhubaneswar: A leisurely boat ride nearly turned into a death trap for Cricket Association of Bengal president Snehasish Ganguly and his wife Arpita, when the vessel capsized in the rough sea near Puri's Light House beach. The couple, along with three other tourists, were about 100 metres from the shore when a massive wave struck their speedboat, flipping it. Swift action by alert lifeguards prevented the adventure boat ride from turning tragic. While the incident took place on Saturday evening, the matter came to light on Monday when video footage emerged of the incident, prompting the Puri district administration to launch a probe. "I have been coming to Puri for 31 years, but never experienced anything like this. We owe our lives to the blessings of Lord Jagannath and Maa Chandi, and the brave lifeguards who rushed to our rescue," said Snehasish, former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly's elder brother Narrating their 20-minute ordeal, Arpita said, "It is a second life for us. We are still in trauma. For those terrifying moments under the capsized boat, we had given up all hope." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo She said the sea was rough and the waves were towering over them. "Even though it was a 10-seater boat, there were just four or five of us. Before boarding the speedboat, I had asked the operator whether it was safe to venture into the sea in such inclement weather. The greedy operator assured us it was safe," said Arpita, who intends to write to the Odisha CM and Puri SP to strengthen safety measures. Lifeguard G Appa Rao said the tourists were lucky it was not dark and the incident happened close to the shoreline. "Had the incident happened far into the sea, it could have been fatal." Panchanan Reddy, another lifeguard, said at least 15 of them rushed to the sea and pulled back the tourists to safety. "Such a boat capsize incident had never occurred in Puri sea, though drowning incidents happen regularly. We keep saving 5-10 tourists every day," he said. Following the incident, Puri district administration ordered a probe. "We have launched a thorough investigation. While the operator had necessary permits, we are examining if any safety protocols had been breached or not. Action will be taken," Puri district collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said, lauding the lifeguards for their prompt response.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Sourav Ganguly's brother, sister-in-law survive boat capsize
BHBANESWAR: A leisurely boat ride nearly turned into a death trap for Cricket Association of Bengal president Snehasish Ganguly and his wife Arpita, when the vessel capsized in the rough sea near Puri's Light House beach. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Snehashish is the elder brother of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly. The couple, along with three other tourists, were about 100m from the shore when a massive wave struck their speedboat, flipping it. Swift action by lifeguards prevented the adventure boat ride from turning tragic. While the incident took place on Saturday evening, the matter came to light on Monday when video footage emerged of the incident, prompting the Puri district administration to launch a probe. "I have been coming to Puri for 31 years, but never experienced anything like this. We owe our lives to the blessings of Lord Jagannath and Maa Chandi, and the brave lifeguards who rushed to our rescue," Snehasish said. Narrating their 20-minute ordeal, Arpita said, "It is a second life for us. We are still in trauma. For those terrifying moments under the capsized boat, we had given up all hope." She said the sea was rough and the waves were towering over them. "Even though it was a 10-seater boat, there were just four or five persons in it. Before boarding the speedboat, I had asked the operator whether it was safe to venture into the sea in such inclement weather. The greedy operator assured us it was safe," said Arpita, who intends to write to Odisha CM and Puri SP to strengthen safety measures. Lifeguard G Appa Rao said the tourists were lucky it was not dark and the incident happened close to the shoreline. Panchanan Reddy, another lifeguard, said at least 15 of them rushed to sea and pulled the tourists to safety. "Such a boat capsize incident has never occurred in Puri sea," he said.
NDTV
26-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Sourav Ganguly's Brother Recalls Near-Death Experience In Puri At Sea: "Trapped Beneath..."
Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly 's brother Snehasish Ganguly and his wife Arpita had a narrow escape in Odisha on Sunday after their speedboat capsized in the sea. The couple was on a holiday in Puri and were enjoying water sports activity when the incident happened. Snehasish Ganguly is a former Bengal cricketer and current president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). Both Snehashish and Arpita are safe and have returned to Kolkata. "I thank Lord Jagannath. This is sort of a second life for us," Snehashish told Cricbuzz on Monday. "It was a life-threatening accident. Our boat capsized inside the sea and we were saved by the local people and lifeguards." Snehasish added that visiting Puri has been sort of a tradition for them. "I visit Puri every year - it has been a tradition for the past 31 years. I perform puja at the Jagannath Temple annually. On Saturday, we suddenly decided to go into the sea. I don't know why I chose to do it - it was a last-minute decision," he said. "It was around 5:30 in the evening when we boarded the boat along with another couple. There were lifeguards on board. Suddenly, a powerful wave struck the boat, and it capsized instantly, turning [it] upside down. We were trapped beneath the capsized boat, inside the water. "Before we could even realise what had happened, another wave struck, and the boat flipped upright. That gave us a chance to wriggle free from the trapped situation. Around that time, some lifeguards also reached and rescued us. I can't express the relief - I just thank Lord Jagannath." VIDEO | Puri, Odisha: Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President and brother of former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly, Snehasish Ganguly, and his wife Arpita Ganguly were safely rescued after they encountered a horror as their speedboat capsized off Puri coast.… — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 26, 2025 A viral video shows the speedboat upside down in the rough sea waters as lifeguards try to rescue tourists. Officials used rubber floats to rescue them.
