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Indian cricket team's swashbuckling batter-keeper, who returned to action after surviving a horrific car accident in December 2022, has been nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Award 2025 in the comeback of the year category. The awards ceremony will take place in Madrid on April 21. Pant suffered the near-fatal car accident on December 30, 2022 while driving from Delhi to his hometown Roorkee.
Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad said making fat-shaming comments on the Indian captain "damages the image of the country". The uproar follows after Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed made a distasteful remark during India's Champions Trophy final Group A match against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. Congress spokesperson took to X to blatantly call the Indian skipper "fat". “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had,” Shama wrote in a post on X which she later deleted following a backlash.
After securing a comprehensive 44-run victory over New Zealand in their final Group A match in Dubai, India is set to face Australia in the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy on Tuesday. Skipper Rohit Sharma, addressing the media in the pre-match press conference, acknowledged Australia's strong history in ICC knockouts but emphasized that his team's focus remains on executing their plans effectively. When asked whether facing Australia in the semifinal adds 'extra motivation, given the Men in Blue's heartbreaking defeat to the same opponents in the 2023 World Cup final, Rohit dismissed any external factors influencing India's approach.
Spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel lavished praises on mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy for his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs in India's 44-run over New Zealand in the last Champions Trophy Group A game in Dubai, saying it is really difficult to read the spinner's mind, and if a batter misses his googly, there is a high chance of losing a wicket. New Zealand's bowlers did well to restrict India's batting line-up, with Shreyas Iyer (79) and Hardik Pandya (45) leading the way as the Asian side posted a competitive total of 249/9 after they were sent in to bat first.
Skipper Rohit Sharma struck down the notion of India having an unfair advantage in the Champions Trophy due to playing all their matches in Dubai, saying it is not their "home venue" and the pitches have thrown up "different challenges" to his side. Several former players from Pakistan, Australia and England have taken an exception to India staying in Dubai for the entire duration of the ICC showpiece, saying the move allowed them better chance to acclimatise to the conditions than other teams in Group A. "Every time, the pitch is giving you different challenges. The three matches that we played here, the pitch has behaved differently. This is not our home, this is Dubai. We don't play so many matches here, and this is new for us too," Rohit said during the pre-match press meet ahead of the semifinal against Australia.
Skipper Rohit Sharma dismissed the thought that India are under added pressure against Australia in the Champions Trophy semifinal, and felt that "pressure to win" will be equal on both the teams. India have not beaten Australia in the ICC knockouts matches since winning the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal. "Look, they are a great opposition to play against. All we had to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion. We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that," Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.
History weighs heavily against them but India would rely on a potent spin battery and familiarity with the conditions to break the knockout jinx against an undermanned Australia when the two formidable cricket forces clash in the Champions Trophy semifinal in Dubai on Tuesday. It will not be a straightforward task, though, as the Aussies are a resilient beast in global tournaments even without their lead cast of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Their stunning chase of 352 against England at Lahore a few days back validates the thought.
The Indian cricket team booked their Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal berth without a single loss after they defeated New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. India are the only side in the competition till now who have won all three of their encounters. However, there has been claims of 'unfair advantage' from both past and current players due to the fact that India are playing all of their games in Dubai. The Indian government did not allow the national side to travel to Pakistan and the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to host the competition in a 'hybrid manner'. Ex-England cricketers like Naseer Hussain and Mike Atherton were not pleased with the scheduling while Jos Buttler and South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen also echoed similar sentiments when asked about the topic.