Gambhir is under pressure to deliver good outcomes, especially when under his leadership, India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time since 1997, followed by a 3-0 clean sweep by New Zealand in a Test series on Indian grounds. The Indian team’s performance in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 has also been below par.

The Indian team is set to go through a few changes for the last Test against Australia, set to begin January 3 at Sydney Cricket Ground. Rohit Sharma has been dropped from this Test, whereas Akash Deep has been put to rest due to discomfort in his back.

Pakistan legend Basit Ali lashed out at Gautam Gambhir after India’s dismal performances in the BGT. Gambhir had an important role when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 title. Basit Ali stated that there is not much coaching to do in T20s, but even the coach is put to test in a Test match.

“Gautam Gambhir ko tactics nahi aati, coaching ki (Gambhir doesn’t know coaching tactics). No doubt he guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title (in 2024), but T20s don’t need much coaching. In Test matches, even the coach is tested — what is the coach understanding and planning while sitting on the sidelines?” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

After the victory in Melbourne, Australia will enter the 5th Test knowing that they might secure their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) finals. India, on the other hand, needs to do something out of the box and defeat Australia in the final match if they wish to have some positive hopes for making it to the WTC final.

The post ‘Doesn’t know Tactics…’: Ex-Pakistan cricketer takes a Dig at Gautam Gambhir after loss in Melbourne Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit speculated that the Indian captain and head coach have not been on the same page since Gambhir took over the reins from Rahul Dravid in July earlier this year.

“Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir are not on the same page, be it the one-day tournament in Sri Lanka; Bangladesh, which was a weak series; or the New Zealand series after that,” Basit said.

“In the second and third (Tests), they (Rohit and Gambhir) are not on the same page, like Rahul Dravid was. He and Rohit were not on the same page,” Basit added.

The former Pakistan cricketer explained his statement by pointing out the bowling combinations that India used during the first 3 matches of the series. According to Basit, with Australia using 3 left-handed batters, India could have opted for either Washington Sundar or Ravichandran Ashwin, who were respectively picked for the first two matches, as opposed to Ravindra Jadeja, who was given a chance in the Brisbane Test.

“I can explain it very easily. In all three Tests matches, a different spinner played. In two Test matches, they batted after winning the toss, but here they chose to bowl. There are three left-handers in the Australian batting….So why not (Washington) Sundar and why not (Ravichandran) Ashwin? Anybody who understands cricket will definitely talk about it,” Basit said.

Basit also questioned the Men in Blue’s decision to bowl first despite their attack getting mainly carried by Jasprit Bumrah.

“Was the decision to bowl first right? I think it was not. The Indian team is only dependent on Bumrah. The rest of the bowlers are not performing like they should. If I say it’s Bumrah vs Australia, that will be right. Similarly, it’s Travis Head vs India…Neither Rohit, nor (bowling coach) Morne Morkel and (chief coach) Gautam Gambhir are able to solve this problem,” Basit said.

“India don’t have a left-arm fast bowler in their squad. That’s a weak link. We have seen Mir Hamza or Shaheen Shah Afridi accounting for Head because that’s a different angle. That’s why, if you see, Bumrah bowls round the wicket to Head,” Basit added.

The post ‘Rohit and Gambhir are not on the same page’: Ex-Pakistan star makes MASSIVE claim appeared first on Cricket Country.

However, according to a report by IANS, many members of the Pakistan board are unhappy with the decision to accept the hybrid model for the ICC event. According to the model, India will play their share of matches in Dubai while Pakistan will host rest of the matches of the tournament.

As compensation, Pakistan has been allowed to play their matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup in Colombo. They have also been given rights to host an ICC women’s tournament after 2027.

Following PCB’s acceptance of the hybrid formula, some members of the board have expressed displeasure over the decision, saying that the board chairman Mohsin Naqvi should not get carried away with ICC tactics, sources told IANS.

One of the many people who aren’t happy with PCB accepting the hybrid model is former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali. He believes that being offered the women’s cricket tournament after 2027 is no compensation for hosting the ICC event which is scheduled to commence from February 2025.

