Former India opener, two-time World Cup winner and IPL stalwart Gautam Gambhir was on Tuesday appointed as coach of the senior men's team, marking the beginning of a new era in Indian cricket.
Gambhir's appointment was a formality after the Indian cricket board expressed their interest in him following a remarkably successful stint at Kolkata Knight Riders. As mentor, Gambhir guided the team to the Indian Premier League title this summer having also won the title twice as captain.
Gambhir became the top candidate for the job after Rahul Dravid's tenure was extended until the T20 World Cup earlier this year as the board searched for a replacement.
The hunt was made complicated by the fact that many high-profile coaches are already employed in the IPL. Few are ready to give up lucrative positions in franchise cricket that only require a few months of their time each year, unlike the national team job that involves extensive travel all year round.
That narrowed the pool of candidates down to a handful. And it was clear that the management were looking for a local name with good credentials.
Gambhir was top of that list but had formed an excellent working relation with KKR management and its owners. However, the BCCI have managed to bring Gambhir on board, giving him extensive powers to guide the next set of Indian cricketers.
What happens to senior players?
The transition phase has started in Indian cricket. After their T20 World Cup win in Barbados, captain Rohit Sharma, star batsman Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirements from T20 Internationals.
The challengers for those vacant spots are currently participating in a five-match T20 series in Zimbabwe. It is in the longer formats, though, where the situation gets tricky.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah has announced that Rohit will captain the team in next year's Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship finals if India qualify.
Kohli has an impeccable record in 50 overs and Test cricket and looks good to carry on for a few more years. However, the two major tournaments next year could decide how much longer he is guaranteed a place in the team.
The frosty relations between Gambhir and Kohli also needs addressing. The two had clashed on the field previously in the IPL as players, and also when Gambhir was managing at Lucknow Super Giants.
However, they patched things up this year and hugged it out on the field during the IPL, drawing a line under their acrimonious past.
The other senior players of the team could find themselves under more scrutiny. Fast bowler and 2023 ODI World Cup star Mohammad Shami, 33, has been on the sidelines this year after undergoing foot surgery. Jadeja, 35, has challengers for his spot in the ODI team, particularly from Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have been superb in home conditions in Test cricket but are inching closer to the end of their careers, which means the next in line need to be blooded in sooner rather than later.
With at least one ICC event every year, India will have to act quickly to put up competitive teams in each format, especially because it is almost certain that there will be separate squads going forward.
Next generation
It is Gambhir's work with local players at KKR and his grasp over grassroots cricket that made him the top target for the India job. At Kolkata, Gambhir helped to get the best out of bowlers such as Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy and also saw young batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi show promise. Also, it was under Gambhir that previously misfiring West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine enjoyed his best season this year, both with bat and ball.
Dashing openers like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma should expect to be central to the plans of Gambhir in white-ball cricket.
Others could be brought back into the fold. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who have found themselves slipping away from public memory, could form the core of the longer format teams.
Gambhir is said to have a particular liking for low profile but hardworking players, much like he himself was during his playing days. That is set to be reflected in the squads India select from now on.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Aatebat Al Khalediah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Avenue, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: My Catch, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
