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SA v IND, 1st Test: He has to carry on playing that shot but he needs to pick better balls, says Rathour on Kohli’s dismissals

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India batting coach Vikram Rathour believes that Test captain Virat Kohli should continue playing the drives but at the same time needs to be better in selection of deliveries for playing the shot. In the ongoing first Test at SuperSport Park, Kohli was dismissed while driving and edging to first slip and wicketkeeper in both innings.

“This is the shot which brings him (Kohli) lots of runs and this is his scoring shot. He needs to play that shot and I think it is always your strength that turns out to be your weakness as well. If you don’t play a certain shot, you will never get out playing that shot, isn’t it? You will never score runs on that shot as well,” said Rathour in the virtual press conference after day four.

“When to play that shot, that’s the part where there are constant discussions. I mean, was it right all and right stage to play that shot? If we can just tighten up our game-plans a little more, that will be better. But that’s the shot he (Kohli) plays well and scores loads of runs. He has to carry on playing that shot but he needs to pick better balls, at times,” added Rathour.

Rathour further said that as a coaching unit, they are happy in playing Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane till the time the duo in lean patch are putting in their best efforts. “As far as Pujara and Rahane are concerned, they are trying their best and giving their best. Rahane looked in really good touch in this game before he got out. So has Pujara. He has played some important innings for us in the past.”

“You see these are challenging conditions for everybody, not only those two. Many people have scored runs here. You need to be patient and as long as they are trying their best and giving their best, as a coaching unit, we are fine, how much time they get or are we getting impatient, not at this stage.”

Rathour had words of praise for Rishabh Pant, who made a quick-fire 34 in India’s second innings total of 174 to boost the lead past 300 and give South Africa a stiff target of 305. “He’s working hard on his fitness, on his batting and he trains really hard. It really depends on what kind of situation he is in. Today was the situation where he was in there and had got a decent start, then had to bat with the tail. He had to be aggressive and that suits his kind of batting. He’s a kind of player who can play differently in different situations. That’s what he is looking to do and it was an important innings for us.”

The 52-year-old Rathour signed off by praising KL Rahul’s discipline while making 123 in the first innings total of 327. “KL Rahul has been a good batter from the start. In between, he lost his form a little and lost his place in the team. But since his comeback, he’s been playing really well. He had brought a lot of discipline in his game, which is a very important aspect of opening in batting. If you play new ball with discipline, it is helping him. If he plays with this discipline and intent, then he will make a lot more runs for India.”

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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