India head coach Gautam Gambhir has been receiving a lot of criticism ever since India’s 1-3 loss to Australia in a recently-concluded five-match Test series Down Under. Ever since the loss, fans and former cricketers have been vocal while slamming players and management. Gambhir has also been featuring headlines for India’s woeful run in the Test format, which hasn’t seen them succeed only once in the last eight Tests. After facing fire from fans, former cricketer Manoj Tiwary became the latest player to criticise Gambhir as India continues to find its way out of the turmoil. Tiwary launched a scathing attack on the India coach as he called him a ‘hypocrite’.

Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana, who had been with Gautam Gambhir during their time with the Kolkata Knight Riders, backed the cricket veteran. However, their posts for Gambhir turned out to be similar. Commenting on that, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra said that both of their texts looked like a “Chat GPT product”.

“Harshit Rana and Nitish Rana voiced their support for Gambhir on social media. If you look at it, it looks like a Chat GPT product,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

“There are many similarities in both statements, or someone wrote them and sent them to post on social media. It felt like both statements were written by the same man or machine. It could be Chat GPT, for all we know,” he added.

Gambhir’s tenure began with India’s tour of Sri Lanka. While India was a force to be reckoned with in the T20I format, the ODI series was a different story.

After the first ODI ended in a nerve-wracking draw, India lost the next two games, suffering its first bilateral series defeat in the format against Sri Lanka in a gap of 27 years.

The ODI series was followed by Bangladesh’s tour of India, consisting of two Tests and three T20Is. The ODI series defeat became a distant memory, with India sweeping the entire series with a flawless performance.

The road to the World Test Championship final looked secured. New Zealand arrived in India to play three Tests, which were to determine the fate of the WTC final.

When India were the clear favourite on the paper, New Zealand came in with different plans. The Kiwi upped the ante, taking India by surprise and walking away with a historic 3-0 series win.

After facing the first whitewash at home in Test format, India tried to pose a comeback in Australia by trying to defend the BGT in Australia.

The title defence began on a record-shattering note, with India pummelling Australia all around the park in Perth. With Jasprit Bumrah at the helm, India moved to Adelaide on the back of a thumping 295-run victory.

Even after shattering records in Perth, the momentum swung in Australia’s favour in the day-night Test. India kept chasing Australia throughout the series and ended on the losing side with a 3-1 series defeat, the first in a decade.

(With ANI Inputs)

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy action has been going on thick and fast, as the quarter-finals got underway in India’s domestic T20 tournament. The latest match, a clash between northern rivals Delhi and Uttar Pradesh saw two Indian Premier League (IPL) stars clash. Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Nitish Rana and current Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) star Ayush Badoni had a heated exchange during the quarter-final. The clash and war of words between the two required the umpire to intervene in order to separate them.

Rana, who used to play for Delhi but now represents Uttar Pradesh, was bowling to Delhi captain Badoni. In the 13th over, Rana first withdrew once from his bowling stance, before Badoni returned the favour by withdrawing from his batting stance.

pic.twitter.com/0NswUZ5lYx

— Sunil Gavaskar (@gavaskar_theman) December 11, 2024

The incident evidently caused tension between the two, with the duo squaring off against each other at the non-striker’s end.

As the two squared off, the standing umpire had to step in to ensure that the heated exchange does not escalate.

In the quarter-final, Delhi put up a strong total of 193/3 in 20 overs. Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicket-keeper batter Anuj Rawat starred with a 33-ball 73. Rawat will play for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025.

IPL 2025: Nitish Rana and Ayush Badoni

Nitish Rana is an IPL veteran, having established himself as a reliable Indian middle-order batter. Rana won IPL 2024 with KKR, and even captained the franchise a year earlier.

However, come the mega auction, KKR did not put a bid for Rana, and he was sold to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 4.2 crore.

On the other hand, Badoni did not enter the auction pool at all. The 25-year-old was retained by LSG as one of their two uncapped retentions, at a fee of Rs 4 crore. He is expected to feature in a stacked middle-order for LSG in IPL 2025, that will feature the likes of Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran and David Miller.

IPL 2025 mega auctions finally came to an end on Monday with 182 players getting sold for a whopping combined fee of Rs 639.15 crore. A total of 577 were shortlisted for the 2-day event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and all the ten franchises cracked their brains to build a strong team for the upcoming IPL season. India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant made headlines as he became the costliest buy in the history of IPL auctions, getting sold to Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore.

