Crediting Gambhir for Kanpur Test win is foot-licking of highest quality: Gavaskar
New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has asserted that the credit for India's recent Test victory against Bangladesh in Kanpur should be attributed to captain Rohit Sharma, rather than newly appointed coach Gautam Gambhir. Gavaskar remarked that under Sharma's leadership, the Indian team has adopted an aggressive style of cricket, suggesting the term "Gohit" to describe this bold approach.
In a column for Sportstar, Gavaskar expressed his disappointment about Gambhir receiving recognition for the team’s strategic changes in the Kanpur Test, calling it “foot-licking of the highest order.”
"While the England batting approach changed completely under the new regime of Ben Stokes and McCullum, we have seen over the last couple of years that Rohit has been batting like this and encouraging his team to do so as well. Gambhir has only been coaching for a couple of months, so attributing this approach to him is foot-licking of the highest quality. Gambhir himself hardly ever batted in this fashion like McCullum used to do. If any credit is due, it is solely to Rohit and nobody else," Gavaskar wrote.
Additionally, the 75-year-old also praised the refreshing nature of the Indian team's approach, crediting the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the introduction of the World Test Championship. He suggested that without the incentive of points on offer, the team may have not have batted in the same manner. “The much-maligned ICC deserves every bit of applause for changing the perception towards every Test match by creating the World Test Championship," he mentioned.
He further expressed admiration for Rohit’s fearless strategy during the match, proposing that the term "Gohit" should replace traditional descriptors to better capture this innovative style. He wrote: “Instead of using the words this-ball or that-ball, I would suggest using the skipper’s first name, Rohit, and term it the “Gohit” approach. Hopefully, brainier people will come up with a trendier name for this rather than the lazy option of calling it after “Bazball.”
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
