Informed on Pitch Betting, Gautam Gambhir Faces Stern Rahul Dravid Comparison

Gautam Gambhir has received a lot of criticism for his decision to disregard Rahul Dravid’s flawless pitch theory during the New Zealand Tests.

The return of rank-turners in India’s Test match against New Zealand has raised serious concerns about head coach Gautam Gambhir’s future. India suffered the first-ever clean sweep in a three-match series and lost a home Test series for the first time in twelve years. The team’s demise was caused by a number of circumstances. But one of the most significant ones was head coach Gautam Gambhir’s insistence on bringing back rank turners for the Pune and Mumbai Tests. Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali. Also criticized Gambhir for the pitch selection, comparing him to Rahul Dravid as the discussion on the topic continues.

According to Basit, India’s new head coach Gambhir has a far superior coaching mentality than his predecessor Dravid. Gambhir was perplexed by the former Pakistani star’s choice to abandon Dravid’s pitch theory and return to rank-turners.

Gautam Gambhir is not as intelligent as Rahul Dravid. For four days, Dravid made pitches, and on the final two days, the ball would turn. Basit stated on his YouTube channel that “you are now making such pitches where even someone. Who isn’t a regular spinner is getting a lot of turn right from the first day.”

In the Indian team, Gambhir has also adopted a more aggressive style of play. Basit believes that unlike Dravid, the former coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders has a solid understanding of players’ psychology.

A good coach was Rahul Dravid. He was aware of the athletes’ mentality. He went on to say that it is unreasonable to order Virat Kohli to play T20 in Test cricket.

The Indian cricket team has a formidable challenge. When they travel to Australia for five Test matches. India’s triumph in Australia would mostly depend on Gambhir’s coaching philosophy and the exploits of seasoned players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

List Of Players At Rs 2 Crore Base Price In IPL 2025 Auction: From Rishabh Pant To Mitchell Starc

The IPL 2025 auction is predicted to see Rishabh Pant smash all previous records.

The costly number of players who have signed up for the mega auction is a testament to the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) popularity. The BCCI said on Tuesday that an incredible 1574 cricket players, including 1165 Indians, have registered for the mega auction in advance of the Indian Premier League 2025. Which will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25. Twenty-five of these players have enrolled at the base cost of INR 2 crore. When their names appear in the auction, several of these players are predicted to break the 20 crore barrier.

Thirty players from the Associate Nations, 1,224 uncapped players, and 320 capped players are on the list. The players in the INR 2 crore category are as follows:

The following players are in the INR 2 crore category IPL 2025:

Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan, Mukesh Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, T Natarajan, Devdutt Padikkal, Krunal Pandya, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer

Of the players with caps, 48 are from India. Additionally, 965 of the nation’s uncapped players will participate in the auction. In addition to 409 international players, the player registration period officially ended on Monday. For the second consecutive year, the previous auction. Which took place in Dubai before to the 2024 Indian Premier League is being held overseas.

The first Test match between Australia and India. Which starts on November 22, will take place in Perth on the third and fourth days. Which will conflict with the auction.

There will be 204 spots available for bid, and each organization may field a team of no more than 25 players (including any retained players).

Australia has 76 players in the auction. While South Africa has 91, making it the second-largest player pool. The list contains 52 cricket players from England and 39 from New Zealand, followed by those from the West Indies (33) Afghanistan (29) and Sri Lanka (29) in order of precedence.

The USA (10), Netherlands (12), Canada (4), Italy (1), UAE (1), and Scotland (2) are the countries where the Associates are most noticeable.

Ajaz Patel explains New Zealand’s remarkable success to its adaptability.

In their historic 3-0 thumping of India, New Zealand shown Ajaz Patel ability to overcome a variety of obstacles. The pitch types in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai presented the teams with a variety of circumstances, which was the biggest obstacle.

The first Test’s pitch was greatly influenced by the weather, and New Zealand took advantage of the pace-friendly conditions to crush India in the opening innings, thereby winning the match. Even though it helped with spin, the Pune pitch was slow and required the slower bowlers to adjust.

Weather played a big part in the first Test pitch, as New Zealand took advantage of the pace-friendly conditions to crush India in the first innings, effectively winning the match. The slower bowlers had to adjust to the slow Pune wicket, even though it helped with spin.