“Now it is being said that in 2027 or 2028, a women’s World Cup will be given to Pakistan. Everybody will say, ‘waah ji waah! This is great, not one but two ICC events (in Pakistan)!’ But what’s the point of events like these? It’s being done so that in 2026, the Pakistan team will travel to India and the Indian women’s team will then come to Pakistan. The broadcasters won’t suffer any losses,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

“Do you know what a lollipop is? This is a lollipop the ICC is giving to the PCB…that if you agree to this, don’t ask for anything in writing and we will give you another ICC event. This won’t be of any benefit (to Pakistan). They should rather bid for the Asia Cup, which is next year. The PCB should ask for this. The PCB won’t benefit by hosting the Women’s World Cup or U-19 World Cup. If the PCB accepts this lollipop, they’ll be the losers,” Basit added.

The post PCB members divided over acceptance of hybrid model for Champions Trophy: Report appeared first on Cricket Country.

Basit believes that rather than being dropped because of poor performances, Shaheen was dropped from the side due to the incident that took place during Pakistan’s first Test against Bangladesh. A video went viral in which Shaheen was seen removing skipper Shan Masood’s hand from his shoulder during a team huddle on the field.

“Shaheen Afridi was asked to bowl on dead pitches, and he couldn’t perform so what about Naseem Shah’s performance? In the ODI series that Pakistan won against Australia, what did Naseem Shah do? I will tell you why Shaheen was removed. You must remember a video where Shan put a hand on Shaheen’s shoulder, and he removed it,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Basit also questioned PCB’s decision of bringing back Babar into the Test fold. The 53-year-old asked if Babar’s form since the England Test was enough to mark his comeback in the red-ball side.

“How many domestic matches Babar has played since being removed from the Test team? When Babar was dropped from the Test team, on what performance did he return to the team? He is a good player, but did his form improve after being dropped from that series?” Basit said.

Babar did recently feature in Pakistan’s ODI and T20I series against Australia, however he wasn’t really able to improve his fortunes, scoring 80 runs in the 3 ODIs and 47 runs in the 3 T20Is. It will be interesting to see if the batter can finally regain his form in the upcoming South Africa series.

The post ‘Did his form improve?’: Ex-Pakistan star questions Babar Azam’s inclusion for South Africa Tests appeared first on Cricket Country.

Earlier on Monday, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi refused to accept the hybrid model proposed by BCCI to ICC for the Champions Trophy. Their stance of hosting all the matches of the tournament in Pakistan still remains firm.

The Indian cricket board is also reluctant to send the Men in Blue to Pakistan in order to participate in the tournament. Amid this chaos, the ICC have reportedly informed the PCB to soften their approach on the matter and accept the hybrid model proposed by the BCCI.

However, Basit warned PCB over its ongoing standoff with the BCCI over the venue of the tournament. He believes that the Indian board holds more power and have become even stronger due to the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“India (BCCI) ke paas power hai. IPL ki wajah se India boht strong ho chuka hai aur woh India ke against nahi jayenge (India has become very powerful because of the IPL and no team will go against them),” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

“ICC is now worried what to do and what not. Delay tactics are being used and they are hoping that telephone calls (to India and Pakistan) lead to a solution…But whosoever has to a solution…But whosoever has to conduct this tournament has decided how it will be done — whether India comes to Pakistan or not, or if it will be a hybrid model,” Basit added.

“Any talks of Champions Trophy being held without India need not be entertained, same for Pakistan, because the amount of loss the broadcasters have suffered at the T20 World Cup in the US and the West Indies, they don’t have much room left to bear more losses. They are putting pressure (on ICC) for clarity,” Basit concluded.

Amid the ongoing impasse over the Champions Trophy, it remains to be seen if the PCB will let go of their firm stance and accept BCCI’s proposal of a hybrid model for the ICC competition.

The post “India ke pass power hai”: Ex-Pakistan star warns PCB over firm stance on Champions Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

Ali stated that such an approach might work in the limited-over format, is not suitable for the longer format of the game and that has ultimately led to India struggling against New Zealand.

Along with criticising team’s approach, Ali also locked aim at India’s batting coach and spoke about his inability to distinguish between demand of Test cricket and limited-over cricket. Ali even claimed that Rahul Dravid has a more refined and strategic mindset for Test cricket compared to Gambhir.

“India ka batting coach hai kaun, jo yeh nahi bata pa raha ki Test cricket session to session hoti hai? Bas har over 12 run bana lo, 10 run bana lo. Yeh koi cricket hai yaar! (Who is India’s batting coach, not able to advise the batsmen that you approach Tests session by session? Trying to score 10-12 runs every over is not cricket),” Basit Ali stated.

“Dravid used to advise for four-day pitches so that a Test match goes at least until the fourth day. Let it turn from the third, fourth day, fifth day. But you guys are asking for wickets (that turn) from the first day, where someone who is not a regular spinner will get turn even if he bowls straight,” he concluded.

