Gautam Gambhir mocked Pakistan's security arrangements made for the Sri Lankan team on tour in Karachi for the limited overs series.
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India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday threw his weight behind Rohit Sharma, saying his promotion to the opening slot in Tests could end up making the line-up "more lethal" and the stylish batsman will be given enough "space" to find his game in red-ball cricket.
While Rohit is counted among the modern-day ODI greats, he has not done justice to his potential in Tests, averaging 39.62 in 27 matches. Former players, including Yuvraj Singh, praised the team management's decision to use Rohit at the top and said he should be given a long run.
File image of Rohit Sharma. Reuters
"If he does that (succeeds in the opening role), then our batting order at the top becomes more lethal. It is difficult to have a player like that to not start every time," said Kohli on the eve of the first Test against South Africa here.
"If he comes into his own then the whole batting order looks a completely different batting order anywhere in the world," added the skipper.
Asked if the management is thinking of giving Rohit at least five to six Tests, Kohli said: "We are not looking to rush him. There is a different pattern you follow in India and different abroad. Opening is a spot where you have to give a player space to understand his own game.
"He will be given space to find his game and come into his own,"
The skipper said it would be great for the team if Rohit can play the role Virender Sehwag did in his prime while insisting that the team is not looking for any specific kind of approach from the stylish batsman.
"In Test cricket I started at (number) six then came up to four. It was more of a mental thing. If you can convince yourself you can do it. Test cricket is about finding your game in different conditions.
"We are not looking at a certain kind of display of batting from Rohit. It is about him finding his game at the top. Yes, his strength is to take the game forward. Like what Viru bhai used to do for the team for a long period.
"So, it is not as if someone would have told Viru bhai to attack and get a hundred before lunch. His natural instinct took over and he could demolish attacks once he felt comfortable," he explained.
Kohli said whatever be the requirement, Rohit is experienced enough to improvise and deliver the goods for the team.
"He definitely has the ability. If the wicket is challenging and then obviously you won't see him smashing the ball, he knows what to do."
Kohli revealed that the idea of promoting Rohit from the middle order was considered long ago but could only be implemented in the current scenario after and out of form KL Rahul was dropped from the side.
"For Rohit as well, clarity of role knowing that you have to play in a certain way, is very crucial for a player and for us the communication happened long ago.
"But we could not see a situation but now there is a situation and it is an ideal time to go ahead with it because we have spoken about it. ODIs was the same with him.
"He was batting in the middle order and then suddenly opening conversations happened and within 6-8 months he was opening and we all know what happened after that. If he can do what he did in ODIs, it will be great for Indian cricket."
With the World Test Championship up for grabs, Kohli said Rohit succeeding at the top will help the team hugely.
"We have given people opportunities in the past. Mayank (Agarwal) came into the system, KL had been there for a while, (Murali) Vijay was there for a while. So there will always be room for people to come in because of their performances.
"But we feel because we have a Test championship to look forward to and Rohit's been in the Test set up for a long time it's about providing him the opportunity and find that template that he wants to in Test cricket," he said.
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Virat Kohli confirmed that Wriddhiman Saha will replace Rishabh Pant in the Test series opener against South Africa in Vizag on Wednesday.
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Visakhapatnam: Wriddhiman Saha will replace the struggling Rishabh Pant in the Indian line-up for the first Test against South Africa, captain Virat Kohli announced on Tuesday, calling the Bengal player the "best wicketkeeper" in the world.
The 34-year-old Saha was out of the team for a long time due to injury and came back into the side during the two-Test series in the West Indies in August. However, he did not get to play there and Pant kept wickets in both the games.
Wriddhiman Saha makes a return to India's playing XI after a long injury lay off. Image courtesy: Twitter @BCCI
"Yes Saha is fit and fine to go. He is going to start the series for us. His keeping credentials are for everyone to see. He has done well with the bat whenever he has got a chance," said Kohli on the eve of the first Test.
"It was unfortunate that he was out with an injury. According to me he is the best keeper the world. With these conditions he starts for us," he added.
Saha last played a Test during the South Africa tour in January 2018 before being hampered by a shoulder injury, followed by a thumb problem.
Pant burst on to the scene in his absence and with centuries in England and Australia, became the team's number one wicketkeeper in the longest format.
However, the 21-year-old has been coping criticism for reckless stroke-making and that may have have been a factor in the team management's decision to start with Saha. Saha has played 32 Tests, scoring 1164 runs at 30.63.
Kohli said the team management wanted to ease Saha back into the team and that is one of the reasons he did not play in the Caribbean.
"We felt like Rishabh, given the opportunities, had done well. Although Saha was always going to start but we felt like just let him ease back into things rather than just forcing him into starting immediately.