Once more, the visiting team was able to read the conditions better, and their spinners, under the leadership of Mitchell Santner, helped New Zealand defeat India in their first series. Ajaz Patel, bowling in familiar surroundings. Helped New Zealand defeat Rishabh Pant and become the first side to record a whitewash in India (at least three Tests). Then came Mumbai.

Ajaz Patel

Ajaz met the media during a Zoom conference, outlining the various circumstances that New Zealand faced and the measures they had taken to meet the challenge. We’ve played three different games on three different surfaces, and I suppose we’re all aware that one of the difficulties of traveling to Asia is that the conditions will constantly change, so you have to be flexible. Even inside the game, things can change drastically.

I mean, I was bowling during this Mumbai Test.I believe I was bowling extremely well in the first innings, but the wickets weren’t really turning. Then, after lunch, I returned, and everything started to happen.

Thus, I suppose it’s important to have the skill set and range to be able to bowl in the high 90s or low 80s and to be flexible in those ranges from the start when you get to the subcontinent. As I mentioned earlier, the conditions do change at a consistent rate, therefore it’s also scanning the surface quickly.

Ajaz Patel stated that New Zealand had adequately prepared back home to counter the various pitches in the subcontinent. “As a spinner, it’s about knowing how to get the most out of that, how to change your pace, how to go up and down. While still having the ball shape,” he said. “The conditions in the morning can sometimes be very different from those in that middle session.”

“I think we were conditioned to bowling on a variety of surfaces because we had a terrific winter back home. Where we bowled on turning wickets and made sure. We had a variety of surfaces to try and practice on. Indeed, preparation is crucial. But so is supporting your abilities and, I suppose, actually going out there and doing it,” he remarked.

New Zealand

New Zealand lost out on important practice time prior to the Test series against India. When the Test match against Afghanistan in Greater Noida. He was called off before a ball was bowled. After losing the toss in both games and being forced to bat second. New Zealand was blanked 2-0 by the hosts in the next two-match series against Sri Lanka. However, India had the finest batting conditions, and New Zealand made sure they took advantage of it.

Ajaz gave gratitude to Rangana Herath, a spin consultant, for his strategic thoughts and inputs that enabled the New Zealand spinners to defeat the Indian hitters. Additionally, he discussed the significance of a spinner’s straighter delivery and how it hinders hitters’ progress on turning tracks. The New Zealand batsmen were particularly well-prepared in this area.

He obviously has a lot of subcontinental experience, and his record as a left-arm spin bowler pretty much speaks for itself. To be honest, I was glad to have him because, I suppose, our bowling styles are somewhat comparable. The most important thing, He was that he provided us a great concept of the kinds of fields. We could build up in terms of Asian conditions while still assaulting and having the ability to restrict the bounds.

“It’s an art,” Ajaz Patel remarked in reference to the more direct delivery. “Everyone who spins should have it.” Bowling a straight ball is the hardest thing, especially if you’re visiting Asia or the subcontinent. Since it’s difficult to keep the ball straight on many wickets, you can turn it if you want to. Rangana has greatly aided in that regard. He has given us some new skills, including action techniques. The batsmen therefore take their cues slowly. We’ve worked on all of that. And we were aware that the straight ball poses a threat to our batsmen when they bat. We have therefore addressed that in both bowling and batting.

In 2023, the Veteran Saha Indian star who was released from his BCCI contract announced his retirement.

One of India’s all-time best wicketkeepers, Wriddhiman Saha is set to retire from cricket altogether.

Wriddhiman Saha, one of the best wicketkeepers in Indian history, has declared his intention to retire from all tournaments. Saha stated on social media that following the current Ranji Trophy campaign, his cricketing career will come to an end. Saha intends to retire at the end of the season. But he is thrilled to be playing for Bengal for “one last time.” Saha, who is arguably the best wicketkeeper India has had in recent memory based only on his ability to keep wicket, is apparently not planning to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.

Before being released from the Central Contracts in 2023. He was often included in Team India’s Test plans, particularly at home. He has not returned to the Test side since his release.

Saha intends to avoid all facets of the game, including the IPL, according to a Sportstar article. According to reports, he hasn’t even registered for the massive auction that will happen later this month. Wriddhiman Saha has not yet formally stated his position on playing in the IPL. But rumors indicate that his time with the Gujarat Titans during the 2024 season was his final one in the T20 tournament.

