Why India is not getting the results it wants despite Kohli's heroics

Kohli can reasonably claim that the scoreboard does not tell the whole story but it remains a difficult case to make that India should have won any of the Tests it lost

Virat Kohli : India suffered a 60-run defeat against England in the fourth test in Southampton on Sunday to go down 1-3 in the five-match series. In this article, the author compares the series defeat with the one in South Africa recently to figure out what hampers the Indian test team's performance abroad.

Ravi Shastri was seething. In the aftermath of the ODI and T20 series wins in South Africa earlier this year, he gave a much-discussed interview to Mid Day where the coach went to the extent of claiming that people in India are happy to see the Men in Blue lose. The regret over losing the Test series 1-2 was palpable. According to Shastri’s “calculation”, India had lost because it won two sessions less than the Proteas.

But others chose to place their scrutiny on the preparations for the tour, which had India going into the first Test without any warm-up games. This changed when India arrived in England. The majority of the squad spent a month before the Tests, as the limited-overs games were scheduled ahead. It raised hope that India would do better this time.

It also helped that England was in a shaky moment. An uncertain batting order brought confusion and collapses while the selection of leggie Adil Rashid was a contentious call, particularly so because his record in red-ball cricket was little to speak about. Read More

 

Ajit Wadekar, who taught India to win overseas, dies at 77; India mourns

Ajit Wadekar is one of the only three cricketers who represented India as a captain, coach, and national selector. The other two players are Chandu Borde and Lala Amarnath

Former Indian cricket team captain Ajit Wadekar , who led India to maiden Test series wins in England and West Indies, died at the age of 77, at the Jaslok Hospital in South Mumbai on Wednesday, after suffering prolonged illness.

The aggressive batsman left an indelible mark on Indian cricket despite making a mere 37 Test appearances. He led India to triumphs in England and the West Indies in 1971. Wadekar also served as India's manager in the 1990s when Mohammed Azharuddin was the captain. He later went on to become the chairman of selectors as well.

He is survived by his wife Rekha, two sons, and a daughter.

Ajit Wadekar as Indian cricket captain in 1971

In 1971, Wadekar was appointed the captain of national cricket team after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi opted out of the West Indies tour. He led the side that included players like youngster Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer, Gundappa Viswanath and the Indian spin quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, E A S Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. Read More

 

Arjun Tendulkar included in India U-19 squad for Lanka tour; Sachin elated

The 18-year-old Arjun has previously been a part of the Mumbai Under-14, Under-16, and Under-19 teams

The Indian team list will once again have the famous Tendulkar surname back as legendary Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun was included in U-19 side for the two four-day games against Sri Lanka.

Sachin Tendulkar expressed his happiness over the selection of his son Arjun Tendulkar in the Indian under 19 team.

He said, "We are happy on Arjun being selected in Indian under 19 team. It is an important milestone in his cricketing life. Anjali and I will always support Arjun in his choices and pray for his success."

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) senior official Rajiv Shukla also congratulated Arjun Tendulkar. The 18-year-old Arjun has previously been a part of the Mumbai Under-14, Under-16, and Under-19 teams.

Standing at 6ft 1inch, the 18-year-old Arjun is a left-arm fast bowler and a handy lower middle order batsman. Two India U-19 squads were announced today in Bengaluru with Anuj Rawat and Aryan Juyal leading the side.

However, an innocuous selection meeting became interesting as the three-member selection committee comprising Ashish Kapoor, Gyanendra Pandey and Rakesh Parikh selected Tendulkar junior for the longer version.

Arjun with his tally of 18 wickets from five Cooch Behar Trophy (National U-19) games is 43rd in the list of wicket-takers for the season. He had one five-wicket haul (5/95) against MP. Read More