Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with former cricketer Ravi Shastri and his family during the unveiling of the Ravi Shastri Stand at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, April 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

England’s Harry Brook gave a bizarre explanation ahead of 2nd T20I against India in Chennai. He said that due to smog in Kolkata, it was difficult to play the spin of Varun Chakravarthy. “But with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick. Hopefully the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier. Facing spin in T20 cricket is probably the hardest thing in the game, especially because I always get out trying to absolutely smack it,” he said.

Former India coach Ravi Shastri took a brutal dig at Brook regarding the comment ahead of the 2nd T20I. “Good news for Harry Brook. There is no smog here,” he said.

Then when Varun Chakravarthy scalped Brook in the seventh over, Sunil Gavaskar quipped: “Light is clearer here. There is no smog.”

India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl against England in the second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday. India continued their good form in T20Is with an emphatic seven-wicket win over the visitors in the series opener at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After seven years, the T20I action has returned to Chepauk, with India playing its last game in the format in 2018 against the West Indies.

The Men in Blue will be keen to continue the dazzling form in the second T20I and take a 2-0 advantage before the action shifts to Gujarat.

England are missing the presence of young Jacob Bethell, who is not playing due to illness. Jamie Smith has come in to replace Bethell, which marks his T20I debut for England. Brydon Carse is another debutant for the Three Lions, replacing Gus Atkinson.

India will be missing the presence of young all-rounder Nitish Reddy, who has been ruled out of T20I due to side strain.

India are also missing explosive batter, Rinku Singh. The BCCI confirmed that Rinku sustained a low back spasm while fielding in the first T20I. Rinku has been progressing well and the BCCI medical team is monitoring him closely.

Suryakumar confirmed that the player could miss one or two games. With the two stars missing, Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar have come in as replacements. Just like in Kolkata, seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami continues to sit out from India’s playing XI.

Suryakumar Yadav said, “We’ll look to bowl first. Looks a good track, hoping the wicket to be better in the evening. We want to stick to the basics. Really looking forward to the game. (Fielding) That’s one thing which brings everyone together. Nitish is ruled out, and Rinku will miss one or two games. Washi and Jurel come in.”

England captain Jos Buttler said: “We would have bowled first as well. Same game plans, look to do better. Hopefully, it’ll be a good pitch and match. Bethell is unwell, and Jamie Smith comes in. Atkinson misses out, Carse comes in.”

Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

With ANI inputs 

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has questioned BCCI for the injury management of the senior pacer Mohammed Shami and its decision not to fly the pacer over for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, which India lost 3-1. Despite not playing international cricket since the 2023 World Cup Final due to an ankle injury and undergoing surgery in early 2024, the fast bowler featured in domestic red-ball cricket, raising hopes of a return during the Test series in Australia. He was officially ruled out of contention before the fourth Test in Melbourne, with the BCCI medical team citing subsequent knee swelling.

Shastri and Ponting believe that Shami’s trip to Australia and a return late in series could have been pushed.

Shastri said that Shami could have been taken to Australia and then a decision could have been made on his participation.

“Absolutely, there’s no question about that,” Shastri said in the latest The ICC Review when asked if Shami could have tilted the series in Melbourne or Sydney.

“To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Shami. Where is he when it comes to recovery?

“He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia,” he said.

“I would have kept him part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team. And then if we thought by the third Test match that no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series, I would let him go.

“But I would have brought him with the team, kept him, monitored him with the best of the physios and best of the advice even from international physios who are in Australia and seeing how he went. But I would have kept him in the mix,” Shastri added.

Ponting echoed Shastri’s sentiment, before emphasising how important the pacer could have been at the backend of the Australia series.

“I was really surprised when he wasn’t flown out even halfway through the series, two Test matches in. India’s make-up obviously had Nitish Reddy there. So you had another seam bowling all-rounder anyway.

“So if Shami, even if he wasn’t fully fit, if he had to bowl fewer overs in a day, you had a backup seam bowling option to help him out and I think he could have been the difference,” Ponting told The ICC Review.

“When you asked me (in an earlier The ICC Review) at the start about what I thought the result would be, I said 3-1 Australia because Shami wasn’t there. That was the first thing I said. That’s how important I felt he was to India.

“If Shami, Bumrah and Siraj were in their starting team, I think things could have been completely different here in Australia,” he said.

