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Bowlers have some catching up to do in T20 cricket: Dravid

admin — Tue, 12 May 2026 06:10:00 +0000

A file image of former India head coach Rahul Dravid.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

World Cup winning former India head coach Rahul Dravid said the grammar of T20 batting has undergone a complete metamorphosis of late and bowlers have some serious “catching up to do.”

Dravid, who guided India to its second T20 World Cup triumph in 2024 in the Caribbean, is marvelled at how the young guns like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre, Priyansh Arya along with world’s No. 1 ranked T20 batter Abhishek Sharma have entirely changed the approach in the Powerplay overs.

“In a sense, to see the quality of batting that has happened over the last two or three years, I think the bowlers in that format of the game will slowly have to do some catching up,” Dravid told PTI in an exclusive interview from Dublin, where he was unveiled as the owner of European T20 Premier League (ETPL)’s Dublin franchise.

The former India skipper and one of India’s most respected coaches raved about how batters are now hitting boundaries to parts of the ground which earlier seemed out of bounds.

“I think batsmanship and the ability to hit sixes and to access different parts of the ground has certainly improved leaps and bounds.

“Bowlers will have to keep working on their skills and keep developing. I am sure, some of them will be able to still stand out and hold their own,” said Dravid, who has coached IPL teams like Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.

However, he had no hesitation in admitting modern batters have adapted to the requirements of the T20 game better than the bowlers. However, Dravid was confident of a change.

“I think if you look at it in terms of balance, probably a lot more batsmen are able to cope with the requirements of the modern T20 game than, say, some of the bowlers have been able to at this point of time. That may change in two or three years,” he added.

The scenario is, however, a bit different in Test matches where bowlers have had the upper hand in consistently producing result-oriented games.

“I mean, if you look at Test cricket today, nearly every Test match produces a result. So, I think bowlers are probably holding the sway in some of the Test matches that we are seeing.”

“You know, two-day matches, three-day matches. So, bowlers have started holding the sway in Test cricket.”

“So, it will be interesting to see over the next couple of years if bowlers are able to pull this back a little bit in T20s,” Dravid said.

But is it possible for bowlers to pull things back if the pitches are as flat as they have been in recent times? Dravid agreed that some help is needed for the bowlers.

“They may need a little bit of support, and I think the way is probably to have a little more challenging wickets to ensure that there is something in it for the bowlers, whether it is the tracks that turn or whether it is a little bit more pace and bounce that gives the bowlers a little bit more of a chance.”

“Because I don’t think we can increase the size of the boundaries and already there is no space to go and increase the size of the boundaries,” Dravid put forth his take.

Asked if two bouncers per over could be a logical solution, Dravid didn’t want to get into specifics.

“I mean, I think anything that might make it a little bit more…give the bowlers a little bit more of a chance. But I still think that in the next couple of years we may see bowlers bounce back a little bit and start getting a little bit more of a swing.”

“There is always this balance, and there are times when the bat holds the sway as we are seeing at the moment in white ball cricket and maybe in red ball cricket we are seeing the ball hold the sway a little bit.”

But Dravid also doesn’t want the game to be too skewed in favour of either batters or bowlers.

“I think at some stage we don’t want the balance to be too skewed either way, either on the side of the batsmen or the side of the bowlers,” he said.

Published – May 12, 2026 11:40 am IST

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Rajasthan Royals IPL 2025 Full Schedule: RR Fixtures, Dates, Timings, Venues

admin — Sun, 16 Feb 2025 14:15:46 +0000

Rajasthan Royals Schedule IPL 2025: Inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Rajasthan Royals will kick off their IPL 2025 campaign against 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), in an away game. RR started off well in IPL 2024, but fell away in the second half of the season, ultimately losing to SRH in the Qualifier 2. RR retained captain Sanju Samson, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag and Sandeep Sharma ahead of the mega auction. Their costliest purchase came in the form of English pacer Jofra Archer. The team also welcomed Rahul Dravid as their head coach ahead of IPL 2025.

Here is Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2025 schedule in full:

