"India Is Not Ready For Life After...": Sanjay Manjrekar Praises Veteran Batter. It's Not Rohit Sharma Or Virat Kohli

06.06.2023 - 18:36 sports.ndtv.com

Team India is all set to face Australia in the upcoming and most-awaited World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval from June 7.

Playing at the marquee event, both the teams will be giving their best in order to clinch the coveted ICC trophy. The Rohit Sharma-led side is filled with the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and others, which make them a difficult side to surmount.

However, one player who will definitely be the grabbing all the attention will be senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara as he is coming back from a successful stint at the County.

The time when the majority of the Indian squad was playing at the Indian Premier League, Pujara was playing in England at the County Cricket for Sussex.

cricket Australia Cricket Team Virat Kohli Ajinkya Rahane Australia India Sanjay

With India set to tour West Indies next month, the BCCI announced the squads for the Test and ODI series earlier this week. Rohit Sharma will lead the side in both formats, while Ajinkya Rahane and Hardik Pandya will deputise him in Tests and ODIs, respectively. In another big development, veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara was axed from the team, following his poor outing with the bat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. While analysing India's squad, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal shared his views on the upcoming tour.

Ravichandran Ashwin's Message For Yashasvi Jaiswal And Ruturaj Gaikwad After Test Call-Up Wins Internet

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad were among the top performers in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) and their consistency was rewarded on Friday as both youngsters were picked in the India squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies. While Jaiswal was just part of the Test squad, Gaikwad was also included in the ODI squad. Veteran India skipper Ravichandran Ashwin took to Twitter to post a heartfelt message for both the youngsters after their maiden call-up to the Indian cricket team.

India drop Pujara for Windies tour, Jaiswal and Gaikwad get test call-ups

India have dropped top order batter Cheteshwar Pujara for the upcoming two-test tour of West Indies in July while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal made the cut after stellar campaigns in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Whenever I Needed Advice...": Pakistani Batter On His Bond With Virat Kohli

Star India batter Virat Kohli is admired by globally for his professionalism and his work ethic. Apart from his abilities as a batter, Kohli has sparked a fitness regime in India, which is followed by every budding cricketer in the country. However, his charm isn't restricted to India. Pakistani batter Ahmed Shehzad, who has been often compared Kohli, is a huge admirer of the former India captain. Shehzad was all praise for Kohli and credited the 34-year-old for transforming the fortunes of India's Test side.

Watch: Virat Kohli Not Looking For 'Excuses' As He Strives To 'Get Better'

Arguably the greatest batter of his generation, Virat Kohli isn't wasting time in this period of break as the Indian cricket team steps away from the field for a month before their next assignment begins. Kohli, who is still a part of the Indian team in all three formats of the game, posted an inspiring workout video with an equally motivating caption, as he gave a glimpse of the efforts he is putting into himself to get better before the West Indies tour.

What Made BCCI Appoint MS Dhoni India's Skipper? Former Selector Explains

It's been nearly a decade since Team India last won an ICC event. Since MS Dhoni led the team to a Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, the side has lost four ICC finals, and have bowed out in the semi-finals on as many occasions. While Virat Kohli managed to take the team to new heights in Test cricket, the star batter failed to guide the team to an ICC triumph, since taking over the reigns from Dhoni. The same has been the case under current skipper Rohit Sharma, under whom the team crashed out in the semi-finals during the T20 World Cup last year. Earlier this month, India also lost the World Test Championship (WTC) final to Australia.