Shastri further opined that Shami could have provided adequate help for Jasprit Bumrah, who too struggled with fitness at the end of the series.

“It got so tight at 1-1 going into Melbourne. You just needed that experience and support. For all you know, he might have raised the bar as well. And it would have been the two guys there (Bumrah and Shami).

“Pat Cummins couldn’t have done it on his own; Scotty Boland had to step in. So you needed a bowler of his experience. You know, as hard as Mohammed Siraj tried, you needed Shami’s experience there,” said Shastri.

File photo of Mohammed Shami.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Questioning Mohammed Shami’s injury management, former greats Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting feel the veteran pacer could have tilted the series in India’s favour had he been added to the squad in the second half of the five-match Border-Gavaskar series.

India’s decade-long stranglehold on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended after they went down by six wickets in Sydney to lose the series 1-3.

The pacer, after recovering from an ankle injury, returned to action for his home state Bengal and impressed in all the three formats — Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare one-dayers –, raising hopes of a late inclusion.

But he was officially ruled out before the fourth Test in Melbourne with the BCCI medical team citing a knee swelling, though both Ponting and Shastri believe a trip to Australia and a return late in the series could have been pushed.

“To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Shami,” the former Indian head coach stated in The ICC Review.

“Where is he when it comes to recovery? He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia.

“Absolutely, there’s no question about that (Shami could have tilted the series in Melbourne or Sydney),” Shastri added.

The 62-year-old further said it would have been beneficial if Shami had, at least, travelled with the group in Australia.

“I would have kept him part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team,” said Shastri.

“And then if we thought by the third Test match that no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series, I would let him go. But I would have brought him with the team, kept him, monitored him with the best of the physios and best of the advice even from international physios who are in Australia and seeing how he went. But I would have kept him in the mix.” Shastri believes the fast bowler could have provided adequate help to Jasprit Bumrah, who too struggled with fitness at the end of the series and could not bowl in the second innings of the Sydney Test.

“It got so tight at 1-1 going into Melbourne,” he said.

“You just needed that experience and support. For all you know, he might have raised the bar as well. And it would have been the two guys there (Bumrah and Shami).

“Pat Cummins couldn’t have done it on his own, Scotty Boland had to step in. So you needed a bowler of his experience. You know, as hard as Mohammed Siraj tried, you needed Shami’s experience there.” Echoing Shastri’s views, Australian World Cup-winning captain Ponting said: “I was really surprised when he wasn’t flown out even halfway through the series, two Test matches in.” “India’s make-up obviously had Nitish Reddy there. So you had another seam bowling all-rounder anyway.

“So, if Shami, even if he wasn’t fully fit, if he had to bowl fewer overs in a day, you had a backup seam bowling option to help him out and I think he could have been the difference.

“When you asked me (in an earlier The ICC Review) at the start about what I thought the result would be, I said 3-1 Australia because Shami wasn’t there. That was the first thing I said. That’s how important I felt he was to India.

“If Shami, Bumrah and Siraj were in their starting team, I think things could have been completely different here in Australia.” Shami is currently playing in the domestic one-dayers for the Vijay Hazare Trophy and it remains to be seen if he’s included for the England home series ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in February.

File image of Virat Kohli.© AFP

Rohit Sharma‘s absence from India’s XI against Australia for the fifth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy probably started a new chapter in Indian cricket. After suffering from a poor run of form, Sharma decided to opt out of the Sydney Test. This is probably the first instance of an Indian captain dropping himself from the playing XI owing to poor form, according to Sunil Gavaskar. However, former India star Sanjay Manjrekar, part of the commentary panel for the official broadcasters, was intrigued that there was so little spoken about Rohit’s absence at the toss. 

Former India coach Ravi Shastri was commentating at the toss and he did not ask in details about Rohit Sharma’s absence. Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah mentioned: “Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game. That shows there’s a lot of unity in this team. There’s no selfishness. Whatever is in the teams best interest we are looking to do that.”

Manjrekar, after the toss, however was intrigued that there was so little being spoken about the issue, which is one of the biggest incidents in Indian cricket this year,  

“Very mysterious From Ravi (Shastri). I was amazed. I don’t understand this cloak and dagger thing in Indian cricket. This is the issue with Indian cricket culture. We are just secretive in our operation. Rohit Sharma is someone who has played 62 Test matches,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports. 

