New Delhi, Nov 11: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes that the upcoming two-Test series will pose a tough challenge for reigning World Test Champions South Africa, noting that “playing against India in India is never easy, as they are a very strong side in subcontinent conditions.”

The two teams are set to face each other in a multi-format series, which will see Gill and Co. host the Proteas for two Tests and three ODIs. Then, Surykumar Yadav-led side will engage in five T20Is against the Proteas men.

The first Test will be played in Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens, home of Ganguly, who is also the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

“The first Test starts in Kolkata in a few days, and it’s going to be a tough tour for South Africa. Playing against India in India is never easy. India is a very strong side in the subcontinent, and they are a strong team even overseas these days. I’m really looking forward to the Test at Eden Gardens. South Africa is a good side, so it should be a high-quality contest,” Ganguly said on JioStar.

India pacer Mohammed Siraj also shared his thoughts ahead of the Test series, saying, “This series is crucial for the new WTC cycle, especially since South Africa is the defending champion. While they drew 1-1 with Pakistan, we’re confident based on our own good form, having created a positive environment and performed well in England, and having won against the West Indies.”

“Personally, I’m bowling with good rhythm and looking to make the most of it. Facing strong teams helps identify areas to improve, and I’m really excited for this challenge,” he added.

New Delhi, Nov 10: India head coach Gautam Gambhir said the team doesn’t approach a game thinking about averages and strike rates but instead focuses on the impact that a player can create in a given situation. His remarks came after India’s recent 2-1 T20I victory over Australia Down Under.

In a video interview shared by the BCCI on Monday, Gambhir spoke on Team India’s dynamic and flexible batting order in the T20Is and the bold approach adopted by the players.

“That has been the ideology from day one. When I took over as the head coach, from Sri Lanka till now, it hasn’t changed. Batting orders are very overrated, except the openers obviously, because they’re permanent. Everything shuffles because it’s not the amount of runs that matter in T20 cricket; it’s the impact that matters. People sometimes miscalculate or do not differentiate between the batting order, the runs, and the impact. Runs are different and impact is different in T20 cricket; it is all about the impact, it’s 120 balls, and every ball is an event.

“Everyone needs to have the maximum impact that we can have, and that’s the reason from day 1, has been a very fluid batting order, and that is how we want to play this game as well. We don’t want to play a game thinking about averages, strike rates and all that stuff. We are thinking about how much impact a person can create in what situation. That is going to be very important for this T20 side because, with time, T20 cricket will evolve. We as coaches don’t evolve. We want to be ahead of T20 cricket, ahead of time. The most important thing is that these guys, the young boys, have adopted, and hopefully they continue adapting and evolving in future,” Gambhir told bcci.tv.

India played Australia in three ODIs and five T20Is Down Under, with the Men in Blue losing the 50-over series 2-1 and winning the 20-over series by the same margin. Giving his honest opinion on the team’s performances, Gambhir said that while individual performances can be appreciated and celebrated, they would never celebrate a series loss.

“I have always been a believer that it’s not about the individual performances. Yes, I can be very happy with individual performances, and I will always remain happy with individual performances, but ultimately, we lost the one-day series. That’s the bottom line. And I can never celebrate a series loss as a coach. As a player, I can appreciate individuals, but as a coach, it is my moral responsibility that we as the nation and we as individuals should never, never celebrate a series loss. Ultimately, we are representing the country. Yes,the T20 series was different, and we won the series. A lot of positive, but a lot of learning as well. We are still not where we want to be in three months down the line because the bigger picture is not the series, but the World Cup as well. We are in that space where we want to be before the World Cup,” he added.

New Delhi, Nov 8: BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that he held a cordial discussion with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on the sidelines of the ICC Board meeting held in Dubai on Friday, adding that there’s been willingness from both sides to break the stalemate over the Asia Cup trophy at the earliest.

The ongoing standoff over the Asia Cup 2025 trophy comes after India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, defeated Salman Agha’s Pakistan side by five wickets at the Dubai International Stadium to secure their ninth Asia Cup title.

But the post-match celebrations took an unbelievable turn when the Indian team opted not to accept the trophy or winner’s medals from Naqvi, the ACC Chairman who also serves as Pakistan’s Interior Minister and Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“Yesterday, there were two meetings of the ICC. One is the formal board meeting and the other is the informal board meeting. There were two meetings and in both the meetings, I and the chairperson of PCB, Mohsin Naqvi were present.”

“But as it (the Asia Cup trophy issue) was not on the agenda of the ICC’s meeting, we made a request and the ICC facilitated a meeting between me and Naqvi on the sidelines of the board meeting.”

“We had a long meeting for about an hour and at the initiative of one of the very senior ICC board members, who’s a very senior person. So, they facilitated the conversation, and then the discussion between India and Pakistan happened yesterday at the ICC’s meeting place.”

“Mohsin Naqvi and I had a cordial discussion and we are trying to solve this problem. He will also be giving us some options, and we will also be giving up some options so that the stalemate can be broken at the earliest possible time,” said Saikia to Media on Saturday.

Before leaving for the ICC quarterly meeting in Dubai, Saikia had told Media about raising the grievance around the delay in the Asia Cup trophy handover despite a letter being sent to the continental body. It remains to be seen if a solution to the trophy handover issue comes in the next few days.

There were certain reports suggesting that a committee might be constituted to resolve the Asia Cup trophy impasse. Saikia, however, dismissed the speculation, stating that no such committee had been formed.

“That is totally incorrect news which is going on in the media. There is no truth in that news material. This is speculated news from some corners; I have no idea of this. But it is also news to me because it had not happened in that manner in the ICC’s meeting. I can assure you that,” he added.