Amid all the big signings, all the fans were left utterly shocked after the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders did not make even a single bid for batter Nitish Rana.

The left-handed batter, who captained KKR in IPL 2023, was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 4.2 crore after a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. After the auctions, Rana took to Instagram and shared a cryptic story, which has got the fans talking.

Wearing a pink t-shirt (which is also a colour of RR’s jersey), Rana posted a picture with a caption, “Royal-ty is pink!”

Pink suits you, @NitishRana_27 pic.twitter.com/ti84GcMmpm

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) November 25, 2024

The photo was later shared by the Rajasthan Royals on their X (formerly Twitter) handle.

Earlier in October, KKR had retained Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh and saved them from going under the hammer at the auctions.

Before the retentions were announced, Rana had made a case for himself and reminded KKR that he has scored runs almost ever year.

“I have been serving KKR for the past seven years. It’s not in my hands if I will be retained; it’s up to KKR management to decide. I haven’t received any calls yet. I have scored runs for KKR every year and if they consider me an asset, they will retain me,” Rana had said while speaking to Times Of India.

KKR IPL 2025 Squad: Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer (Rs. 23.75 crore), Quinton de Kock (Rs. 3.60 crore), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Rs. 2 crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs. 6.50 crore), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Rs. 3 crore), Vaibhav Arora (Rs. 1.80 crore), Mayank Markande (Rs. 30 lakh), Rovman Powell (Rs. 1.50 crore), Manish Pandey (Rs. 75 lakh), Spencer Johnson (Rs. 2.80 crore), Luvnith Sisodia (Rs. 30 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 1.50 lakh), Anukul Roy (Rs. 40 lakh), Moeen Ali (Rs. 2 crore), Umran Malik (Rs. 75 lakh).

Nitish Rana was a key player for Kolkata Knight Riders since 2018 and he even played a role in guiding them to the IPL title in 2024. However, ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, the batter was released by the franchise and he was eventually bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 4.2 Crore. Following the auction, Nitish’s wife – Saachi Marwah – took to social media to take a veiled dig at KKR for not retaining him ahead of the auction. She posted a picture along with the message – “Loyalty is very expensive, not everyone can afford it”. The post has gone viral and has resulted in a lot of chatter on social media.

Meanwhile, former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who is now the mentor of reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders, has defended the team’s strategy of “going all out” for Venkatesh Iyer to keep the “core” of the IPL championship-winning side intact.

Seen as a potential captaincy candidate for KKR, Venkatesh’s acquisition has sparked some criticism over why he wasn’t retained if leadership was part of the team think tank’s plan for him.

#nitishranapic.twitter.com/0Q8PiVE5Zi

— saachi marwah (@MarwahSaachi) November 25, 2024

“Getting Venky (Venkatesh Iyer) was one of the main priorities for us, as you could see, we went all out for him,” said Bravo, a four-time IPL winner at Chennai Super Kings.

“It’s good that we have 90 per cent of the players from the championship-winning team. That in itself is a positive sign. It’s important to keep your core because when you have to build from scratch, it becomes complicated to make combinations and all.”

“We started planning while I was in Trinidad. We had come with a proper plan, the players we wanted to target,” added Bravo, who will be in charge of all the franchises of the Knight Riders label in T20 leagues.

At a staggering Rs 23.75 crore, the 29-year old Madhya Pradesh all-rounder, who has represented India in nine T20Is and two ODIs, emerged as the third most expensive player at the two-day IPL auction.

Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana powered Uttar Pradesh to a commanding position against Punjab with entertaining fifties on day three of their Ranji Trophy Group C match here on Monday. After opener Madhav Kaushik’s career-best 163, the visitors came up with four more half-centuries to declare their first innings for a massive 556/9, taking a lead of 346 runs. At stumps, Punjab were struggling at 49/1, trailing by 297 runs. The Kolkata Knight Riders duo of Rana and Rinku laid the foundation with a crucial 120-run partnership for the third wicket.

Rana struck an aggressive 66 off 106 balls, hitting 11 fours, while Rinku made 68 off 131 balls, with eight fours and a six.