“We have to share with the fans who have made cricket the great game that is India. When they see Bumrah walking out, the first thought in their minds is what happened to Rohit Sharma? Has he opted out? Has he been dropped? I was amazed that at the toss he wasn’t asked. I have done the toss a few times. That would have been the first question after asking him what are you doing?”

Manjrekar was also intrigued about what exactly ‘opting to rest’ means for a guy who has played one Test less than others. 

“I believe the official word is that he has opted to rest. Will fans accept that? This is the guy who didn’t play in the first Test, didn’t play domestic cricket before the New Zealand series. If anyone needs rest is the captain who is playing this Test,” he added.

“That is the issue that I have with Indian cricket culture. We have some brilliant cricketers and the fans follow them passionately. We just don’t give them facts as much as they deserve by this very mysterious and secretive operation around some important matters.”

“Rohit is not an all-time great to keep his exclusion mysterious. I can understand if it’s Virat Kohli. But Rohit has played 60-odd Tests with one overseas century and an average of just 40. I don’t get why it should be so mysterious,” Sanjay Manjrekar was quoted as saying by Wisden.

Later, Manjrekar posted on X: “So typical of Rohit Sharma. Doing the right thing, doing what’s right for the team. But could not understand the ‘cloak & dagger’ around the issue. Wasn’t even talked about at the toss.”

So typical of Rohit Sharma. Doing the right thing, doing what’s right for the team. But could not understand the ‘cloak & dagger’ around the issue. Wasn’t even talked about at the toss.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) January 2, 2025

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri said he would not be surprised if captain Rohit Sharma retires from Test cricket. He added that if Rohit has a swansong game, then he should bow out from the format on a high. Speculations over Rohit’s future intensified on the eve of the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy series Test at Sydney, where head coach Gautam Gambhir said in the pre-match press conference that the playing eleven will be decided after having a look at the pitch ahead of day one’s play, while not saying if the Indian skipper is a guaranteed starter for the match starting on Friday.

In the ongoing series, Rohit has made just 31 runs at an average of 6.2 in three games. “He’ll take a call on his career but I won’t be shocked at all (if Sharma retires) because he’s not getting younger. There are other young players in the wings, there’s Shubman Gill, a player of his quality averaging over 40 in the year 2024 and not playing.”

“It tricks your brain as to what is he doing sitting on the bench and warming it. So I won’t be surprised but it’s his call. At the end of the day, if India had qualified for the World Test Championship (final) or if they still qualify for the final, then it’s another thing altogether.”

“Otherwise, I think it might just be the opportune time – but (if Sharma plays) he should go out with a blaze of glory. If I was anywhere near Rohit Sharma, I’ll tell him, ‘Just go and smash it. Just go out there and have a blast’.

“Just as it is when you’re trying to play the way you are at the moment, it’s not looking great. Go out there and take the attack to the opposition and then let’s see what happens,” said Shastri on The ICC Review show.

He also feels Rohit’s red-ball form has nosedived in the last few months due to him not playing his natural game, and equated his situation to the struggles of Australia opener Usman Khawaja.

“I think from the outside when I see it, I think he’s a little late on the ball. His feet aren’t moving as well as they normally do. Even at his prime, his footwork was minimal, but there was more. He was more towards the ball. At the moment, I think he’s caught on the crease.”

“It is much like (Usman) Khawaja in the Australian team, where you’re neither forward nor back. And I think when Rohit is moving more towards the ball and the intent is there to take on the opposition, that’s when the right signals go from the brain to the feet to do what they have to do.”

“I want him to just get out there, smash it, try and win this Test match. You might have lost a Test. You have not lost the series as yet. Try and win this Test match to keep that Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It’s going out there and not playing his natural game (that’s affecting him),” he elaborated.

The fifth and final Test begins on Friday, with Australia having a 2-1 lead. India must win the Test at Sydney to keep their slim chances of entering next year’s World Test Championship final alive. They would also hope Australia to not win any of their two Tests in Sri Lanka, happening later this month, to seal their spot for playing the WTC final at Lord’s in June.