GT did not keep Saha prior to the IPL 2025 mega auction. Since the league’s first season in 2008, he has played in every season, making him one of the few players still in the league.

Throughout his career, the seasoned wicketkeeper has represented five different teams: the Gujarat Titans (GT), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Shreyas Iyer is unlikely to stay with KKR.

The Kolkata Knight Riders are letting go of Shreyas Iyer. In talks with the team’s management, the Mumbai batter has shown himself to be a tough negotiator, seemingly compelling the reigning champions to give up on their skipper.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will receive KKR’s retention list on Thursday night. It is now expected that he will not be on it. Even though exercising the Right to Match (RTM) card is still an option, that will have to wait until later more specifically, until the auction time. Which is sometime next month.

Given that Indian players are typically chosen by teams as captains. Especially after KKR won the championship the previous season. He could be a candidate for leadership roles. IPL rumors state that a few organizations have apparently approached him. Shreyas Iyer was allegedly requesting an outrageous fee.

Even though one is permitted to have a heightened picture of one’s résumé. IPL professionals usually discuss whether fitness concerns, prior performances, and present international status exactly add up before making a decision on a player. It’s no secret that the IPL’s valuation is determined by extensive statistical analysis.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Shreyas Iyer was purchased by KKR in the 2022 auction, and his current IPL pay is INR 12.25 crore. He averaged 30.85 while scoring 401 runs in 14 games during the season. Due to five innings without a loss in the 2024 season, he scored 50 fewer runs at an average of 39. He had to get surgery for a recurrent back ailment that kept him out of the 2023 season. He has amassed 3127 runs at an average of 32.24 with a strike rate of 127.48 during nine seasons and 115 games. After skipping a Ranji Trophy match the previous season. He lost favor with the national selectors and is currently without a central BCCI contract.

The question of whether teams can have conversations with players. While they are still under contract with a franchise is a hot topic among the teams ahead of the IPL retention. It has been related to certain individuals. The BCCI has even been made aware of this problem.

IPL

Since player agents are thought to be rather active behind the scenes. It is probable that they are conducting the discussions. They are promising and discussing astronomical amounts. However, the question still stands: how can a player be confident they will receive a sizable bid at the auction, whose dynamics are infamously uncertain?

The new RTM rule, which permits a club to increase a player’s bid to a predetermined amount only in the event that the franchise holding the RTM card exercises the option, is a likely solution. They might decide not to utilize it, which is always a possibility.

In the event that Player X enters the auction with a guaranteed INR 25 crore and the bidding ends at INR 15 crore, for instance, the rival team can only increase the price to INR 25 crore. If the original franchise chooses to exercise the RTM. In the absence of that RTM, the player might receive less than INR 15 crore. So what?

This investigation focuses on players who are assured high bids at the auction prior to the retention deadline. If not specifically one player. With ten teams and six RTMs each, there may be at least 25 RTMs at the auction, if not all 60. There is always a danger that the guarantee and pre-bid agreement will get broken.

In South Africa, India’s head coach will be VVS Laxman.

The head coach for India’s first white ball trip of South Africa will be VVS Laxman. Gautam Gambhir, the current national coach, will be traveling to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Therefore he will fill in.

A senior representative of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the decision to Cricbuzz on Monday. At first, the four-match series was not planned. Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the BCCI recently made the arrangement.

India will participate in four Twenty20 Internationals on November 8, 10, 13, and 15 in Durban, Gqeberha, Centurion, and Johannesburg, respectively. The group will leave on or around November 4. On November 10–11, the BGT Indian squad departs.

Sairaj Bahutule, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, and Subhadeep Ghosh, among other coaches and staff of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, will be a part of VVS Laxman coaching staff. Head coach Bahutule, batting coach Kanitkar, and fielding coach Ghosh were all members of the India Emerging team that competed in the Asia Emerging Cup in Oman. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A squad is traveling to Australia with NCA members Sitanshu Kotak of Saurashtra and Mazhar Moidu of Kerala.

Suryakumar Yadav is the captain of the 15-man team that the Board of Control for Cricket in India. BCCI announced on Friday, October 25, for the four Twenty20 Internationals.

