India endured arguably their worst day on the field on Day 3 of the Manchester Test as Joe Root's record-breaking 150 put the hosts in complete command.
Spin great Harbhajan Singh said the selectors were right in appointing Shubman Gill as India's ODI captain last year, stating that the youngster is ready for "big challenges".
Jasprit Bumrah had made himself available for three of the five Tests in England and the Indian team management felt it was right to honour the star pacer's call considering his workload, said assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
Shubman Gill enjoyed a phenomenal run with the bat in England, piling up 754 runs at an average of 75.40 with four centuries.
The indefatigable duo of Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj is expected to be the big talking point on Saturday when the selectors pick a 15-member Indian ODI squad for a three-match series against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara.
From Jasprit Bumrah's much-anticipated return to the all-rounder conundrum, the playing XI could very well hold the key to seizing control of this historic series.
Images from the fifth T20 International between India and South Africa, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
"He is going to be our strike bowler": Sachin Tendulkar on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Leeds Test against England
IMAGES from Day 2 of the third Test match between England and India at Lord's, London, on Friday.
India beat South Africa by seven wickets on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the T20 series after their bowlers skittled the tourists for 117, with Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh's performance setting up the platform for a dominant win for the hosts in Dharamsala.
Images from Day 1 of the second Test between India and South Africa, in Guwahati, on Saturday.
With Bumrah leading the charge, India prised out five wickets in the second session to snuff out South Africa's hopes of reaching the 200 mark.
India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant are expected to play in the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford starting from July 23.
Shubman Gill is set to make a comeback during the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting in Cuttack, on December 9.
'They can't afford to go 2-0 down so you want your best bowler.'
Across the first Test at Leeds, which India lost by five wickets, the visitors were relying heavily on Bumrah for wickets and cutting the flow of runs.
Amid speculations surrounding his participation in the second Test against England in Birmingham, India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah returned to the nets on Saturday and rolled his arms for about 30 minutes.
When players select themselves, the selectors' job becomes delightfully simple. But did the Indian selectors have that luxury while picking the T20 World Cup squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup? asks K R Nayar.
As Shubman Gill steps into the high-pressure role of India's Test captain, his leadership will be tested early-both tactically and strategically.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
India Test skipper and T20 vice-captain Shubman Gill reached the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) for fitness assessment ahead of travelling to Dubai for the upcoming Asia Cup.
If series is on the line and Bumrah is fit, he has to play: Ian Bell
Indian cricketers, including Test skipper Shubman Gill and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, have cleared the pre-season fitness test which was conducted at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Sunday.
India great Virat Kohli continued his push to regain his place as the best ODI batter while moving up to the second spot in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday.
The Indian selectors will be announcing the team for the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps, starting January 11 in Vadodara and there have been speculations about whether Pant can hold on to his place in the squad.
India's Bumrah produced a devastating spell in the morning, dismissing Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Chris Woakes before Archer struck with his third delivery to remove Yashasvi Jaiswal in his first test for four years.
Monty Panesar claimed India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be a big threat for England's batters.
Bumrah's lethality lies in the moments - in the cold stares, the silences, the small tells that say everything.
In vintage Bumrah fashion, the damage was quiet but clinical and unmistakably game-changing.
'Myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time.'
India all-rounder Axar Patel was on Monday ruled out of the remaining two T20 Internationals against South Africa due to illness with the BCCI's selection committee naming Shahbaz Ahmed as his replacement.
Dinesh Karthik didn't hold back in his admiration, calling Bumrah 'as valuable as the Kohinoor diamond' and underlining his dominance across all formats.
At this moment, the Indian think tank is doing a tough balancing act of building the team around a new set of players without completely cutting ties with the old guard.
In all likelihood, Jasprit Bumrah could be given a break for the second Test to be played at Edgbaston from July 2 and return for the third Test, to be held at Lord's from July 10-14.
HarHardik Pandya added another milestone to his T20I career on Sunday, becoming one of the rare all-rounders in world cricket to combine power-hitting with a century of wickets in the shortest format.
Jasprit Bumrah is likely to play the first, second and fourth Tests.
'I think it have seen the side-ons (bowlers) but he delivers the ball from about a foot or even a bit more closer to the batsman than the average bowler so the ball feels quicker even than the pace he is actually bowling at.'
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
Will Jasprit Bumrah be ready to play the second Test at Edgbaston? That is the biggest question confronting the Indian team management as the visitors look to draw parity against England after losing the series opener from a commanding position at Leeds.
Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the uncapped Anshul Kamboj belongs to the rare breed of fast bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Jasprit Bumrah.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances