Navdeep Saini thanks Gautam Gambhir after getting maiden call-up for Afghanistan Test
Cricket | Jun 11, 2018, 08:26 PM ISTGambhir after watching him bowl for 15 minutes had decided that Saini was a rare talent, who should be groomed properly.
Gambhir after watching him bowl for 15 minutes had decided that Saini was a rare talent, who should be groomed properly.
India captain Ajinkya Rahane termed it is a "privilege" to be a part of a historic first Test match against Afghanistan.
If Nair makes the playing eleven, it will be his first international appearance since the Test against Australia in March last year.
Mohammed Shami was omitted from the India squad for the Afghanistan Test match after he failed to clear a fitness test at the NCA, Bengaluru.
Stanikzai backed his side's spinners saying that Rashid Khan and the other are stronger than the Indian spinners.
Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman said he is mastering a new delivery he learnt from R Ashwin during his IPL 2018 stint.
With a few of the star players missing such as captain Virat Kohli, pacers Bhuvnehswar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, the 15-man Test squad has the capability to individually impress the selectors as they face a spin-heavy Afghanistan.
Captain Asghar Stanikzai has asserted that the recent clean sweep victory has lifted the morale of his team ahead of the one-off Test against India.
In an exclusive interview, Rahane spoke about the upcoming challenges, Afghanistan's maiden Test, India's tour of England and also his stint as Rajasthan Royals captain in the Indian Premier League 2018.
It has been an on and off season this year for Rahane, but since being appointed as Rajasthan Royal's new skipper, the 30-year old has been in the limelight ever since then.
The 30-year old pacer said it is heart-breaking that tragic incidents keep taking place in the war-torn nation but as professional cricketers, they have no option but to move on.
Rashid Khan says he is prepared for the "test of patience" that awaits him in Afghanistan's five-day debut against India, where all he wants is to keep the jangling nerves at bay.
Come June 14, the passionate Afghan players will find out that the five-day version of the game is a different beast altogether but Bangladesh skipper, Shakib, has backed them to do well.
The BCCI named Karthik as Saha's replacement for Afghanistan's debut Test match to be held in Bengaluru starting June 14.
The scheduling has left Afghanistan with no choice other than to have joint preparations for the Test and T20s.
Karthik had last played a Test match way back in 2010 against Bangladesh but has had a prolific first-class record with 27 hundreds and over 9000 runs.
Talking about Rashid, the Afghanistan national team coach spoke about the leg-break bowler's maturity beyond years.
Saha's batting form in the IPL was woeful with 122 runs in 10 innings at an average of 15.25 but he admitted it was way below his expectation.
If the Bengal keeper fails to recover in time for the one-off historic Test, Dinesh Karthik or Parthiv Patel might get a look in.
Despite possessing an impressive record in limited overs cricket, Rohit has failed to justify his talent in the longer format of the game, scoring 1479 runs in the 25 Tests he has played.
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