The post Ex-Pakistan cricketer’s Massive statement on India’s head coach: ‘Dravid used to Advice…’ appeared first on Cricket Country.

Former Pakistan cricket team star Basit Ali was extremely critical of the duo, and he said that both of them are struggling in the same manner as Babar Azam.

“Babar ke baad, Rohit aur Virat ki bhi wahi situation ho gayi hai, form kharaab (After Babar, Rohit and Virat are also in the same situation, poor form),” Basit Ali said while speaking on his YouTube channel.

Basit also called out Rohit for his lack of foot movement on the third day of the third Test between India and New Zealand.

“When Rohit missed two deliveries, struck on the pads and then on the lower abdomen, he stepped out to hit a four. This shows that his feet are not moving, form is not good. Then he hit a four off a reverse sweep,” Basit said.

The former Pakistan cricketer also said that both Rohit and Virat should play domestic cricket before the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series.

“Virat Kohli, out of touch, not in form at all. He needs to play domestically before flying to Australia, Rohit also. Test match practice cannot be seen,” Basit said.

“It was the mandate that you must make yourself available for domestic cricket to be eligible for India selection. Everyone played, all of them performed in patches – Shubman Gill, Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, but these two (Rohit and Virat) were given a free hand and allowed to exclude themselves,” Basit added.

The post Ex-Pakistan star compares Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form to Babar Azam appeared first on Cricket Country.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit stated that he was taken aback by Pant’s attitude on the field and that he should be worth Rs 50 crore in the upcoming IPL auctions.

‘‘Rishabh Pant scored 60 in the first innings and 64 in the second. What can I say about this kid! People might say he’s worth 25 crore, but in my opinion, he should go for 50 crore”, Basit said on his YouTube channel.

“When he was batting on this surface, it looked as if it was a flat pitch—he was hitting wherever he wanted. But he was very smart with his shot selection, knowing not to play shots in areas where he’s weak. Others didn’t manage to do this,” Ali further explained.

On Diwali, 31st October, all the IPL teams announced their lists of retained players for IPL 2025 before they partake in the mega auctions. Where, according to report from PTI, Rishabh Pant broke his ties with Delhi Capitals.

Now Pant will enter the mega auctions, and will grab huge demand from franchises. But it is to be seen whether he will actually reach on to the 50-crore mark or not.

The post Basit Ali praises Rishabh Pant for his game in 3rd Test v New Zealand appeared first on Cricket Country.

However, both Rohit and Virat have been given a free hand  to decide whether they want to play domestic cricket or not. This casual approach by the Board has led to both the star players losing their form in red-ball cricket which played a huge role in India’s 0-3 series whitewash to New Zealand on home soil.

Recently, Basit criticized the senior Indian batters on their form and mentioned how the youngsters have outperformed them.

“It was the mandate that you must make yourself available for domestic cricket to be eligible for India selection. Everyone played domestic, all of them performed in patches – Shubman Gill, Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal…but dono (Rohit and Virat) ko free hand diya hua that (both have been given free hand), that ‘you can exclude yourself’,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

“Virat Kohli, out of touch, not in form at all. He needs to play domestic (cricket) before flying to Australia; Rohit also. Test-match pratice can’t be seen (in their batting),” Basit added.

Following the duo’s poor performances in the home season, questions have been raised on their place in the team, thus both of them seriously need to change their fortunes around in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series, otherwise the situation would go from bad to worse for them and for the team.

The post “Free hand diya hua hai”: Ex-Pakistan star calls out BCCI’s approach towards Rohit and Virat appeared first on Cricket Country.

Basit further said that Kirsten had believed that he had full authority over such decisions and favoured a player outside the current limited-overs setup to lead Pakistan.

“It all started when Rizwan was made captain. Kirsten wanted a different player to lead, someone who wasn’t in the current side. He thought he had full authority, but he doesn’t realize that in our country, the PCB chairman can change overnight,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Rizwan succeeded Babar Azam as Pakistan’s white-ball skipper on Sunday when the PCB announced squads for the Australia and Zimbabwe series. Salman Ali Agha has been named as his deputy for the upcoming tours which will take place away from home.

Within 24 hours of Rizwan’s appointment, the PCB confirmed Kirsten’s resignation, marking the end of his six-month tenure without having managed Pakistan in a single ODI match, the format where he achieved the biggest success in his coaching career.

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