Cricket

Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif has suggested that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) should consider acquiring Rohit Sharma as their captain ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. Kaif's proposal stems from the recent announcement of IPL's retention and auction rules, as well as rumors surrounding Rohit's future with Mumbai Indians (MI).Rohit, the current Indian skipper, has led MI to five IPL titles. However, MI's disappointing performance in the 2024 season, where they finished last with only four wins, has raised questions about his future with the franchise.Kaif believes that RCB, despite boasting star players like Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, has never won an IPL trophy due to a lack of effective leadership. He argues that Rohit's exceptional captaincy skills, evident in his recent ICC T20 World Cup victory, could transform RCB's fortunes."RCB should take this chance. Somehow convince Rohit and make him the captain. He might not score that much as a batter, he scores forties and fifties, but I believe Rohit knows how to build a playing eleven very well," Kaif said.Kaif emphasized that Rohit should focus solely on captaincy in the IPL, given his proven track record as a leader. "Rohit Sharma should play as a captain only in the IPL because he is such a great captain. He has come after winning the T20 World Cup. He would have offers. We know people would have been calling him and asking him to play for them. I feel he should take the role of a captain only, whichever franchise is offering it," he said.Rohit's impressive IPL record, with 6,628 runs at an average of 29.72 and a strike rate of 131.14, further supports Kaif's suggestion. His ability to build a cohesive team and inspire players to perform at their best could be the key to RCB's long-awaited IPL triumph.

India-Pakistan Rivalry Set to Reignite in T20 World CupThe highly anticipated India-Pakistan rivalry will once again take center stage in the ongoing T20 World Cup, with the two arch-rivals set to clash on June 9 in New York. The last two T20 World Cup encounters between the two sides have produced contrasting results, with Pakistan emerging victorious by 10 wickets in 2021 and India claiming a four-wicket triumph in 2022.While the India-Pakistan matches always generate immense excitement, former India batter Mohammed Kaif has downplayed the hype surrounding this particular encounter. According to Kaif, Pakistan's team is relatively weak this time around, with only a few match-winners standing out."Pakistan's batting is weak. Fakhar Zaman can be dangerous if he gets going, but other than that, their batters have a strike rate of around 120-125. We're not as concerned about their batting as we are about their bowling," Kaif said.However, Kaif warned India to be wary of Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah, who was a key performer for Pakistan in their previous T20 World Cup meeting."They have Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Naseem Shah is a very good bowler. In the Melbourne match that India won, Naseem Shah's first spell was impressive. He got a nick that was dropped at slip," Kaif added.India Squad:* Rohit Sharma (c)* Hardik Pandya (vc)* Yashasvi Jaiswal* Virat Kohli* Suryakumar Yadav* Rishabh Pant (wk)* Sanju Samson (wk)* Shivam Dube* Ravindra Jadeja* Axar Patel* Kuldeep Yadav* Yuzvendra Chahal* Arshdeep Singh* Jasprit Bumrah* Mohd. SirajPakistan Squad:* Babar Azam (c)* Abrar Ahmed* Azam Khan* Fakhar Zaman* Haris Rauf* Iftikhar Ahmed* Imad Wasim* Mohammad Abbas Afridi* Mohammad Amir* Mohammad Rizwan* Naseem Shah* Saim Ayub* Shadab Khan* Shaheen Shah Afridi* Usman Khan