25 March: GT vs PBKS – Ahmedabad – 7:30 PM IST

1 April: LSG vs PBKS – Lucknow – 7:30 PM IST

5 April: PBKS vs RR – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

8 April: PBKS vs CSK – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

12 April: SRH vs PBKS – Hyderabad – 7:30 PM IST

15 April: PBKS vs KKR – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

18 April: RCB vs PBKS – Bengaluru – 7:30 PM IST

20 April: PBKS vs RCB – New Chandigarh – 3:30 PM IST

26 April: KKR vs PBKS – Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST

30 April: CSK vs PBKS – Chennai – 7:30 PM IST

4 May: PBKS vs LSG – Dharamshala – 7:30 PM IST

8 May: PBKS vs DC – Dharamshala – 7:30 PM IST

11 May: PBKS vs MI – Dharamshala – 3:30 PM IST

16 May: RR vs PBKS – Jaipur – 7:30 PM IST

RR IPL 2025 Squad: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer (Rs. 12.50 crore), Maheesh Theekshana (Rs. 4.4 crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (Rs. 5.25 crore), Akash Madhwal (Rs. 1.20 crore), Kumar Kartikeya (Rs. 30 lakh), Nitish Rana (Rs. 4.20 crore), Tushar Deshpande (Rs. 6.50 crore), Shubham Dubey (Rs. 80 lakh), Yudhvir Singh (Rs. 35 lakh), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Rs. 2 crore), Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Rs. 1.10 crore), Kwena Maphaka (Rs. 1.50 crore), Kunal Rathore (Rs. 30 lakh), Ashok Sharma (Rs. 30 lakh).

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Sanju Samson’s Father Drops New Bombshell, Reveals Rahul Dravid’s ‘Jealous’ Remark

admin — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 09:10:22 +0000

Sanju Samson has been dominating headlines recently due to his ongoing feud with the Kerala Cricket Association. Following his Champions Trophy 2025 snub, the KCA said that he was not included in the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad after he skipped a preparatory camp and even asked him of ‘lacking discipline’. Samson’s father, Viswanath, has accused KCA of trying to end his son’s career and recalled how Rahul Dravid played a key role in not letting that happen. Viswanath revealed that when Samson was 11 years old, Dravid intervened and even asked that people were jealous of him.

“I will tell you one incident about Rahul Dravid. When KCA had tried to disregard Sanju and destroy his career, Dravid ji had interfered in the matter. Wherever Sanju is at today, he owes it to Rahul Dravid. I have not forgotten anyone who has given us warmth and generosity. When action was being taken against Samson, they had given up his kit and everything else. Then, one day, we were all sad and sitting at home when Sanju got a call from Rahul sir. Sanju was overjoyed. He picked up the phone crying. The mood in the house was sombre,” Samson Viswanath said on Sports Today.

“After keeping down the phone, he told me ‘it was Rahul sir’. He said ‘Sanju, I understand all that is happening with you. They are all jealous of you. Tu chinta mat kar (Don’t worry). Don’t get your morale down. I have taken care of it. You keep training and get ready for NCA’. He operated at a level higher than the KCA and took Sanju under his wings,” he added.

In the first match of the ongoing T20I series, India won the toss and elected to field. England lost wickets at regular intervals, with only skipper Jos Buttler (68 off 44 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) putting up a fight for the Three Lions. England was restricted to 132 in 20 overs.

Chakravarthy (3/23) was the top wicket-taker for India, while Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel each took two wickets.

In the run-chase, Sanju Samson (26 off 20 balls, with four boundaries and a six) put on a 41-run stand with Abhishek Sharma (79 off 34 balls, with five fours and eight sixes), who single-handedly led India to victory with seven wickets and 43 balls to spare.

Varun Chakravarthy was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ for his stellar bowling performance.

(With PTI inputs)

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Everything About Sitanshu Kotak: Reported To Be India’s New Batting Coach

admin — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 12:46:01 +0000

File photo of Sitanshu Kotak.© X (formerly Twitter)

Former Saurashtra batter Sitanshu Kotak is set to join the Indian team as their batting coach ahead of the upcoming white-ball series against England, starting in Kolkata on January 22. A report in ESPNcricinfo said the batters’ plummeting returns resulting in a 0-3 Test defeat to New Zealand at home and a 1-3 series loss in Australia were discussed in the BCCI review meeting on Saturday and as a result, Kotak has been brought on board to solve the issues in the batting department.

Kotak amassed 8,061 runs in 130 first-class matches in a 20-year domestic career for Saurashtra as a left-handed batter and went on to captain the side. After his playing career ended, Kotak has been working as the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) since 2019 and has Level 3 coaching certification too.

He has also stepped in as the head coach of several India A tours and served as assistant coach to VVS Laxman when the latter helmed India’s white-ball bilateral engagements as head coach in the last few years. Kotak was also a stand-in coach for India’s T20I series against Ireland in 2023.

In 2019, Kotak also replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of India ‘A’ team after the latter was appointed NCA head of cricket.

Kotak, 52, will link up with the Indian team support staff featuring head coach Gautam Gambhir, with Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate as assistant coaches, while Morne Morkel and T Dilip serve as bowling and fielding coaches respectively.

Kotak’s appointment comes at a time when the form slump of captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli constantly getting out to balls outside the off-stump and Shubman Gill having a patchy overseas record has meant having a designated batting coach is the need of the hour for the Indian team.

After the five-match T20I series against England, India will play three ODIs against the same opposition, followed by the Champions Trophy in Dubai next month. India are also scheduled to play A team tour of England before playing a five-match Test series in the country in June-July.

