Gambhir’s time as the India head coach has so far been quite disappointing. Under his guidance, the Men in Blue suffered a defeat in the ODI series against Sri Lanka and also slumped to a humiliating 0-3 Test series defeat at home to New Zealand.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss led to more criticism for Gambhir with Tiwary saying that he has not shown the kind of coaching that was expected.

“Gautam Gambhir is a hypocrite. He doesn’t do what he says. The captain (Rohit) is from Mumbai, Abhishek Nayar is from Mumbai. Rohit has been pushed to the forefront. There is no one to speak for Jalaj Saxena. He performs well but keeps quiet,” Tiwary told News18Bangla.

“What is the use of a bowling coach? Whatever the coach says, he will agree. Morne Morkel came from Lucknow Super Giants. Abhishek Nayar was at Kolkata Knight Riders with Gambhir and the Indian head coach knows that he will not go against his instructions,” Tiwary added.

Tiwary also believes that Gambhir doesn’t have a good relationship with skipper Rohit Sharma. He also questioned as to how the duo will work together by comparing their achievements and saying that while Rohit is a World Cup-winning captain, Gambhir’s feats as captain are restricted to the IPL.

“How will they work together? Rohit is a World Cup-winning captain while Gambhir led KKR to IPL titles both as a captain and mentor. Gambhir didn’t guide KKR to the title single-handedly as we all performed as a unit. Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine and I, all contributed to the cause. But who took the credit? There is an environment and PR that allows him to take all the credit,” Tiwary said.

The post ‘Gautam Gambhir is a hypocrite’: Ex-India star BLASTS head coach following Australia series defeat appeared first on Cricket Country.

This report comes after several former India cricketers urged the star India batter to play domestic cricket in order to regain his form in Tests. Even head coach Gautam Gambhir also hinted that not only Virat but Rohit should also play domestic cricket since he also needs to drastically improve his form in the longest format.

If RCB reaches the final of the IPL which will be played on May 25, then Kohli will have roughly 14 days to play county cricket and get suitable with the English conditions before the 5-match Test series against The Three Lions commences.

Preparing for the swinging conditions in England will not be an easy task and Kohli himself knows that. The India batter has struggled in the past few Test series in England and the same would happen in the upcoming tour as well if he doesn’t take strict measures to improve his form.

Kohli had a brilliant start to the Border-Gavaskar series, slamming a century in the first Test held in Perth. However, his form dipped in the very next match and didn’t show much improvements in the remaining 3 Tests as well.

The 36-year-old will be looking to put the failures in Australia tour behind him and a stint in County Cricket can turn out to be very helpful for him in regaining his form. Spending time in English conditions would allow Kohli to sharpen his skills and also regain his confidence.

The post Virat Kohli likely to play county cricket in order to prepare for England Test series: Report appeared first on Cricket Country.

“The challenge is, and I can see it with Virat now, you can see how much he wants it. He’s trying so hard that actually makes batting harder. The harder you try sometimes with batting, the less success you’re going to have,” Ponting said.

“I started thinking more about not getting out rather than scoring runs and that might sound strange but that’s what it was. I was trying to be so perfect set the right example play exactly the way my team needed me all the time but when I was playing my best I didn’t think about any of that,” Ponting added.

Ponting believes that Kohli needs to rediscover his love for the game, adding that the India batter doesn’t want to play the deliveries pitched outside his off-stump, however there is some mental block due to which he is doing so.

“I just walked out and thought about scoring runs. I can just see a little bit of that with Virat now. Even the way that he’s getting out you can see he doesn’t want to be playing at those balls he’s trying not to do it but he’s there’s some mental block there that’s making him feel for that one outside the off stump,” Ponting said.

“He had a mental break (in the past) where he stepped away for a while and then came back and find the love for the game again. So right now it just seems like that real love of the game for him is not there because he’s making it too hard to enjoy. So if he wants to continue playing Test match cricket, he might just need to have a little spell for a while, find the love for the game again” Ponting added.

The post ‘He doesn’t want to…’: Australia great points out the MAJOR problem with Virat Kohli appeared first on Cricket Country.

Veteran India cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had a tour to forget as both of them gave dismal batting performances throughout the 5 Tests. However, the duo are still expected to be a part of India’s squad for the England Test series which will be played in June due to their ‘superstar’ status.

