Former India batter Virender Sehwag has said that Rishabh Pant should have played from the first match, as he has experience playing in Australia and on bouncy tracks. Rohit Sharma-led Team India stumbled to a five-wicket loss as South Africa chased down the target of 134 with five wickets hand and two balls to spare.
Dinesh Karthik and Virender Sehwag Image - India.com
Nothing went right for India with the bat in hand, and it was only Suryakumar Yadav who showed some fight with the bat, taking India's total past the 130-run mark. Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik struggled, as he scored 6 runs off 15 balls.
"This should have been the case from the first day. Rishabh Pant has played Tests and ODIs there and has performed and he knows how to perform in these conditions. When did Dinesh Karthik last play in Australia, and when has he played on such bouncy wickets?
This isn't a Bengaluru wicket. I said this even today that Pant should've been in the team instead of Hooda, Pant has the experience of playing here. His Gabba innings are a legend."
Sehwag said on Cricbuzz
"I can only give them suggestions, it's the management's decision. If Karthik is fit, they will go back to him again. But according to me, Rishabh Pant should've been in the XI from the start," he added.
Dinesh Karthik also got injured as he hurt his back during the game against South Africa. However, it is unknown, whether he will be fit in time for the next match.
Team India is currently in the second spot in the Group 2 points table with four points from 3 matches. The side will next square off against Bangladesh at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.
16 Indian Cricketers with stands named after them at a stadium
Discover 16 Indian Cricketers with stands named after them at a stadium, including legends like Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and the iconic Jhulan Goswami.
Some legendary Indian cricketers left their impact beyond the scorecards and records, which earned them an everlasting tribute. Their legacies live on the stadiums where they created their cricketing magic.
Curious to know the ones who had their contributions honored with their names on a stadium stand or pavilion? Scroll down to discover the 16 Indian Cricketers with stands named after them at a stadium.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar Stand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE. Image | NDTV
The God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, has 2 stands named after him. He was also honoured with a gate named after him at the Sydney Cricket Ground, unveiled on his 50th birthday.
MS Dhoni Pavilion at the JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi. Image | Instagram
Honoring the hometown hero, MS Dhoni Pavilion was named as a tribute to his legendary captaincy and achievements.
MS Dhoni Pavilion: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi
4. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma stand at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Image | Instagram
Acknowledging Rohit Sharma's elegant batting and leadership for India, the stand named after him at the Wankhede is a recent addition, inaugurated in 2025.
Rohit Sharma Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
5. Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly stand at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Image | Instagram
Sourav Ganguly stand, unveiled in 2017, is a tribute to dada, not only for his influential captaincy, but also for his contributions as the former president of CAB and BCCI.
Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Image | Alamy
The pavilion named after Sunil Gavaskar stands as a lasting tribute for the cricketing legend.
Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
7. Yuvraj Singh
The inaugural of stands named after Yuvraj Singh, along with teammate Harbhajan Singh at the PCA Stadium, Punjab. Image | Instagram
The world cup hero and local boy of Punjab, Yuvraj Singh, was honored with a joint ceremony where two stands were named after him and his teammate, Harbhajan Singh.
VVS Laxman Pavilion at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Image | Facebook
Known for his elegant batting style, VVS Laxman was given the tribute with a pavilion named after him at his hometown (Hyderabad).
VVS Laxman Pavilion: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
10. Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin posing in front of his stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Image | Crossbill
The former captain of Indian team, Mohammad Azharuddin, was honored with a stand at his beloved ground in his homecity, Hyderabad.
Mohammad Azharuddin Stand: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
11. Jhulan Goswami
Jhulan Goswami posing in front of the stand named after her at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Image | Twitter
In 2023, Eden Gardens celebrated and honored the legendary pride of Bengal, Jhulan Goswami. Her name stands as the only woman on this list to achieve this milestone.
Gautam Gambhir Stand at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Image | TOI
From crucial role in World Cup victories for India, to his role as the head coach, Gautam Gambhir truly deserves the stand named after him in his home ground.
Gautam Gambhir Stand: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
13. Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar Stand at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Wankhede holds the name of many spectacular players and Dilip Vengsarkar is one of them. It celebrates he golden moments in cricket.
Dilip Vengsarkar Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
14. Vijay Merchant
Vijay Merchant Stand at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Image | Instagram
Yet another elegant player to have a stand named after them at the Wankhede. Vijay Merchant's quality contributions are highly appreciated.
