Jasprit Bumrah lifting T20 World Cup Trophy© X (Twitter)

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram showered praise on Arshdeep Singh after the young India pacer put on an impressive show in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup. Arshdeep ended the tournament as the joint-highest wicket-taker, alongside Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi, with 17 wickets, helping India win the coveted title. Arshdeep formed a lethal pace attack with senior pro Jasprit Bumrah, who was named player of the tournament. Sharing his views on Arshdeep, Akram urged his fellow left-arm pacer to focus on playing longest format of the game.

“If you have to leave a legacy, you have to think about long-format cricket. People should be talking about you even 10-20 years after your retirement that no such bowler came in cricket history. These young bowlers should have that kind of mindset. No doubt, he has got the potential. I would give him eight,” the pace legend told Sportskeeda in a chat.

On being asked to rate Arshdeep’s performance, Akram gave him a solid ‘8’, but suggested that he should play Test cricket in order to leave behind a legacy.

“Very impressive, very talented. He should be focusing on four-day cricket too because he has swing and pace. He swings the ball both ways and the new ball comes in decently. I think he has got the potential to be a regular bowler for India. I hope he has Test cricket on his mind because you will make money in T20s and you will make your name for one year in T20s,” he added.

In the latest T20I rankings, Arshdeep gained four spots to reach a career-best No.13.

Arshdeep was one of the six Indian players in ICC’s team of the T20 World Cup 2024. The other five players were India captain Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.

Team of the tournament: Rohit Sharma, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nicholas Pooran, Suryakumar Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

India captain Rohit Sharma with PM Narendra Modi.© AFP

The BCCI cannot prioritise one city over another when it comes to organising important finals, said board’s vice-president on Friday in response to Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray’s demand. Following a massive turnout during Indian cricket team’s T20 World Cup victory parade on Marine Drive to the Wankhede Stadium, Thackeray had urged BCCI to not “take away” any final match from Mumbai. “Yesterday’s celebration in Mumbai is also a strong message to the BCCI… Never take away a World Cup final from Mumbai!,” Thackeray had written on X.

“It is BCCI’s policy that where the final should take place. It cannot always be given to a particular city,” Shukla told PTI on Friday.

The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai hosted the 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal whereas the world’s largest stadium in terms of sitting capacity, in Ahmedabad, was the venue for the final.

“There has been a final match — 1987 World Cup — in Kolkata also, and Kolkata is considered as Mecca. So it can’t be decided that it should always happen in a particular city,” Shukla said.

“There are semi-finals and finals which have taken place in Mumbai. Similarly, Ahmedabad ground has got a capacity of 1,30,000, and we go by capacity also,” he continued.

“Kolkata (Eden Gardens) has got a big capacity, around 80,000 spectators (approx. 66,000) can be accommodated. Similarly, other cities also.

“This is purely a decision keeping in mind the entire country and all the venues. You cannot confine to one venue,” explained the senior board official.

Shukla said it will not be correct to remain confined to a specific venue for hosting key matches.

He also praised fans in Mumbai for turning up in large numbers for the open bus parade and hailed the Mumbai Police for smoothly managing the show.

“We were really delighted to see Mumbaikars and their response. Mumbai is always our priority. It’s not that (it is not). But it has to be decided by the entire BCCI, where to host finals, where to have semi-finals… Every match is important,” he said.

“Mumbai is always on our priority list. But saying that all the finals should take place in one city… It never happens in any country,” Shukla added.

The Indian cricket team was seen bouncing to the chants of “Vande Mataram”.© X (Twitter)

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar showered blockbuster praise on India captain Rohit Sharma after the veteran guided India to a T20 World Cup title last week. By doing so, Rohit joined an elite list of India captains to lift a World Cup. He is only the third India captain after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni to lift a World Cup. The 37-year-old also enjoyed a decent tournament with the bat, scoring 257 runs in eight matches at an average of 36.71. While Virat Kohli was named ‘Player of the Match’ in the final, star pacer Jasprit Bumrah took home the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.

Bumrah was instrumental with the ball throughout the tournament, taking 15 wicket, inlcuding two in the final. On being asked to pick his standout performer of the tournament, Gavaskar suggested that while Bumrah deserves all the praise, Rohit’s captaincy is what stood out according to him. 

“There were several. If you have a look at what this team did, they were champions in every different field. So while there was ‘Player of the Tournament’. Jasprit Bumrah, who absolutely totally deserved to be the ‘Player of the Tournament’, the main man running the show was Rohit Sharma. So Rohit’s captaincy is something that has to be admired because never once during tense situations did his body language go down,” Gavaskar told Sports Today.

Gavaskar backed his claim by saying that Rohit’s body language throughout the tournament was exemplary.

“Yes, we have all got used to some of his grimaces and stuff like that, but that’s okay…The way he handled the situation when it was not looking good for India, that is deserving of the highest praise. That is why his captaincy was the standout Indian performance of the tournament for me,” he added.

During the felicitation and celebration event at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Rohit said, “This trophy is for the entire nation. Along with all the players who have represented the country, we want to dedicate it to our fans, who have waited for 11 years.”