Saurabh Kumar joined the onslaught with a brisk 67-ball 69, smashing three sixes and five fours, while Shivam Sharma contributed an unbeaten 50 off 58 balls, including four sixes and two fours, to further frustrate the Punjab attack.

Harshal, Yuzi lift Haryana past MP

In Indore, Harshal Patel’s unbeaten 72 at No. 9 and Yuzvendra Chahal’s gritty 27 off 142 balls helped Haryana secure a vital first-innings lead over Madhya Pradesh.

Responding to MP’s 308, Haryana ended the day at 431/9, with Patel still at the crease alongside last man Aman Kumar (4).

Opener Lakshay Dalal hit his maiden century (105 off 271 balls), while Dheeru Singh fell just short of three figures with a well-crafted 94.

Himanshu Rana (90) also missed his hundred in the nineties, but Dalal and Dheeru’s 143-run partnership for the fourth wicket laid a solid foundation.

However, a collapse ensued before Patel steadied the innings with his resilient knock.

For MP, left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya was the standout bowler, finishing with 4/117.

Kerala fight back after Porel High 5

In Kolkata, Bengal pacer Ishan Porel took 5/83 to secure his fifth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, reducing Kerala to 83/5.

However, Kerala’s middle-order, led by seasoned campaigner Jalaj Saxena, staged a resilient recovery to reach 267/7 at the Jadavpur Salt Lake Campus ground.

Saxena’s fighting 84 off 162 balls, alongside a determined 64 from Salman Nizar, added 140 for the seventh wicket, frustrating Bengal’s bowlers.

Nizar, who faced 205 deliveries, was accompanied by wicketkeeper-batter Mohammed Azharuddeen (30 off 48 balls) at close of play.

Porel’s disciplined bowling proved effective on a flat pitch, where he dismissed Kerala’s new signing Baba Aparajith for a golden duck and skipper Sachin Baby for 12.

Ton-up Mayank leads Karnataka to big lead

In Patna, veteran Mayank Agarwal came up with his 18th first-class century, 105, while Manish Pandey made a brisk 56 (55b) to help Karnataka overcome a difficult start to take first innings lead over Bihar.

In reply to Bihar’s 143, Karnataka ended the day for 287/7.

Brief Scores:

In Mullanpur: Punjab 210 and 49/1; 19 overs. Uttar Pradesh 556/9 declared; 141.1 overs (Madhav Kaushik 163, Saurabh Kumar 69, Rinku Singh 68, Nitish Rana 66, Shivam Sharma 50 batting).

In Indore: Madhya Pradesh 308. Haryana 431/9; 150.5 overs (Lakshay Dalal 105, Dheeru Singh 94, Himanshu Rana 90, Harshal Patel 72 batting; Kumar Kartikeya 4/117).

In Kolkata: Kerala 267/7; 102 overs (Jalaj Saxena 84, Salman Nizar 64 batting, Mohammed Azharuddeen 30 batting; Ishan Porel 5/83) vs Kerala.

In Patna: Bihar 143. Karnataka 287/7; 51 overs (Mayank Agarwal 105, Manish Pandey 56; Himanshu Singh 4/51). 

Harshit Rana has been selected for the India’s tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Delhi speedster Harshit Rana and Andhra seam bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy have earned maiden call-up in the 18-member Indian team led by Rohit Sharma for the upcoming five-Test series against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

There is no Mohammed Shami in the squad while Kuldeep Yadav has been advised long term rehabilitation for his groin injury.

From the squad picked for New Zealand series, Axar Patel has been dropped and Washington Sundar with 11 wickets in his kitty so far in the ongoing Test in Pune.

For the South Africa T20I series, Karnataka seamer Vyshak Vijaykumar and Punjab batter Ramandeep Singh have been included while express pacer Mayank Yadav has again got injured. He is at Centre of Excellence for recuperation.

India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.

The schedule: November 22 to 26 (Perth); December 6 to 10 (Adelaide); December 14 to 18 (Brisbane); December 26 to 30 (Melbourne); January 3 to 7 (Sydney).

India’s squad for 4 T20Is against South Africa:

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

The schedule: November 8 (Durban), 10 (Gqeberha), 13 (Centurion) and 15 (Johannesburg).

