Vice-captain Rishabh Pant said India's batters should have adapted to the challenge of playing on a tricky pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Leading international cricketers, including Laura Wolvaardt and India's World Cup hero Deepti Sharma, will go under the hammer at the Women's Premier League auction in Delhi on Thursday, with bidding wars also expected for homegrown Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani.
With the IPL auction days away, some young cricketers who may launch a bidding war among the franchises.
India and South Africa will lock horns in a two-match Test series from November 14, with Kolkata and Guwahati playing hosts.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that Indian Premier League (IPL) matches will not be shifted from Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Graeme Smith emphasised the importance of getting off to a strong start in the upcoming Test series against India
India's mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy retained his place among the world's top T20I bowlers, sitting just ahead of New Zealand's Jacob Duffy in the latest ICC Men's Rankings update.
Gautam Gambhir, India's head coach, may have expressed support for the Kolkata pitch, but it continues to draw criticism from all quarters.
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Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa, in Kolkata, on Friday.
Former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin defended under-fire India head coach Gautam Gambhir after the 0-2 home Test series loss to South Africa.
Former India batter Suresh Raina has backed under-fire national head coach Gautam Gambhir, saying the team's recent poor run in home Tests cannot be attributed to the support staff, as players must shoulder responsibility for the results.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul perished early as India fumbled in the chase of a mammoth 549-run target on Day 4 of the second Test.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim praised Jasprit Bumrah's performance in the first India vs South Africa Test at Eden Gardens, saying Bumrah focuses only on what he can control and remains effective regardless of pitch conditions.
Abhishek Sharma shone with both bat and ball as Punjab hammered Puducherry by 54 runs in a Group C encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy , in Hyderabad, on Thursday.
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The track is historically a high-scoring one and the outfield is quick. But on a red soil surface, the ball grips and can surprise the batters.
In keeping with workload management for frontline pacers, spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is also likely to be rested from the three-match ODI series, which carries little significance in the build-up to the T20 showpiece.
Recalling the special moment that broke the Internet, Rohit on Friday described it as a culmination of their emotions of 'doing everything together' for years.
The World Cup winners' medal is the latest addition to Verma's trophy cabinet, which also includes the 2023 Under-19 World Cup, the 2022 Asia Cup, the 2022 Asian Games gold medal and the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver.
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes said that Team India does not need to prepare turning wickets as they can bowl out their opponents with their pace line-up and having another spin-friendly wicket for the second Test against South Africa will be a "big test of their ability".
Calling it "the destruction of Test cricket", former India spinner Harbhajan Singh says under-prepared and excessively bowler-friendly surfaces like the one used at Eden Gardens, prevent the genuine development of players.
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'When you are playing on spin-friendly pitches, you need to prepare differently.'
Babar has become just the fifth player from Pakistan to get to the milestone, joining the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad in the list.
Team India skipper Shubman Gill is unlikely to feature in the second Test against South Africa, with Cricket Association of Bengal sources confirming that he is not travelling to Guwahati with the team on Wednesday.
India captain Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir along with Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel arrived in Kolkata late on Sunday ahead of the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
Domestic veterans Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar and Rinku Singh could keep the team management interested going forward in Test cricket.
Kuldeep Yadav compared the 22-yard strip at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati to a "road" due to the benign nature of the pitch.
'I want to be conventional and also blend with out-of-box thinking. Want to have nice balance...'
Spin great Anil Kumble believes India can fight their way back into the second Test in Guwahati with a strong showing with the bat on the third and fourth days.
'To see his preparation, the way he dominates the game.'
Saim Ayub scored 77 from 70 balls as Pakistan eased to a seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the third and final One-day International in Faisalabad on Saturday to clinch the series 2-1.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
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'Some players will feel comfortable with a former player. Some players will be comfortable with a coach that's never played the game before but he's got a lot of years of experience of coaching the game.'
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South Africa's experienced pacer Kagiso Rabada said their young team are ready for the challenge.
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