"We all felt he has just come back, although he is keeping well, batting well but, it's fair to give Rishabh a few more opportunities because of what he has done in the past season for us," Kohli explained.
#TeamIndia for 1st Test of @Paytm Freedom Series for Gandhi-Mandela Trophy against South Africa.
Virat Kohli (Capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Md Shami#INDvSA
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 1, 2019
The skipper said Saha was always going to be the first choice in the traditional format.
"...Saha was always the one we would back as a pure keeper in Test cricket. He has done well under pressure situations in the past for us, so it was just about finding the right opportunity and the moment to bring him back in.
"And you need to be wary in a team environment where you understand when to bring a player back and when to give another guy more opportunities" he reasoned.
"I felt for now, it's the right time for Saha to come back and get in to his zone," said Kohli.
The skipper also made it clear that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be two specialist spinners in the playing eleven with Hanuma Vihari being the third spin option, leaving out Kuldeep Yadav. Jadeja had played both the Tests in the West Indies while Ashwin warmed the bench.
Asked about Ashiwn's current role in the team, Kohli said: "Yes, Ashwin will start. Ashwin and Jadeja both will start here. Look Jaddu we felt was in a better zone as far as performing overseas and and what he has done in the past season for the team.
"Wherever the conditions provide us to go with two spinners, Ash (Ashwin) is always going to be a threat and in home conditions with his batting and the way he bowls as well he is always going to be starting with Jadeja. That was a no brainer for us," he added.
India's XI for first Test: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
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India vs South Africa: After starting the ICC Test Championship with a 2-0 clean sweep against the West Indies, India will aim for success in the first Test of the three-match Test series against South Africa in Vizag.
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Karachi: Sri Lanka's stand-in skipper on the Pakistan tour, Lahiru Thirimanne expressed his disappointment at the way his team collapsed in the second one-day international against the hosts.
After restricting Pakistan to 305 for seven, Sri Lanka collapsed to 5 for 28 in 10.1 overs before a 177-run record partnership for the sixth-wicket between Shehan Jayasuriya (96) and Dasun Shanaka (68) revived the innings.
Pakistan players celebrate the dismissal of Sri Lankan batsman Sadeera Samarawickrama. AP
Sri Lanka eventually fell short by 67 runs.
"I thought we batted very poorly as the ball was not doing much and just kept a little low at times. But we have to take positives out of this game," he told reporters after the match on Monday.
"They (Jayasuriya and Shanaka) showed us we are capable of chasing big totals. The loss of so many wickets early on affected our run-chase in the end," Thirimanne said.
He said Jayasuriya and Shanaka had given them hope after the batting collapse in first 10-overs.
The Sri Lankan captain said that his bowlers had done well in patches but conceded extra runs towards the end as the home side scored 73 in the last seven overs.
"I think we can do much better than this. I think the way we bowled and batted this is not our 100 percent. I am confident we will come back stronger in the next match," he said.
Thirimanne, who came into bat at number five, said the early batting collapse was disappointing but insisted such things happened in cricket.
"These players are playing after a long time and I am not giving excuses but it is a matter of time they settle down and give their best."
The first ODI was washed out on Friday while the third one-dayer will be played in Karachi on Wednesday followed by a three-match T20 series in Lahore.
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Harbhajan Singh took a cheeky dig at India's number 4 problem and backed Suryakumar Yadav to take that position. The veteran off-spinner took to Twitter and posted a picture of Suryakumar, which highlighted his impressive batting performance against Chhattisgarh in the ongoing Vijay Hazare trophy.
The Turbanator was shocked by the omission of the 29-year-old from the Indian team and assured him that he will soon make it to the national team if he continues to perform well in the domestic circuit.
“Don’t know why he doesn’t get picked for India after scoring runs heavily in domestic cricket. Suryakumar Yadav, keep working hard... your time will come,” Harbhajan tweeted.
Don’t know why he doesn’t get picked for india after scoring runs heavily in domestic cricket @surya_14kumar keep working hard.. your time will come pic.twitter.com/XO6xXtaAxC
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 29, 2019
Harbhajan's former teammate Yuvraj Singh followed up with a sarcastic reply to the post saying the team doesn't require a No 4 batsman as the top-order is very strong. “Yaar I told you! They don’t need a no 4 top order is very strong,” Yuvraj tweeted.
Yaar I told you ! They don’t need a no 4 top order is very strong 😄 — yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) September 30, 2019
As Mumbai took on Chhattisgarh on Saturday, Suryakumar played a quickfire knock of 81 off just 31 deliveries. His innings helped Mumbai post a competitive target of 317 on the board. However, Mumbai eventually ended up on the losing side, thanks to Amandeep Khare’s century.
Despite trying out multiple players, India have been in a fix regarding the No 4 position. After Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar failed to make a mark, the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are currently in contention for the spot.
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