Nitish Rana has been an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders batting line-up since joining the IPL franchise seven years ago. The left-handed batter is considered to be one of the senior members in the KKR dressing room and he has provided quite a bit of solidity in the middle order in the past few years. However, the chances of KKR retaining him ahead of the IPL 2025 auction seem quite slim. With each team permitted to retain not more than six players, Rana finds himself in a tough situation. However, he has made a case for himself and reminded KKR that he has scored runs almost ever year.

“I have been serving KKR for the past seven years. It’s not in my hands if I will be retained; it’s up to KKR management to decide. I haven’t received any calls yet. I have scored runs for KKR every year and if they consider me an asset, they will retain me,” Rana said while speaking to Times Of India.

Meanwhile, India’s latest pace sensation Mayank Yadav is set to walk into the IPL ‘Million Dollar Club’ after making his T20I debut against Bangladesh on Sunday, with Lucknow Super Giants needing a minimum of Rs 11 crore (USD 1.31 million) to retain his services for the next season.

Similarly, Sunrisers Hyderabad will also need to pay a minimum Rs 11 crore to avail all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s services after his international debut in the same match.

As per IPL retention rules, any ‘uncapped player’, who makes his international debut in any of the three formats before the auctions will be elevated to ‘capped player’ category.

Hence, the retention prices for capped players is Rs 18 crore (No.1), Rs 14 crore (No.2) and Rs 11 crore (no.3). For retention numbers 4 and 5, the value would again shoot up to Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore, respectively.

While the deadline for announcing the retention list is October 31, it goes without saying that LSG will have Mayank as one of its three primary retentions.

While veteran KL Rahul, South African Quinton de Kock, West Indies dasher Nicholas Pooran and Australian Marcus Stoinis are the other heavyweight names in LSG’s 2024 roster, there is no way that head coach Justin Langer and new mentor Zaheer Khan will let go of one of India’s raw pace bowling diamonds.

While it is too early to predict the classification of retained players, but the 22-year-old Mayank is all set to laugh his way to the bank, even if he is the third retention.

“There is no way that LSG will put a rare bowler like Mayank back in auction pool. They have invested in him for past two seasons and he will certainly be one among the top three retentions,” an IPL insider privy to the developments told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

(With PTI inputs)

NCA head VVS Laxman-coached Team India left for Zimbabwe on July 2, 2024. Photo: X/@BCCI

A young-Indian cricket team under National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman left for Zimbabwe to play a five-match T20I series starting in Harare on July 6.

The team will be led by Shubman Gill while the likes of youngsters Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma have been rewarded for their exploits in the last IPL with maiden India call-ups.

Skipper Gill, the reserve opener for the T20 World Cup was on a break and will link up with the Zimbabwe-bound squad directly in Harare from the US.

The BCCI took to X to post pictures of those who boarded the flight, which includes Sharma, Parag, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Tushar Deshpande and NCA head Laxman.

Five members of the squad — Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed were either part of the T20 World Cup-winning team or were travelling reserves are stranded in Barbados due to hurricane Beryl. They will join the squad later.

With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retiring form the shortest format of the game, the T20 series against Zimbabwe will provide the youngsters with the perfect opportunity to cement their places in the team for future series.

Sudharsan, Jitesh and Rana added to India’s squad

The trio of Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana was on July 2 named as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Indian squad for the first two matches of the T20I series against Zimbabwe.

Dube, Samson and Jaiswal, all part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad, were slated to join the Zimbabwe-bound group but are stranded in Barbados due to hurricane Beryl.

The trio is set to fly back home, along with the other players, aboard a charter flight on July 2 evening and arrive in India on Wednesday at 7.45pm (IST). The players will later be felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

The unforseen circumstances has forced BCCI to name replacements for the three players.

Pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batter Rinku Singh, travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup, are also currently in Barbados. The BCCI has not named replacements for the duo even though they are in the squad for Zimbabwe series.

Sudharsan is currently playing county cricket for Surrey at the Oval in London. He is expected to leave for Harare immediately.

India’s updated squad for first two T20Is against Zimbabwe

Shubman Gill (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harshit Rana.

File image of Gautam Gambhir© BCCI/Sportzpics

Nitish Rana hasn’t played much cricket for KKR in IPL 2024 due to an injury© BCCI/Sportzpics