Harbhajan said that selection for the away series against England should completely be dependent on performances. He even went on to say that if players get picked just because of their reputation, then legendary cricketers like Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev can also find a place in the squad.

“There is a superstar culture which has developed. We don’t need superstars, we need performers. If the team has them (performers), it will move forward. Whoever wants to become a superstar should stay at home and play cricket there,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.

“There is a tour of England coming up. Now everyone has started talking about what will happen in England, who will go, who will not go. For me, it is a simple matter. Only players who are performing should go. You can’t keep picking players on their reputation,” Harbhajan said.

“If you do that, then you should take Kapil Dev sir and Anil bhai also. Here, the BCCI and the selectors will have to be firm and act tough. I don’t think that the superstar attitude is taking the team forward,” Harbhajan further said.

It will be interesting to see whether Rohit and Virat will still feature for the Men in Blue for the England tour or the team will undergo major changes for the important Test series against The Three Lions.

The post ‘Stay at home and play cricket’: Harbhajan Singh BLASTS ‘superstar culture’ in Indian team appeared first on Cricket Country.

According to Ponting, Kohli is trying too hard which has been resulting in him being hurt. After he nicked the ball to the slips during India’s second innings of the Sydney test, he was spotted expressing his frustration.

“…The challenge is, and I can see it with Virat now, you can see how much he wants it. He’s trying so hard that actually makes batting harder. The harder you try sometimes with batting, the less success you’re going to have. I started thinking more about not getting out rather than scoring runs and that might sound strange but that’s what it was. I was trying to be so perfect set the right example play exactly the way my team needed me all the time but when I was playing my best I didn’t think about any of that.,” Ponting told ICC.

“I just walked out and thought about scoring runs. I can just see a little bit of that with Virat now. Even the way that he’s getting out you can see he doesn’t want to be playing at those balls he’s trying not to do it but he’s there’s some mental block there that’s making him feel for that one outside the off stump,” he added.

According to Ponting, Kohli needs a kind of vacation from the game, as the star batter is unable to play freely because of the pressure of expectations and ongoing failure.

“A break can only help the Indian legend. He had a mental break (in the past) where he stepped away for a while and then came back and find the love for the game again. So right now it just seems like that real love of the game for him is not there because he’s making it too hard to enjoy. So if he wants to continue playing Test match cricket, he might just need to have a little spell for a while, find the love for the game again,” Ponting told ICC.

After India had an England tour in 2022, Kohli had been in a similar situation where he could not perform well, and hence he took a 42-day vacation. The star batter stated that it was the first time in his career where he had not touched the bat for 30 days. After that he made a comeback in the sport and had impressive outcomes, which might happen once again if he goes on according to the advice of the former Australian captain.

The post ‘Making it too hard to enjoy…’: Ricky Ponting advices Virat Kohli to ‘Take a Break’ in order to surpass his Lean patch appeared first on Cricket Country.

Kohli is currently facing a lot of criticism from cricket experts and fans after he failed to perform in the five Test matches against Australia. He set off the series with an unbeaten century, but failed to keep that momentum. He ended the series with just 190 runs. Faf also spoke about Kohli’s retirement, stating that bidding farewell from the sport is a very personal choice.

“That is very, very personal. No one can speak to you about when that time is (up) as a player, you’ll know,” du Plessis told PTI on the sidelines of the SA20 Season 3’s Captain’s Day.

“I know someone like him is super super motivated, he’s gone through it all before, so he knows exactly what to do,” he added.

After he failed to perform well in the five-match Test series against Australia, the star batter will most likely appear for India in he upcoming three-match ODI series against England, set to begin February 6. This will be last ODI series for India before the 2025 edition of Champions Trophy.

The post ‘No one can speak…’: Virat Kohli’s Ex-IPL teammate passes Judgement on his retirement after flop show in Border-Gavaskar Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

The actions of Kohli, especially bumping teenager debutant Sam Konstas, enraged some former Australian players. Aaron Flinch is one such former player, an ex-Australian captain, who shared his thoughts on ESPN’s Around The Wicket broadcast after the series came to an end.

