DTVHINDI(Exclusive) India is the best team in the world right now: Ian Bell
Ian Bell was seen playing for India Capitals in the third season of LLC. Ian Bell (Image Credit- Twitter X) Ian Bell, former middle order batsman of the England cricket team, was seen commanding the India Capitals in the ongoing third season of Legends League Cricket. However, his team had to be eliminated after losing against Toyam Hyderabad in the eliminator match. So, in a special interview with Crictracker on the sidelines of the six-team tournament, Ian Bell has talked about different and big issues of cricket. In this interview, he has described the Indian team as the best team in the world at present. Let us tell you that Bell has played 118 Tests, 161 ODIs and 8 T20 matches for England, during which the cricketer scored a total of 13331 runs. Here’s CricTracker’s exclusive interview with Ian Bell. Which Indian player would you like to play in your national team? Obviously Virat Kohli and I would have no objection to Bumrah in our bowling attack. If you could swap your cricket career with any player, who would it be and why? Would I swap? I don’t know if I would do it or not, but who would I admire? I have been watching players like Virat Kohli and players like Joe Root for a long time. His long game and long skills are commendable. I think you admire the way Virat handles the pressure of expectations and continues to perform well. Which legend would you like to select in your team in this league? MS Dhoni, just to play in his team. Obviously I played a lot of cricket against him. But it would be great to share the dressing room with him for just one game. According to you, what is the biggest rivalry in cricket? Growing up in England, the Ashes is something you grow up watching and wanting to play. But when you watch India vs Pakistan, it is an amazing rivalry and there have been some amazing matches. There are excellent cricketers on both sides. Do you think the India-Australia rivalry is now getting closer to the Ashes? For me, India is the best team in the world at the moment. Australia, India and England, both at home and abroad, are the three teams that are powerhouses in Test cricket. When the series is of two or three matches, you can avoid certain things. But if there is a five-Test series, the best team will win. I am really looking forward to watching the India vs Australia series, it is going to be interesting. India has everything to win.
(Exclusive) “It would be nice to share the dressing room with him…”, Ian Bell wants to see MS Dhoni in LLC
We will have to talk to the people (LLC administration) and see if we can include him (MS Dhoni) in the team – Ian Bell Ian Bell & MS Dhoni (Photo Source: Instagram/Getty Images) Former England legend Ian Bell was seen captaining India Capitals in Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024. India Capitals had made it to the playoffs with three wins and 8 points from 7 matches, but the team was eliminated from the tournament after losing the match by 7 wickets against TOYAM Hyderabad in the eliminator. Meanwhile, recently Ian Bell expressed his desire to see former Indian captain MS Dhoni in Legends League cricket. Bell says that it would be great to share the dressing room with Dhoni. We need to talk to (LLC administration) – Ian Bell During an exclusive chat with CricTracker, Ian Bell was asked which legend would he pick to play in the LLC? Responding to which he said, “Oh MS Dhoni, just to play in his team… obviously I have played a lot of cricket against him. He has a lot of presence, a calm nature. But sharing the dressing room for a match would be great… pretty cool. So, we have to talk to the people (LLC administration) and see if we can include him in the team.” The former English cricketer believes that Dhoni’s presence in the dressing room will help the players a lot. Talking further he said, “But just hearing their experiences and seeing their calmness under pressure would be amazing…” MS Dhoni will be retained as an uncapped player in IPL 2025 Questions are continuously being raised regarding the future of MS Dhoni in IPL 2025. Recently, Chennai Super Kings CEO Kashi Vishwanathan had given a big statement that the franchise would hardly use the uncapped player rule for Dhoni. Under the new retention policy of IPL 2025, CSK can retain Dhoni only as an uncapped player. Because he has not played any international match for the last five years. Dhoni last played for India in the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup. At the same time, he had announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020. Let us tell you that if CSK retains Dhoni as an uncapped player, then Thala will get Rs 4 crore instead of Rs 12 crore.