The decision to arrange the South African tour within India’s domestic season has drawn some criticism. “Before the trip to Australia, there is an unnecessary four-match T20 series in South Africa next month. “Approximately 50 to 60 players will not be available for their State teams in the premier national tournament. The Ranji Trophy, as a ‘A’ team will also be visiting Australia the following month. ” Sunil Gavaskar, the former captain of India, said in Sportstar.

T20I team:

Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (WK), and Suryakumar Yadav (C).

India is off to a fast start with Yashasvi Jaiswal leading the opposition for 359

On the third morning of the second Test match against New Zealand in Pune, India got off to a fast start as they chased the enormous mark of 359, with Yashasvi Jaiswal soaring to 46* off only 36 deliveries. Jaiswal made a statement by smashing the second ball of the Indian innings for six against Tim Southee, despite the pitch’s whims and the enormous distance to the goal. Similar to India’s performance in the second innings in Bengaluru. The hosts’ intent has once again been overwhelming, despite the fact that they lost captain Rohit Sharma for very little.

When the Indian skipper came out and gave a bat-pad catch to short leg. He became Mitchell Santner’s eighth wicket of the match. In addition to coming out proactively, Shubman Gill (22* off 20) shown significantly improved gameplay against spin so far. Although neither batter’s strokes were planned. They both used sweeps effectively. Jaiswal’s lofted hit over extra cover against Glenn Phillips just before the break was the session’s high point. Although batting won’t be simple and the pitch has several tricks up its sleeve, India’s assault has undoubtedly caught New Zealand off guard.

Yashasvi Jaiswal

India added just 57 runs to the overnight total earlier in the morning. Securing the final five New Zealand wickets. The opening half of the day did not go India’s way. But the visitors collapsed after Ravindra Jadeja used a slick arm-ball to castle Tom Blundell. Tim Southee edged one to first slip as wickets began to fall, and Santner holed out to the deep against Jadeja. Additionally, as India continued to chip away, Ajaz Patel miscalculated a loft to the deep. At the non-striker’s end, no. 11 William ORourke was run out. While Phillips attempted to score from the other end but ran out of partners.

Even with the collapse, the commanding 358-point lead could win the game on most fields, much less Pune’s deteriorating field. But with their aggressive style of play, India has already removed 81 runs from that mark. The hosts will undoubtedly bowl hard, but New Zealand will have enough of opportunities to break through the batting order. It prepares the audience for an exciting day of theater.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 259 and 255 (Tom Latham 86; Washington Sundar 4-56, Ravindra Jadeja 3-72) lead India 156 and 81/1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 46*; Mitchell Santner 1-30) by 277 runs.

Mehidy’s century is stopped by Rabada sixth; SA needs 106 to win.

South Africa 308 need 106 runs to win vs Bangladesh 106 and 307 (Mehidy 97, Jaker 40, Rabada 6-46, Maharaj 3-105).

SA bowled their hosts out for 307 in Mirpur, and now needs 106 runs to defeat Bangladesh in the opening Test match. On the first morning and during the first half hour of play, South Africa claimed the final three wickets in 4.5 overs. As Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the final player to fall, three runs shy of a second Test century, Bangladesh added 24 runs to their overnight total.

South Africa chose to employ spinners with the old ball rather than taking a new one. But they had it accessible as soon as play started. On day three, bad light forced an early halt to play. Things got underway with almost immediate success thanks to Kagiso Rabada. When his third ball crashed into Nayeem Hasan and struck him on the front pad, Rabada recorded his 15th Test five-for. Rabada made the game unforgettable by taking his 300th wicket.

Rabada

Mehidy’s boundary off Wiaan Mulder put him in the ninety. But Rabada, Who teased the outside edge and forced an overhead flick that Tony de Zorzi dropped, tested him. Taijul Islam struck Wiaan Mulder into a gully to elevate Bangladesh’s score to 300. But his good time was short-lived. After two balls, he left Mehidy with the final batter after feathering one to second slip. He attempted to ramp Rabada. But the length was not quite correct. So he sent a catch to slip instead. He was on 97 and in a hurry to reach his hundred. Rabada had a 6 for 46 final.

South Africa had only four bowling options going into the match, and stand-in captain Aiden Markram decided not to deploy himself. They may have been worried about their resources on a surface that was better suited for batting. Bangladesh will feel they have something to defend after barely eking over. They were hoping to keep the target to less than 100 on a field with bounce and lots of spin.