File photo of Ravi Shastri

After the conclusion of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) between Australia and India in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, former head coach Ravi Shastri discussed the turning point of the match. The Boxing Day Test in Melbourne ended in an exciting climax, with Australia clinching a 184-run victory over India in the final hour of the last day on Monday. “I think the turning point was the wicket of Rishabh Pant. They knew they couldn’t win the game by lunchtime once they lost three wickets. The only chance you have of winning is if there’s a platform set, exactly what Rohit said. And then, when Rishabh Pant got out after tea, that lifted the Australians. That was the opening they were looking for, and they made sure to capitalize on it,” Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports.

India’s final wicket fell with less than 14 overs remaining in the day, with Nathan Lyon dismissing Mohammed Siraj to send the MCG crowd of over 74,000 into raptures as an epic contest between the two arch-rivals came to an end.

With this win, Australia now holds a 2-1 series lead over India in the five-match Border-Gavaskar series and can win the trophy back by avoiding defeat in Sydney. The reigning ICC World Test Championship winners are in a strong position to earn a place in next year’s final at Lord’s.

Australia retains second place in the World Test Championship standings and can join South Africa in the one-off Test decider in 2025 with a win in any of their three remaining Tests this cycle.

India can still qualify for the World Test Championship Final but must win the final Test of the series against Australia in Sydney to tie the Border-Gavaskar series, then rely on the Aussies not winning a Test during their series in Sri Lanka that commences next month.

It was a strong all-round performance from Australia, with Player of the Match Pat Cummins (3/28) leading the way on the final day with a brilliant spell before lunch that turned the game. Yashasvi Jaiswal (88) and Rishabh Pant (30) gave India hope with an excellent 88-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Pant holed out to the unlikely source of Travis Head (1/14), swinging the momentum back towards the hosts. When Jaiswal fell in strange circumstances shortly after, with the TV umpire overturning the on-field decision, the Aussies could taste victory.

Lyon (2/37), who toiled hard all day, then claimed the last wicket, bringing an end to one of the best Test matches seen on Australian shores in recent times.

New Delhi :

Former cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ravi Shastri, Kevin Pietersen and Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday extended their New Year greetings as the world stepped into 2025. Taking to X, Yuvraj Singh said that it’s a new year with new goals and same unstoppable spirit. “New year, new goals, same unstoppable spirit all my love and wishes for everyone to have the most amazing 2025,” Yuvraj Singh wrote on X. India head coach Gautam Gambhir wished everyone health, happiness and prosperity on New Year. “Wishing health, happiness and prosperity to all,” Gambhir wrote on X.

New year, new goals, same unstoppable spirit all my love and wishes for everyone to have the most amazing 2025! #HappyNewYear pic.twitter.com/zWW0CTwC4U

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) December 31, 2024

Wishing health, happiness and prosperity to all! #HappyNewYear

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) January 1, 2025

Wish you all a very happy new year. Have a great year with great health & new excitement pic.twitter.com/LENR290hKI

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 31, 2024

Happy New Year pic.twitter.com/xjO02ibi4j

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) January 1, 2025

Wishing you all the best 2025!

Happiness, health, love and success!

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) December 31, 2024

India welcomed the year 2025 with celebrations across the country, as people in various cities marked the occasion with joy and enthusiasm. New Year celebrations began in many cities with parties, cultural events, live music performances, and themed decorations.

In Delhi, famous spots like Hauz Khas, Connaught Place, and Lajpat Nagar were filled with large crowds celebrating the New Year. To ensure a safe celebration, Delhi Police made prior security arrangements.

In Punjab’s Amritsar, people gathered at the Golden Temple to welcome the New Year. Hotels in many cities also hosted special celebrations for the occasion. In Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, people were seen dancing in the streets as they welcomed 2025. Similarly, in Lucknow, people danced and celebrated as the clock struck midnight.

As the New Year arrived, many cities witnessed spectacular fireworks displays. In Mumbai, beaches like Juhu Beach, Chowpatty Beach, and Versova Beach were packed with revellers. People also gathered at Marine Drive to watch the fireworks.

Meanwhile, in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali, a popular tourist destination, crowds danced and cheered in the streets. In West Bengal, people celebrated with lights flashing from their mobile phones. In Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, fireworks lit up the sky, marking the arrival of the New Year.

In Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam, people also celebrated by cutting cakes. In Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, percussion instruments were played in the streets, while Chennai witnessed a huge crowd celebrating the occasion.