(With IANS Inputs)

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“Tendulkar, Dravid Were Also Married”: On Possible BCCI Family Restrictions, Ex-India Star’s Take

admin — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 10:10:04 +0000

File image of Virat Kohli (right) and his wife Anushka Sharma.© AFP

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are reportedly set to take some major steps as it aims to address the slump in form for Team India, and one of those will reportedly be curbing the number of days players on tour can spend with their family members. In fact, on 45-day-long tours, the maximum number of days a player can stay with his family will reportedly be cut down to just 14. However, a former India opener has defended such a move if it is taken by the BCCI.

Stating that such rules have been there for former cricketers as well, former India cricketer-turned-pundit Aakash Chopra spoke about the positives of such a decision.

“There are two aspects to it,” Chopra said, speaking on his YouTube channel.

“If it’s a tour of more than 45 days, at the start you get the team together, and the families can come for two weeks in the middle when you feel homesick, and then you get back to business. It’s not that bad. There was a reason why it used to happen like that earlier. It’s not that people weren’t married earlier,” Chopra said.

Chopra stated that spending less time with family and more time with teammates could open up the scope for greater team bonding, using an example from the time when he would share the dressing room with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

“Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, when all these married people used to travel with us, the wives were allowed for some time, that was also something nice as your lifestyle was like that. I remember us celebrating New Year in Sydney and the entire team was on the boat. I think Rahul Dravid’s wife was there. We were playing games and you developed a bond. It’s wrong if that bond is ending” Chopra said.

BCCI’s reportedly strict decisions would come after back-to-back Test series losses against New Zealand and Australia.

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“Wouldn’t Talk Poorly Of Rahul Dravid…”: R Ashwin’s Brutal Take On Social Media Fans

admin — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 08:00:31 +0000

File image of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant.© AFP

While India continues to be the hub for world cricket, possessing over 90 per cent of cricket fans over the world, it has also resulted in certain Indian cricketers having extremely passionate fanbases. Be it Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, Indian cricket’s greatest icons have always had massive followings. However, legendary retired Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that clashes between fans of two players often leads to toxic fan wars on social media, and such should be avoided.

In the modern generation, debate and discussion between fans often get heated on social media, and Ashwin revealed his displeasure about it.

“Fan wars on social media are becoming very toxic. I have always said, let’s discuss cricket as cricket and not like the brand value of a player. Liking one player more doesn’t mean you go on abusing others. These fan wars are a new trend,” Ashwin said, speaking on his own YouTube channel.

Ashwin stated that he used to also be a passionate fan of Sachin Tendulkar, but that did not mean that he would speak ill of Rahul Dravid or any other cricketer.

“Take for example, as a cricket fan, I used to be a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. That doesn’t mean I will talk poorly of Rahul Dravid. I like Rahul Dravid too, but I liked Sachin very much. And I consider Anil bhai (Anil Kumble) as a role model. I looked up to Harbhajan Singh too,” Ashwin added.

Debate and discussion surrounding Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in particular have been particularly rife following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The two stalwarts of Indian cricket see their future up in the air, specially in Test cricket, following poor form against New Zealand and Australia.

That being said, the duo are still expected to play a crucial role as India bid to win a record third Champions Trophy.

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Harbhajan Singh’s Epic Rahul Dravid Remark In Subtle Dig At Gautam Gambhir

admin — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 09:01:11 +0000

India head coach Gautam Gambhir is off to a torrid start in the new role. Brough to the Indian team after his successful sting with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League, Gambhir is staring at some morale-shattering results on the international circuit. First, the ODI series loss to Sri Lanka, followed by a home sweep against New Zealand in Tests, and now a 1-3 series loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Under Gambhir, some of the finest players in the Indian team, including veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have failed to produce their best cricket. Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh wonders what happened after Rahul Dravid‘s tenure came to an end.

“Everything was fine till Rahul Dravid was there. India won the World Cup, and everything was fine. But what happened suddenly?” Harbhajan questioned in a video on his YouTube channel.

“In the past six months, we lost to Sri Lanka, a series whitewash against New Zealand, and now a 3-1 defeat in Australia. Everything seems to have fallen apart,” Harbhajan pointed out.

The biggest negative for India from the Australia tour was the performances of senior batters Kohli and Rohit. As calls for their exit from the team intensify, Harbhajan feels India does need to put an end to the ‘superstar’ culture.

“Every player has a reputation. If this is the thing, then add Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, or those who have been India’s biggest match-winners. BCCI and selectors should take hold. India should leave behind the superstar attitude,” he said.

The former India spinner was also disappointed to see consistent Ranji Trophy performers like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan being denied the opportunity to test themselves in Australia. Neither of them played a single game on the tour.

“Abhimanyu Easwaran was taken on tour, but he didn’t play. He can become a player for India if he is given the opportunity. Sarfaraz is the same case. The player who performs should go [to England]. You should not pick players on reputation,” Harbhajan added.

