South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was overwhelmed to see his spinners rule the roost in the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens, signalling to him that the Rainbow Nation is no longer an exclusive "fast bowling country" and hoped that a lot more slow bowlers will emerge.
India have a mounting worry in the lack of runs so far from talismanic Smriti Mandhana, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the energetic Jemimah Rodrigues.
Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav are in contention for the ICC men's Player of the Month award for September, while Smriti Mandhana has been shortlisted for the women's award.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott will leave the position after next year's Twenty20 World Cup.
According to Dinesh Karthik, the Indian batting great is already plotting his path to the 2027 World Cup - training diligently during his recent break in London to stay ready for one final shot at glory.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charge-sheeted eight more individuals in connection with a 2020 transnational narco-terror network case involving the smuggling of drugs from Pakistan to Gujarat, with the aim of financing the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group.
The development comes as relations between the two countries showed marked improvement following the four-day military conflict between Pakistan and India in May.
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
'When you are playing on spin-friendly pitches, you need to prepare differently.'
Grind pays off for Ruturaj Gaikwad, now upto him and luck to prove his 50-over mettle.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side landed in the evening after completing their warm-up games in Bengaluru.
Mandhana completed 1000 runs on Sunday and is the youngest and fastest to the 5000 ODI runs, reaching it in 112 innings and 5,569 balls, surpassing Stafanie Taylor's 129 innings and Suzie Bates' 6,182 balls.
For greater good, Harmanpreet can make way for Smriti as captain: Shantha Rangaswamy
Australia's Test regulars will skip the three-match series against Pakistan in November as they prepare for the blockbuster clash against India.
Ganguly lauded Gill's leadership during India's tour of England, noting the challenge of captaining at a young age in such conditions
Smriti Mandhana achieved a career-best rating of 828 in the ICC Women's ODI Rankings for Batters.
Deepti jumps two places to 5th, Mandhana continues to hold top spot in ODI rankings
Harmanpreet was quick to highlight fielding as the area that India needs to address quickly before facing South Africa and Australia on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.
Now 29, Renshaw is hopeful of having another run in Test whites and believes being father to two young children has helped give him a sense of perspective.
With just days to go before the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 begins, the spotlight is not only on the players but also on the voice that will set the tone - Shreya Ghoshal's stirring anthem, Bring It Home.
The Indian women's cricket team will look to end a 47-year wait for its maiden ICC title when it takes the field at the ODI World Cup starting with a clash against Sri Lanka.
All-rounder Amanjot Kaur did handle pace duties with Gaud, but India missed another proper bowling option in their line-up, be it pacers Renuka Thakur and Arundhati Reddy or spinner Radha Yadav.
India bounced back from three successive defeats after starting the Women's World Cup as one of the favourites.
The full implications of the India's refusal to play Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan were laid bare on Sunday as Australia and South Africa waited to find out whether they will play their semi-finals in Lahore or Dubai this week.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will face South Africa on Thursday and the defending champions Australia on October 12 at the ACA-VDCA stadium in Visakhapatnam.
When there was constant criticism, Harman and Smriti kept the team together: Neetu David
The Indian team management has not asked for a rank turner for the opening Test of the two-match series against South Africa beginning at the Eden Gardens on Friday, Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly said on Monday.
India are clubbed alongside Pakistan in Pool B in Junior Men's Hockey World Cup to be held in Chennai and Madurai.
The outcome of the last group match between India and New Zealand on Sunday will determine if Australia or South Africa will face Rohit Sharma and Co in Dubai.
Skipper Shubman Gill acknowledged that the choice between a spinner and an extra seamer for the first Test against South Africa is nothing short of a "conflict".
'This is a new India, we won't tolerate it.'
Rain had the final word as the ICC Champions Trophy warm-up game between Australia and Pakistan was washed out after only 10.2 overs of play in Edgbaston on Monday.
Nepal turmoil: Kathmandu dropped as neutral venue for Blind T20 CWC for women
The PCB chief said India and ICC being the hosts of the tournament would decide on the neutral venue.
Rain forces abandonment of India's match against Bangladesh; Rawal injury scare for hosts
The legendary Ricky Ponting says the quality of players and recent history make India and Australia the favourites to figure in the summit clash of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
India will have a final opportunity to check their game in pressure situation when they face Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Sunday in what would be a dress rehearsal ahead of the marquee Women's World Cup semifinals against Australia next Wednesday.
Alex Carey reckons Australia might need to put at least 400 runs on the board if they bat first against South Africa
The Proteas arrive high on confidence, having fought out a hard-earned 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month under challenging conditions.
The 2026 T20 World Cup is likely to be played from February 7 to March 8 with matches spread across at least five venues in India and two in Sri Lanka.
