New Delhi: As expected opener Rohit Sharma was on Tuesday named captain of the 16-member squad for the three T20I series against New Zealand, starting from November 17.
KL Rahul is the vice-captain of the team for the series which will be without Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah Mohammed Shami, and Ravindra Jadeja. These five have been given a rest.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, and Avesh Khan are the new faces in the squad.
The Chetan Sharma-led selection committee also selected the India ‘A’ squad for the South Africa tour scheduled to start from November 23 in Bloemfontein. The team will play three four-day matches during the tour.
New Delhi: Rahul Dravid is the new head coach of the senior Indian cricket team.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the appointment of former captain Rahul Dravid as the head coach and said that he will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand, starting with the T20Is from November 17.
Dravid will take over from Ravi Shastri, whose tenure comes to an end after the ongoing T20 World Cup. The decision to appoint Dravid was taken by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising former wicketkeeper Ms Sulakshana Naik and former pacer RP Singh.
“The BCCI welcomes Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of India’s senior men’s team. Rahul has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game. He has also served Indian cricket as Head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) with distinction. Rahul’s effort at the NCA has nurtured several young cricketing talents who have gone on to represent the country at the international stage. I am hopeful that his new stint will take Indian cricket to new heights,” said BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
“It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward. Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential,” Dravid said in a statement.
“There is no better person than Rahul Dravid and I am delighted to see him being appointed as the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team. With two World Cups scheduled to take place in the next two years, it is important to have a seamless transition, and the former India captain is the right man for the job. Having provided the much-needed direction to NCA and overseen the progression of the boys at India U-19 and India A level, we believe this is also a natural progression for him as a coach. I have no doubt that under him, the Indian team will dominate in all formats. The Board will soon make appointments of other coaching staff, who will support the Head Coach in jointly achieving our targets,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a release.
The Board hailed Ravi Shastri ( Head Coach), B. Arun (Bowling Coach), R. Sridhar (Fielding Coach) and Vikram Rathour (Batting Coach) on a successful tenure.
“Under Shastri, the Indian Cricket Team adopted a bold and fearless approach and performed creditably both in-home and away conditions. India climbed to the top position in the Test format and made it to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in England.
“India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia (2018-19) and followed it with another series win in 2020-21. India was also the first team to win all 5 T20Is in a bilateral series when it blanked New Zealand 5-0. Under Mr Shastri and his team’s guidance, India won all their seven Test series at home,” the release added
New Delhi: Delhi Capitals Captain Rishabh Pant, says his aim is to lead his side to win the IPL title this season
“We haven’t won a title yet and I will try my level best to get a title this year. We’ve been playing nicely as a team from last two-three years and our preparations are going on well.” he said
“Everyone looks in great frame of mind. Everyone is giving their 100 percent and is happy in the team environment, and that’s what you want as a Captain,” Pant was quoted as saying in a media release.
The 23-year-old wicket keeper-batsman who has scored 2,079 runs in 68 IPL matches, said that he is excited to lead the Delhi Capitals in this year and looking forward to making the most of the opportunity.
Pant acknowledged the influence of Head Coach Ricky Ponting on the team saying ” He(Ricky) has been so amazing for us in the last two-three years.
He brings energy to the team and as a player when you see your coach and you’re thinking this is the man from whom you can learn a lot, then nothing is better than that.
” Hopefully, we will cross the line this year, with the help of Ricky and the whole team.” Pant said he is really looking forward to going toe-to-toe against MS Dhoni in Delhi Capitals’ first encounter against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 10 April .
“My first match as Captain will be against Mahi bhai. It will be a good experience for me as I have learned a lot from him. I have my own experience as a player as well.
I’ll apply my own experience and the learnings from Dhoni, and try to do something different against CSK,” Pant added HSB.
New Delhi: Natural venues will provide level playing field while making it more challenging for the teams in the IPL feels Delhi Capitals all -rounder Harsha Patel.
The 13th edition of the IPL is slated to commence in UAE from 19th September.
Delhi Capitals will take on Kings XI Punjab in their opening fixture of the league on 20th September in Dubai. The tournament opener will see defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) taking on three- time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Abu Dhabi on 19th September.
Talking to Delhi Media cell in Dubai Harshal said, “I think every situation comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Having neutral venues will take away that home advantage for sure, so it’s going to be challenging for teams because you can’t rely on one brand of the wicket. We have seen in the past that teams like to prepare spin-friendly pitches when they have a spin-heavy squad and that enables them to win that way,”
“But when you are playing on a neutral venue, you don’t have that advantage. I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how teams take up this challenge, and I believe that skill is going to play a huge part than any other thing on these pitches,” he said.
“I think the heat is going to play a huge part, especially in the afternoon games, so we will need to sit down with our trainers and physio to make sure we are preparing well in order to tackle those challenges of playing in almost 42-43 degrees.”
It is important to conserve energy, especially in training to make sure you have plenty in reserve. If you are doing well in matches, and are feeling good, there has been talk in our group that you shouldn’t train too much then (to conserve energy).” The Delhi Capitals media release from Dubai quoted the 29-year old all-rounder as saying
Asked how he is shaping up physically and mentally ahead of their first match against Punjab on Sunday, Harshal replied “Personally, I think it has all gone according to plan. I planned to push a little a hard for the first 10 days, and then allow myself enough recovery to taper down right before the games.
“So, I have pushed pretty hard in these 10-12 days in training, and my skills are up to the mark – my body feels good and now it’s all about getting into that competitive frame of mind and enjoying the match.”
“In terms of the team, I think whatever stimulations we have had in our practice sessions, it’s all been good. I think everybody’s executing their duties well, and looking very fresh,” he added.
Having had his season cut short by a fracture in his right hand last year, Harshal is confident this time. “It was pretty difficult for me to leave the tournament half-way because I think I was in good touch and of course I wanted to do well. IPL is the biggest tournament for me because I don’t play international cricket, so it was really difficult, and hard to take.”
“Even when I left, I wanted the team to win, so I was following every single game and I was in touch with some of the players. I was really happy where we finished, but of course I think we could’ve won as well,” he said.
Having had a very successful Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy late last year, where he performed well with both bat and ball, Harshal said he has confidence in his skills and is looking forward to making an impact.
“I have more confidence than I have ever had in my skills. I have worked harder on my batting and I am just not that pinch hitter anymore who would just hit boundaries here and there. I know how to finish games and have become more sophisticated that way. Similarly, in terms of my bowling, I am more aware of what I can and cannot do. So that puts me in a very good position ahead of this season.”
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