While neither Rohit nor Kohli is willing to step away from Test cricket, Harbhajan feels the decision is eventually for selectors to make.

“The ball is in the selectors’ court now. They have to decide,” he concluded.

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Rahul Dravid’s Younger Son Anvay Grabs Spotlight After Winning Two Major Awards

admin — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 07:47:18 +0000

Anvay Dravid, son of former India coach and captain Rahul, walked away with top honours in two sections of the KSCA annual awards, which were distributed on Saturday. Anvay was presented the award for being the top run-getter in the Vijay Merchant Trophy 2023-24 for the state. A wicketkeeper-batter, Anvay made 357 runs from five matches at an average of 45 with four fifties in the under-16 tournament. He was also the highest run-scorer in the under-14 state league tournament while playing for Vijaya Cricket Club, and bagged the award.

Opening batter Prakhar Chaturvedi also received the award for aggregating most runs in the Cooch Behar Trophy 2023-24, in which Karnataka beat Mumbai to emerge champions for the first time.

Chaturvedi became the first batter to smash a quadruple hundred in the tournament final when he made an unbeaten 404 in the title clash against Mumbai at Shimoga earlier this year.

Chaturvedi broke a 24-year-old record of 358, which was made by former India batter Yuvraj Singh.

In that tournament, Chaturvedi made 795 runs from eight matches at an average of 79.50 with two hundreds and a fifty.

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“Who The Hell…”: Virat Kohli’s Priceless Reaction To R Ashwin’s Iconic ‘Leave’ vs Pakistan

admin — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 03:25:22 +0000

One of the most iconic moments of Ravichandran Ashwin‘s career came with the bat in hand, during the T20 World Cup 2022 game between India and Pakistan. Ashwin’s iconic leave off Mohammad Nawaz – when India needed two runs off one ball – that saw it go for a wide, remains one of Indian cricket’s most memorable moments in recent history. Reminiscing about the game between India and Pakistan, Ashwin said that the moment hadn’t sunk in until he saw the way head coach Rahul Dravid reacted.

“I hadn’t realised what I had done. I came back into the dressing room, and I haven’t seen Rahul Dravid exult like that – I mean, the second time I saw him exult was after the T20 World Cup, which we won recently. Until this moment, I hadn’t seen him exult. He came to me and said, That’s why we had you in the squad! That’s the way you deal with this,” Ashwin said, speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast alongside former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain.

Ashwin also narrated Virat Kohli‘s immediate reaction to Ashwin’s leave.

“I didn’t quite honestly realise the magnitude of what that moment meant. I just saw the ball, and just let it go. Then it hit Rizwan and came back. I think Virat was almost celebrating. He just used his hand to say who the hell leaves a ball like that,” Ashwin added.

With India needing 160 to win, Virat Kohli almost single-handedly took India to victory with a phenomenal knock of 82 off 53 balls. However, just when it seemed like Kohli’s efforts would go in vain, Ashwin’s moment of genius and quick-thinking helped India win the contest.

The moment was the perfect example of Ashwin’s ability to think on his feet under pressure situations, a skill that has served Team India to no end throughout his career.

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“When Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar Left…”: Ashwin’s Emotional ‘Transition’ Speech To Team India

admin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:41:47 +0000

Ravichandran Ashwin‘s sudden retirement from international cricket, midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has come as a shock to fellow players, former cricketers and fans. Following the conclusion of the third Test in Brisbane, Ashwin addressed his teammates, in a video shared by BCCI. Ashwin will not be a part of the Indian team for the remainder of the series, and will instead fly back to India. Ashwin said that although his time as an Indian cricketer has come to an end, the “cricket nut” in him would never end.

“I don’t know how to go about this. It’s easier to speak in a team huddle. Even though I’m not exhibiting it, this is truly an emotional moment for me,” Ashwin said in the team talk.

“Feels like my first Australia tour in 2011/12, when Rahul bhai (Rahul Dravid) left, Sachin paaji (Sachin Tendulkar) left, and I saw everybody transition. But trust me, everybody’s time comes, and today was my time,” Ashwin said further.

“I’m leaving behind some of my dear teammates. Every passing year, especially over the last four or five years, I’ve felt how much more I value their relationship and how much more I value them as a player,” Ashwin continued.

“I will be taking a flight back home, but I will be tuned in to watch how well you guys do in Melbourne. The Indian cricketer or international cricketer in me might’ve come to an end, but the cricket nut in me will never come to an end,” Ashwin said.

The 38-year-old all-rounder, who finishes with 537 Test wickets, cut a cake in the dressing room and shared some emotional moments with his teammates as he bid farewell to international cricket.

Ashwin retires as India’s second-highest international wicket-taker of all time, retiring with 765 wickets across all formats.

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