Author: Rasmita Jena

Virat Kohli, the famous Indian cricketer, seems to be getting closer to former England captain Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen is in India for commentary during the ODI series between the two teams. They have been seen chatting and laughing together several times during their matches.

During one game in Nagpur, Kohli, who was injured at the time, showed Pietersen his hurt knee that kept him from playing in the first match. They enjoyed a funny moment that made them both smile. On another occasion, while fielding near the boundary, Kohli was spotted laughing and talking with Pietersen, who was watching from the sidelines.

People on the internet are curious about why these two are talking so much. Some think Kohli might be interested in learning about real estate prices in London, where he has spent a lot of time since the birth of his son, Akaay. Kohli’s childhood coach even mentioned that Kohli plans to move to London soon, leaving India behind. Since Kohli has a home there, asking about property prices makes sense.

During the second ODI, Aakash Chopra, a former Indian opener, mentioned on air that Kohli could be asking Pietersen about good neighborhoods in London. Pietersen responded thoughtfully, saying, “Never assume things,” hinting that their chats might be about something different.

Later, Pietersen revealed that they were talking about golf, a sport he loves. When another former Indian cricketer, Suresh Raina, guessed this, Pietersen agreed, adding that he has told Kohli to start playing golf because it’s a fantastic game.

Kohli spent a lot of time in London last year, including when he and his wife, Anushka Sharma, welcomed their second child. After some matches in India, Kohli briefly traveled to the USA and West Indies for the T20 World Cup before returning to the UK. After that, he quickly came back to India and has been here since.

India has scored two wins in a row against England in their ODI series at home. This series is seen as a warm-up for the upcoming Champions Trophy, starting in less than two weeks. Captain Rohit Sharma has returned to his best form, but one decision by the coaching staff has raised some eyebrows.

In both matches held in Nagpur and Cuttack, India won by four wickets. However, the coach made a surprising choice by sending left-handed batter Axar Patel to bat at No. 5 instead of the more experienced KL Rahul. Fans on social media expressed their confusion, and former cricketer Dodda Ganesh criticized this strategy.

Ganesh took to X (formerly Twitter) to question this decision, saying, “Axar Patel at No. 5 again? I’m shocked. Why would you send a strong batter like KL Rahul to No. 6? If the team has a poor start, would you really feel comfortable sending Axar to bat on a tricky pitch? This experiment makes no sense!”

In the first match, Ganesh had also raised concerns about Rahul being moved down. He tweeted: “KL Rahul performs best at No. 5, yet the team keeps moving him down the batting order. It’s ridiculous. What’s the point of sending Axar to No. 5?”

Regarding their performances, Axar had a good run, scoring 52 runs in Nagpur and 41 not out in Cuttack, and also took a wicket in both games. Meanwhile, KL Rahul, batting at No. 6, only made 12 runs in total. Rahul has batted at this position just two other times in his career, scoring 54 runs overall at an average of 18.

India’s cricket captain, Rohit Sharma, thrilled fans at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack with an explosive innings of 119 runs against England on Sunday. He hit his 32nd One Day International (ODI) century in just 76 balls, helping India to successfully chase down the target. Rohit hammered 12 fours and 7 sixes during his knock.

After Rohit got out, Axar Patel came in to bat, and this sparked a conversation by cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar about new cricket rules. In March 2022, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) changed a rule allowing batters to cross when a ball is caught in the air. Now, if a batter gets out caught, only the new batter coming in will face the next delivery. Gavaskar questioned why this rule was changed and suggested that the MCC should include people with international playing experience, like former cricketers Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting, in their decision-making.

Gavaskar argued that for any cricket rule to change, there should be a good reason behind it. He pointed out that the MCC has made several changes over the last few years for valid reasons, such as banning saliva during the COVID-19 pandemic and clarifying the rules around “Mankading.” However, he questioned the need for changing the crossing rule, suggesting that it was an important part of the game’s excitement.