cricBC

cricket takes for the entire family | ✉ [email protected] |

[cricBC @cricBC]

Angrezon ke Iffi and Wasay

[Ben Stevens @BenScottStevens]

I’m in LOVE with British sports talk radio. ❤️

[Shubh Agarwal @shubh_chintak]

A big reason why I dont want Shubman Gill to be in the T20 side and be an all-format player for India. Even if India plays lesser T20s in future, there is travelling and a lot of things that can hurt his potential in the other two formats where he is more precious.

Plus, India have enough top-order batters for T20Is.

[cricBC @cricBC]

English cricket exists mainly to beat Australia in Ashes. The man who coached India to back to back wins in Australia is surely worth a look in?

[Cricketopia @CricketopiaCom]

The reported candidates being considered by the ECB for the England Men’s Test head coach role are:

Andy Flower 🇿🇼 (Current frontrunner)
Jonathan Trott 🏴
Richard Dawson 🏴
Stephen Fleming 🇳🇿
Justin Langer 🇦🇺
Kumar Sangakkara 🇱🇰
Tom Moody 🇦🇺
Mike Hesson 🇳🇿
Adi Birrell 🇿🇦

Not on the reported shortlist (but mentioned):

Rahul Dravid 🇮🇳
Andrew Flintoff 🏴

According to the report, Andy Flower remains the preferred choice, although his IPL and Hundred commitments, along with his uncertainty about returning to such a demanding role, could complicate the appointment.

[cricBC @cricBC]

I have a lot of time for Gill. He has to be India's all format leader. He exudes confidence and composure. Even when he is out of the team. Probably the most secured among the crop of next gen stars. T20 questions will be raised, but one can build strong argument to have someone like him in the side to negotiate tricky overseas conditions. Not all world cups will be played in India.

[Vimal कुमार @Vimalwa]

I think this is the best press conference of captain Shubhman Gill so far in his career. The calmness, authenticity, articulation and a vision of a leader. His second best was in Vadodra last year and this is mighty impressive. Wait for whole news.
But mark my words. This is incredibly mellifluous PC which gives huge positive vibes before an important series.

[cricBC @cricBC]

Baz McCullum wanted to change the culture of an entire cricketing ecosystem. Gambhir with his no-superstar policy is trying to do the same.

These are not corporate leaders who are appointed to change how a few thousand employees function. How India plays and views cricket is a function of how the entire population thinks. You can't change that just because it doesn't suit your perspective.

Cultures change organically. The way India plays cricket now is vastly different from how it was played during RoKo prime which was different from how it was played during prime Ganguly which was different from prime Kapil Dev. Evolution is a slow process and depends on multiple uncontrollable factors. You can't sit in a chair and decide which way the evolution should go. Gambhir is making the mistake. Chappell tried to do the same two decades ago. We could let Chappell go since he was powerless. Who has the guts to face Gambhir and tell him he isn't needed.

[cricBC @cricBC]

Damn. Some would call it a fluke purely based on how these catches tend to stick.

But look at how close she is standing. How low she is in her position. And how she maintained her stance despite a full blooded drive. This is technically elite. But also incredibly brave.

[Amit Dubey @AmitHellboyz143]

He is isn't wrong
For context the catch btw 👇

[cricBC @cricBC]

Gambhir/Agarkar regime must go. I didn't say this after all the losses, you can attribute them to any number of factors. The move to appoint Shreyas as captain proved beyond doubt that they are poor leaders and man managers. In India, captaincy is a highly coveted position. This isn't just true for cricket, people in any profession measure success in terms of the number of people they are leading. You can argue whethet its right or wrong, but you can't change how a population thinks based on your taste.

We aren't England/Australia where captaincy isn't always taken as seriously. Here, players change teams in IPL just to make sure they get a chance to captain a team. A team like MI implodes due to captancy tussle.

So now when you appoint someoneas the leader of a group he better command the respect of the people he is leading. Someone who wasn't considered good enough to deserve a place in the squad for more than two years isn't an ideal candidate. Shreyas isn't even a senior pro or a elder brother like figure where the respect comes from personal equation more than pure performance.