Mitchell Santner to lead New Zealand in SL T20Is, ODIs

New Zealand will play Sri Lanka in three ODIs and two T20Is beginning on November 9 under Mitchell Santner. Since Kane Williamson resigned as captain after New Zealand’s unexpected loss in the T20 World Cup group stage in June, this will be the team’s first limited-overs series.

According to a press statement from New Zealand Cricket (NZC), the country has also called up all-rounder Nathan Smith and ‘keeper-batter Mitch Hay for the first time in the 15-man roster.

While regular ODI and T20I captains will be chosen during the home summer in New Zealand. Later this year, Mitchell Santner has been picked as the series’ interim leader.

In March, Nathan Smith won the title of NZC’s Domestic Player of the Year. In addition to recording career-best figures of 4 for 5 in the Super Smash, he took 24 wickets in the domestic ODI and T20 leagues. However, earlier this year, Hay, 24, was named Canterbury’s male Player of the Year.

Zak Foulkes, Jacob Duffy, and Lockie Ferguson make up the pace attack, and Ish Sodhi will be the team’s most seasoned spinner. All-round spin bowlers Dean Foxcroft, Michael Bracewell, and Glenn Phillips will join with Sodhi. Lastly, the batting lineup will consist of Josh Clarkson, Tim Robinson, Phillips, Henry Nicholls, Mark Chapman, and Will Young.

To get ready for the three-match Test series against England, eight players from the current Test series against India. Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, and Kane Williamson were not selected.

The entire team consists of Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Tim Robinson, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi, Will Young, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, and Mitch Hay (WK).

Series Schedule

1st T20I – Saturday, November 9, Dambulla

2nd T20I – Sunday, November 10, Dambulla

1st ODI – Wednesday, November 13, Dambulla

2nd ODI– Sunday, November 17, Kandy

3rd ODI – Tuesday, November 19, Kandy

On the second morning, SA’s lead is extended by Verreynne and Mulder fifty.

On the first evening, it appeared like almost every ball turned and caused problems for South Africa‘s hitters. However, Wiaan Mulder and Kyle Verreynne had gone through with relative ease, adding 32 to head into stumps without suffering any more damage. However, the same pitch appeared to have settled well for batting by the second morning. After applying themselves resolutely to Bangladesh’s spinners, Verreynne and Mulder ultimately took their seventh-wicket partnership to a crucial 119.

The pace and reverse swing of Hasan Mahmud. However, was what gave Bangladesh their only two wickets of the session even as the threat of three spinners loomed. By lunchtime, though, South Africa had already swept to a 137-run advantage, with Verreynne undefeated at 77.

Taijul Islam and Mahmud began Bangladesh’s second day of bowling together. Even though Verreynne appeared particularly confident against Mahmud, pushing him past mid-on for three in the day’s second over before clipping and driving him for boundaries two overs later, the left-arm spinner had virtually little turn.

In the 46th over, Taijul had Mulder prodding, but the outside edge missed slip. That was due as much to Mulder’s use of gentle hands as it was to the surface’s slowness. Both Taijul and offspinner Nayeem Hasan were easily defeated by Mulder and Verreynne, who adapted well on the pitch.

Verreynne and Mulder

Even though Nayeem occasionally turned the ball in noticeably, both batters made excellent use of the sweeps and the reverse sweep. That was due to their comfortably putting the ball away after they had reached the pitch of the deliveries with a nice stride. On the second morning, Verreynne and Mulder smashed 45 runs, including seven boundaries, off Taijul, Nayeem, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz by playing the sweep or the reverse sweep off 28 deliveries.

The batters were unable to collect comfortable singles from the sweep because Bangladesh put a guy close in at square leg. But Verreynne reached fifty by hitting a one to the man located there. When Mulder hit Nayeem for four behind point at the beginning of the 64th over, he reached his first Test half-century.

Najmul Hossain Shanto only called Mahmud back into the attack in the over prior to that, and Mahmud then struck back-to-back in the over immediately following. He started by pitching on a length of back outside off, and the ball held its line. Mulder attempted a punch. But missed by a narrow margin on 54. Mahmud went considerably fuller on the next ball, turning the ball into Keshav Maharaj and uprooting it off the stump after beating his defence.

However, No. 10 Dane Piedt blocked and pushed Verreynne’s way at the other end, keeping him undefeated into the lunch break.