“Mumbai never disappoints. We got a solid reception. On behalf of the team, we would like to thank the fans. I am very, very happy and relieved,” he added.

Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah© AFP

Indian cricket team star Jasprit Bumrah‘s wife Sanjana Ganesan had to come out on social media and expose a ‘fake account’ sharing the couple’s pictures on social media. Sanjana, who is in Barbados as part of an ICC team and in the capacity of being Bumrah’s wife for the T20 World Cup, shared multiple pictures on social media after India lifted the coveted trophy. Another account, with a similar X (Twitter) handle, like Sanjana’s, shared the couple’s pictures on the internet, prompting a fierce reaction from the International Cricket Council presenter.

“Hi, this is a stolen identity and stolen content. I’ve reported your account, take it down or I’ll have to initiate legal action,” Sanjana wrote on X.

Hi, this is a stolen identity and stolen content. I’ve reported your account, take it down or I’ll have to initiate legal action.

— Sanjana Ganesan (@SanjanaGanesan) July 1, 2024

Earlier, Sanjana also paid a glorious tribute to Bumrah, who played an influential role in helping his team end the 11-year wait for an ICC title.

“Words fall short when it comes to describing everything I felt, everything that happened, and everything that went through my mind yesterday. It all still feels like a dream, but to see the team pull off what they did deserves many, many rounds of VERY loud and passionate applause. WORLD CHAMPIONS and deservedly so!”

“And to my husband, the epitome of resilience, hardwork and brilliance, you deserve the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky. Everything you’ve been through, all the work you’ve put in, the fight you fight everyday to get better everyday is inspirational. Angad and I are so lucky to call you ours! Congratulations, this is just the beginning,” she wrote in a post on Instagram.

“As an Indian, as a wife, as a broadcaster and as a mother, this is a core memory. I’m going to hold this close to my heart for a very, very long time,” Sanjana added in her post.

The Indian team is expected to land in New Delhi on Thursday morning.

Pakistan ace seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has hailed Team India, as the latter lifted the T20 World Cup 2024 title. En route to the trophy, the men in blue had dispatched arch-rivals Pakistan during the group stage. In what was arguably India’s tightest encounter of the tournament, they had won by six runs. The loss to India, following a defeat to co-host USA, meant that Pakistan would be knocked out at the group stage itself. After the end of the tournament, however, Afridi has reserved words of praise for the Indian team.

“I watched the match and enjoyed it. Both the teams played well. On the day, whichever team handles the pressure better wins. India played a good brand of cricket and deserved to win,” said Afridi, speaking to reporters in London about the T20 World Cup Final between India and South Africa.

Much like India’s game against Pakistan, South Africa were in the driving seat during the run chase. At one point, the Proteas needed 30 off 30 balls. However, similar to the Pakistan game, late bowling heroics led by Jasprit Bumrah led to India pulling off a stunning victory.

On the other hand, Pakistan failed to even make the Super 8 stage. After reaching the Final in 2022, this time around, the men in green capitulated, leading to several voices of concern from former Pakistan cricketers, experts and fans. Many had called for Pakistan to axe a lot of their current squad, and build a team for the future.

Afridi had positive words to say about the team despite having his captaincy taken away prior to the T20 World Cup.

“Strong teams compete in the World Cup and they come after going through a process. I think we need to correct a few things and if we work hard, results will be with us,” said Afridi, speaking about Pakistan’s future.

Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah went on an “ice cream” date with wife Sanjana Ganesan after Team India’s T20 World Cup triumph last week in Barbados. Sanjana was in the West Indies as part of the broadcasting team, and even interviewed Bumrah multiple times during the tournament, including after the final. The morning after India’s World Cup win, Sanjana shared a video on her Instagram story, revealing that she took Bumrah out on an “ice cream” date to celebrate the victory.

In the video, Bumrah look completely over the moon as he was seen flaunting victoru signs, with Sanjana having a laugh about his antics.

“Took this World Champion for ice-cream in the morning,” she captioned the video.

Sanjana “Took this world champions(Jasprit Bumrah) for ice cream this morning”

– Heartwarming pic.twitter.com/GIGiisTDTn

— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952) July 1, 2024

The wounds of the ODI World Cup 2023 final defeat were healed last week after Team India clinched the T20 World Cup 2024 title.

Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Team India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the final match.

After the final, Sanjana interviewed Bumrah, before the two shared a hug.

“Usually I’m the one who tries to keep my emotions in check, to try to focus on the job but today I don’t have a lot of words, the emotions are taking over. I don’t usually cry after a game but this feels really special. Midway stage we felt we were in trouble but to pull off a win like this is an unreal feeling. I’m just really over the moon,” said Bumrah during the post-match presentation.

“My son is here, my family is here and I could do something special for India. We’ve been working really hard towards this and we’ve come close and fell short last time but we were able to go through this time, there’s no better feeling than that. You play the sport for this, for these days, for big stages when you do well and get your team through, there’s no better feeling,” he added.