If they had to let Surya go, they could have made Axar the captain. He is a veteran of two back to back world cup wins now. And was the vice captain of the 2026 world cup winning squad.

Agarkar/Gambhir showed a lack of understanding of how group dynamics work in Indian context. Understanding that is their primary job. It's the reason we prefer an Indian coach over an overseas one.

You have destroyed the dressing room dynamics of a team by appointing a leader who isn't secure about his spot and one who doesn't have the respect of the dressing room by spending enough time inside it. For that alone, the coach/selector combo deserve to get axed.

[cricBC @cricBC]

England should do whatever it takes to hire Ravi Shastri as their next coach. We made the mistake of letting him go, England has made enough mistakes already, they should try and get one right.

[Jarrod Kimber @ajarrodkimber]

Bazball is finally dead. McCullum has stepped down as England red ball coach.

Years ago I wrote about watching McCullum dive headfirst into an advertising hoarding to save one or two runs in a match that didn't matter.

I feel Bazball has been a stretched out version of the same thing. A fundamentalist crusade that maybe didn't matter all that much but you were unable to look away from.

[Alagappan Vijayakumar @IndianMourinho]

Nasser is back with the "this could have gone for six in Indian grounds" line. One tiny sign of England promise and the hype train leaves the station, usually with a side quest of playing down the opponent. India have dominated in Australia and South Africa over the last three years too, and obviously in England as well.

Still no humility after being on the receiving end of the Bazball scam. We remember the hype, the lectures, the nonsense, and the generational humbling that followed.

[cricBC @cricBC]

How to filter AI generated fake content from feed. Genuine questions. What do you guys do?

[cricBC @cricBC]

Turned to hindi commentary on Zee sports. Heard a guy in studio doing Shatrughan Sinha mimicry. Why do we assume hindi viewers don't want to hear serious sports analysis. Why do we feel compelled to put jokers in hindi studio.

[cricBC @cricBC]

Surya hit Archer for a six in a similar area for his first six in international cricket. In many ways, Surya was India's first T20 trailblazer when he started playing with freedom even as other batters were still conservative. Sooryavanshi is most likely to be the next.

[cricBC @cricBC]

Ye Ben Stokes humein pagal bana rahe hain

[Hayley @Hayleyyemma]

This will still be the funniest contribution Ben Stokes has ever made to cricket

[Ritwik Priya @ritwik_priya]

As with the findings of the Soviet Politburo's committee meetings, the real horror is realising that there is no grand conspiracy or cynical adapatation, they actually believe in what they say and do.

Yes 2019 was great. But Bazball is the wonky dragon head meme, an adaptation to lack of actual skill, a slow player's version of how a fast player actually plays.

105/4 in 15 overs chasing 373 off 119 is ridiculous, announcing retirement in the middle of a game with a live chase is churlish and childish, and then coming out to open when you have no skill in doing so just tops it all off.

[cricBC @cricBC]

Taala for a reason

[Keh Ke Peheno @coolfunnytshirt]

Now, they have a problem with India dominating the cricket world economics! At one point their County cricket used to be lucrative! Meanwhile, their players make a lot of money in IPL. India generates most of the funds, so why should it be shared equally..

[cricBC @cricBC]

Cricket twitter is dead. Long live cricket twitter.

My TL is full of fake quotes with an image to appease the algorithm.

Monetization on twitter seemed well intentioned, but brute forcing twitter engagement with text only content is cheap and effortless.

[cricBC @cricBC]

In a short career, we have already compared Sooryavanshi to Sobers, Tendulkar and others. But honestly, there is no precedent for what he is doing in this game. 90 odd striking at 300+ when others around you are striking at around 100 is bonkers.

You have to look across all of sports to find an equivalent. Babe Ruth destroyed every home run record in baseball. By the time Sooryavanshi is done, he would have broken every six-hitting record in the game. And if Sri Lanka has indeed invoked his rage, they may suffer from the curse of Bambino and may not win any trophies for 86 years.

[cricBC @cricBC]

It's fun when someone complains about the word count of the post instead of the actual content. It's almost like they feel offended by how someone can write so many sentences.

[Truth hurts @unknown_indian]

No need to write such a long post you can just say you are too stupid to understand test cricket