Vijay Merchant Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
15. Ajit Wadekar
Ajit Wadekar Stand alongside Sharad Pawar Stand at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
The former Indian captain and influential figure, Ajit Wadekar, holds a prestigious stand named after him, alongside Sharad Pawar.
Ajit Wadekar Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
16. Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag Gate at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
While we discuss stands or pavilions, it is worth noting that the gate no. 2 at Arun Jaitley Stadium was named after the legendary cricketer, Virender Sehwag, as a tribute.
Esha Oza currently holds the record for most centuries in WT20Is, with four centuries in the format. Explore the list of players with such century records!
Scoring a century in any form of cricket is a moment of glory, but in the fast-paced format of T20s, it gets more exciting to watch. Numerous cricketers have consistently proved themselves in this format by delivering spectacular tons.
The list goes deep as we have such power-hitters from around the globe!
Join us as we explore the list of players with most centuries in WT20Is and celebrate their glorious innings.
1. Esha Oza (4 centuries) | UAE
Esha Oza in action against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2024. Image | ESPNcricinfo
The current captain of UAE, Esha Oza, holds the record for most centuries in WT20Is with 4 centuries in her T20 career so far. This Indian-born cricketer made her debut in T20Is in 2018 and reached this milestone extremely fast.
She is also the fastest player from UAE to reach 1000 runs in T20Is. Her fourth century in T20Is came against Qatar in the Asia Cup qualifier, where she led her team to a brilliant victory.
Chamari Athapaththu celebrating her 113 off 66 balls against Australia in 2019. Image | ESPNcricinfo
Chamari Athapaththu, the current captain of Sri Lanka national team, holds the 2nd position in this list with her 3 centuries in WT20Is. She is one of the finest cricketers from Sri Lanka and led them to win the 2024 Asia Cup.
Chamari scored her first hundred in T20Is in 2019 against Australia. She scored the other following centuries in 2024 against Scotland and Malaysia.
Fatuma Kibasu celebrating her century in 2019. Image | Facebook
The former captain of Tanzania, Fatuma Kibasu, holds the 3rd position with her 3 centuries in WT20Is. She is the only Tanzanian woman to score a century at international level so far, and holds the highest individual score for her country in WT20Is.
Fatuma made her T20 debut in 2019 and played magnificently ever since!
After the Champions Trophy 2025, India's target in ODI cricket will be the ODI World Cup 2027. In such a situation, know what is Team India's ODI schedule till the World Cup 2027. The Men in Blue have to play a total of 9 series in the next ICC ODI tournament, which includes 27 matches.
Apart from this, some more ODI matches can be scheduled near the tournament. So, know what is the ODI schedule of Indian Cricket Team till 2027 and when India will face which team.
The ODI World Cup2027 will be held around October to December. Before this, the Indian team is going to play a lot of matches. India have to play 3-match ODI series against 8 teams. They will play series twice against one country.
India will play New Zealand twice
India will play Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka once each in the upcoming ODI series, while it will play New Zealand twice. Out of the nine series, India will play six series at home, while the rest will be held outside the country.
It will start with the tour of Bangladesh in August, which will be played this year. In October-November 2025, India has to play a three-match ODI series on its tour of Australia. South Africa's team will tour India in November-December.
India will host Sri Lankan team in December 2026
In January 2026, the New Zealand team will play an ODI series in India. After this, India has to play a three-match series against Afghanistan in June. In July 2026, Team India will have to play the same number of ODI series on its tour of England.
The West Indies team is scheduled to tour India in September-October. There will be an ODI series against New Zealand at home in October-November. India will host the Sri Lankan team for an ODI series in December 2026.
Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Is Rohit the greatest test opener since Virender Sehwag?
Rohit played for India in this format from number one to number six. However, he was very successful as an opener in Test cricket. Let's take a look at Rohit Sharma stats in Tests as an opener.
Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday. 38-year-old Rohit had already retired from T20I cricket. For now, he will continue to play for India in the ODI format and he is also the captain of Team India in this format. After this announcement by Rohit, his 11-year long Test cricket career also came to an end.
Rohit Sharma had a very good Test cricket career and he played for India in this format from number one to number six. However, he was very successful as an opener in Test cricket.
Let's take a look at Rohit Sharma stats in Tests as an opener.
Rohit scored most centuries as an opener
Rohit scored 4301 runs in 67 Test matches played in his career at an average of 40.57 with 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries, but he scored the most centuries as an opener.
Rohit was elevated to that role for the first time in October 2019, and since then, no other opener has scored as many tons. Overall, only four batters have scored more Test tons than Rohit in this period.
Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Most sixes for India
Rohit has hit a total of 88 sixes in his Test cricket career and is second on the list of batsmen who have hit the most sixes for India in the longer format of cricket. If he had hit 3 more sixes in the Test, he would have become the batsman who has hit the most sixes in Tests for India. The record for hitting the most sixes in Tests for India is held by Virender Sehwag who hit a total of 90 sixes.
Sr
Player
6s
M
Inn
R
Ave
100s
50s
1
Virender Sehwag
90
92
178
8503
49.43
23
31
2
Rohit Sharma
88
59
116
4301
40.57
12
18
3
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
78
82
144
4876
38.09
6
33
4
Rishabh Pant
73
41
75
2948
42.11
6
15
5
Sachin Tendulkar
69
173
329
15921
53.78
51
68
6
Ravindra Jadeja
68
70
118
3370
34.74
4
22
7
Sourav Ganguly
57
101
188
7212
42.17
16
35
Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Most centuries for India in won Test matches
Rohit Sharma is at number 5 in the list of batsmen who have scored the most centuries in Test matches won by India. He has scored a total of 12 centuries in Test matches won by India. Sachin Tendulkar is at the top of this list with 20 centuries.
As an opener in Test cricket, Rohit scored a total of 2697 runs in 66 innings for India. During this period, his average was 42.81 while in these 66 innings, he also scored 9 centuries and 8 half-centuries. His best score as an opener in Tests was 212 runs.
A sinking tale of playoffs: Can LSG make it to the top 4 in IPL 2025?
Currently in 7th position with 10 points, LGS's playoff hopes are indeed a sinking tale. Their struggle to build momentum left the fans with one BIG question; can LSG make it to the top 4 in IPL 2025?
After a promising start, Lucknow Super Giants' 2025 IPL campaign started to sink, leaving slim chances for playoff qualification.
Find out what went wrong and everyone's answer to the ultimate question: Can LSG make it to the top 4 in IPL 2025?
LSG in IPL 2025 so far
Nicholas Pooran during his 61 runs off 38 balls against GT in IPL 2025. Image | NDTV
LSG won 5 matches out of 11 played so far, with a poor net run rate of -0.469 and 10 points. They had a decent start to the tournament with players like Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi stepping out for the team.
They struggled to build momentum later on in the tournament, which led them to just 1 victory in their last 5 matches.
Net Run Rate (NRR): -0.469, which is the worst among the top seven teams
What exactly went wrong?
Rishabh Pant after his dismissal in their crushing defeat by 37 runs against PBKS. Image | Facebook
The following factors significantly disrupted LSG's gameplay, which resulted in their miserable position for the playoffs:
Rishabh Pant's poor form: Captain Rishabh Pant is having a disappointing season with the bat, which has practically crushed the team's backbone. He managed to score only 128 runs in 11 innings with a strike rate below 100.
Inconsistent top-order: The opening pair, despite having good individual performances, haven't consistently fired together.
Middle-order Reliance: Players like Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad have shown brilliance in some matches, but they weren't enough to carry the team forward after their regular collapse of top order.
Bowling Inconsistencies: LSG's bowling attack has failed with their execution in matches, and was seen struggling to contain the batters in the death overs.
Poor Fielding: They dropped catches at crucial times in the game, which cost them heavily. Additionally, the players could have saved more runs with more on-field efforts.
Playoff scenario and hopes for a miraculous comeback
LSG after their disappointing defeat against MI by 54 runs in IPL. Image | Pinterest
LSG currently has a huge burden of net run rate, which can have a damaging impact even if they win their 3 remaining matches in IPL 2025. They can reach a maximum of 16 points to end the group stage.
In IPL, ending with 16 points would promise a place in the top 4, but the scenario for LSG is different this year. Additionally, they will also need other factors to be in their favour.
Factors and mathematical possibilities
The chances are slim, but here's what they need to consider for qualification:
Last 3 hurdles: They have 3 remaining matches to play with RCB (9th May), GT (14th May), and SRH (18th May).
Wins required: LSG must win all three matches with huge margins to make their NRR better.
Reliance on otherteams: They will need to depend on other teams to lose which will be beneficial for them in case of tie-breakers of same points. The team having a better NRR will eventually qualify.
Elimination Scenario: LSG will be eliminated from IPL 2025 playoff contention if they lose a single match. They will also lose their chances of being in the top-4 if rain washes away any of their matches.