“It was just a level of frustration. I said last week it seemed as though he wanted to find conflict and confrontation – that’s where he generally plays his best cricket. So he just went overboard on this tour. The bump, that was above and beyond anything I’ve seen on a field, and then the sandpaper, unnecessary. But overall, I think he was trying to find something to ignite a fire in himself, but just wasn’t up to it,” said Finch.

A lot of people have came to Kohli’s defence as they have pointed out that Australian players engage in all sorts of conducts without consequences, but they have made a big deal out of it when Kohli was involved.

The post ‘Just went Overboard…’: Australian legend slams Virat Kohli for his behaviour in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 appeared first on Cricket Country.

A recent report had stated that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will most likely be India’s vice-captain for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has approved of this decision and believes that Gill has plenty of other things to worry about.

“There was some talk about Shubman Gill being there in Australia as the vice-captain, and look what happened. Bumrah, thankfully, was made the captain, with Rohit Sharma missing the first Test. Look where Gill’s career is right now. First, you should make the team on merit,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.

Manjrekar believes that the role of Test captain should be handed to Bumrah and he should be leading the Men in Blue during the 5-match Test series against England which is set to commence from June 20.

“It’s a no-brainer for me. The next Test series is going to be in England. So more of the same. Jasprit Bumrah has to be your next Test captain,” Manjrekar said.

Bumrah, who recently led India during the Perth and Sydney Tests in the Border-Gavaskar series, will now also act as the deputy to Rohit Sharma in one-day format.

The post ‘Make the team on merit’: Ex-India star gives BRUTAL remark on Shubman Gill’s captaincy ambitions appeared first on Cricket Country.

This comes after the duo failed to impress with the bat throughout the recently concluded 5-match Border-Gavaskar series. While Rohit scored just 31 runs from the 5 innings he played during the series, Kohli only managed to score a total of 190 runs he played against the Aussies.

On the other hand, India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah continued his reign at the top of the Test bowler rankings. Bumrah, who made history ahead of the fifth and final Test against Australia by recording the highest-ever ICC Rankings rating for an Indian bowler at 907 points, improved that tally by one point after taking two wickets in the first innings at the SCG.

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s blistering knock of 61 in Sydney saw him climb 3 places and reach the ninth spot on the batter rankings while Yashasvi Jaiswal retained his fourth position.

Australia pacer Scott Boland made a massive 29-place jump and reached the 9th position. Boland was the star performer for the Baggy Greens in the Sydney Test, picking up a total of 10 wickets on the lively pitch. Australia skipper Pat Cummins also made significant gain in the rankings, climbing to number two after picking up 5 wickets in the final match. 

Meanwhile, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma’s brilliant century against Pakistan saw him climb 3 spots and reach the number 6 spot while also achieving a career-best rating of 769. South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada rose a spot and occupied the third spot in the Test bowler rankings.

The post Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli see MAJOR drop in latest ICC Test Rankings following Border-Gavaskar series appeared first on Cricket Country.

Bumrah captained the Indian team in both the Perth and Sydney Tests in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series. While the Men in Blue did register a dominant 295-run victory in Perth under Bumrah’s leadership, they lost by 6 wickets in Sydney and the defeat saw Australia triumph in the series by 3-1.

The Indian team was captained by Rohit in the rest of the 3 Tests, however they weren’t able to register any victory in those games, drawing once and losing the other two.

Rohit was heavily criticized by fans and former cricketers alike for his abysmal batting display and also for his poor leadership. Many reports also claimed that he will announce his retirement from the format following the conclusion of the series. However, that hasn’t happened yet.

Now Kaif has claimed that instead of Rohit or Bumrah, either Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul should lead the Men in Blue in the 5-match England series.

“I want a batter to lead India in the Test series against England. Whether it is Rishabh Pant or K.L. Rahul. The first two have already worked. Rishabh Pant is the captain of the IPL. He is getting mature. K.L Rahul has worked for many years. So, these two can be a shake, but I don’t believe that Bumrah is the right option after Rohit Sharma,” Kaif said.

Defeat in the Sydney Test meant that the Men in Blue failed to secure a spot in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). The final will be played between Australia and South Africa later this year.

The post NOT Rohit Sharma or Jasprit Bumrah: Ex-India star picks captain for England Tests in viral video appeared first on Cricket Country.