Out-of-favour India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been handed a golden opportunity to get back into the reckoning after being named captain of Rest of India for the Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka, in Bangalore, from February 9 to 13. Also included in the Rest of India team is Gautam Gambhir, who is also keen to make a comeback to the Indian team. However, his Delhi team mate Virender Sehwag failed to make the cut after a poor run in the Ranji Trophy.
Manoj Tiwary, one of India's 30 probables for the 2015 World Cup, had a close shave after being hit by a rising delivery from Abhimanyu Mithun on the final day of his team's Ranji Trophy cricket match against Karnataka at the Eden Gardens.
Delhi team will be bolstered by the presence of India internationals Ishant Sharma and veteran Gautam Gambhir against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy match starting Thursday at Eden Gardens. Ishant was ruled out of New Zealand Test series due to chikungunya and Gambhir was busy on national duty. "Ishant and Gambhir will be playing in this match," chief coach KP Bhaskar told PTI on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar will replace suspended Hardik Pandya for India's ongoing ODI series in Australia, while rookie Punjab opener Shubman Gill will be joining the national team during the limited over series in New Zealand.
The BCCI senior selection committee on Saturday announced the India A squad for the five one-dayers against the Lions.
Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is recuperating well from his shoulder injury, which has kept him out of action from Punjab's last two Ranji Trophy encounters, and is expected to return to competitive cricket in another 10 days time.
Former India pacer Irfan Pathan on Sunday said he never lost his swing, contrary to the general perception at that time, and added blaming then coach Greg Chappell for his downfall was a cover-up. Pathan, 35, announced his retirement on Saturday, saying "most players start their India career at 27-28 but I ended up playing my last game at that stage".
Krunal Pandya continued his fantastic form guiding Baroda to an easy seven wicket victory against Karnataka.
Indian cricket has celebrated the emergence of a potent fast bowling unit but it is high time that the establishment focuses on producing quality Test spinners, especially off-break bowlers, stated former players. Ravichandran Ashwin (365 wickets in 71 Tests) has been an impact bowler in home conditions but the current team management hasn't exactly put complete faith in Tamil Nadu tweaker's abilities in overseas conditions.
Former stumper Syed Kirmani was bestowed with the prestigious Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cricket, while Test captain Virat Kohli bagged the Polly Umrigar Trophy for Cricketer of the Year in the BCCI awards night in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Jharkhand claimed the pole position in group B with an emphatic innings and 93 run win over eastern neighbours Odisha in a final group B league encounter of the Ranji Trophy on Saturday.
Sheldon Jackson's 83 and contributions from Shitanshu Kotak and Arpit Vasavada helped Saurashtra make 272 for five on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match against Karnataka.
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh shared a point each after their Group B Ranji Trophy match ended in a dull draw that saw 1433 runs being scored over four days on a dead track at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, in Pune, on Monday.
A resurgent Delhi Daredevils will look to build a winning momentum.
Chasing a victory target of 237, Baroda folded up for 173 runs on the third day of the five-day Ranji Trophy semi-final to hand Mumbai a 63-run victory.
The India discard hit an unbeaten 82 as Baroda beat UP by five wickets and entered the Ranji Trophy semi-finals.
The ICL said both joined the rebel league a week ago and signed the contracts.
KL Rahul will encounter in his road to redemption as he gears up to play for India A in the first unofficial Test.
Saurashtra entered the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy by virtue of the first innings lead over Karnataka in the quarter-final match which ended in a draw in Rajkot on Thursday.
Hyderabad were poised to earn three points on the basis of taking the crucial first-innings lead in their Group A Ranji Trophy match against Railways in Hyderabad on Monday.
Manprit Juneja cracked a patient 79 as Gujarat scored 232 in their second innings against Punjab on the penultimate day of the Group A Ranji Trophy match at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Valsad on Monday.
Mumbai amassed 606 runs for five wickets and then reduced host Saurashtra to 47 for two on the second day of four-day Ranji Trophy Group A match at SCA stadium Khandheri in Rajkot on Sunday.
Bengal opener Arindam Das scored a fighting 73 to give his team a slender one-run first innings lead against Hyderabad but the visiting team batsmen showed a lot of gumption to take an overall lead of 171 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.
Karnataka coach Vijay Bharadwaj says the former India captain's Dravid's ouster from the ODI team is unfair, considering that a few seniors too had gone through a similar phase but were not dropped.
Karnataka debutant Hosagivappa Sharath claimed five wickets, including that of Suresh Raina, before Mohammad Kaif bailed Uttar Pradesh out of trouble with an unbeaten century.
Minnows Odisha hit back in the final session to pick three Delhi wickets, after the home team bowlers dismissed them for a paltry 143, in the second round Ranji Trophy encounter at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi on Friday. Having gained the upper hand, Delhi's top-order, however, couldn't perform as per expectations and they were reduced 62 for 3 in 31 overs when stumps were drawn.
Half centuries by Rohan Gavaskar and Arindam Das enabled Bengal scored 208 for 3 on the opening day against Karnataka.
An aggressive and impactful innings is what Mayank Agarwal's coach Irfan Sait is expecting from his ward
Bhuvneshwar Kumar looks set for a long injury lay-off after it emerged that the pacer had been carrying sportsman's hernia all along which the doctors failed to notice, according to media reports. He is now scheduled to undergo surgery for sports hernia -- which he has been carrying for over a period of three months -- after which he will have to undergo a two-month recovery period.
Opening batsman Prithvi Shaw, who had suffered a left ankle injury while attempting a catch in the practice game against Cricket Australia XI has been ruled out of the ongoing four-Test series against Australia.
It was this day, March 6, in 1971 that Sunil Manohar Gavaskar made his debut in Test cricket.
Skipper Amit Mishra struck an unbeaten 86 and added 125 runs for the unbeaten seventh wicket stand with Jayant Yadav as Haryana ended the first day's play of the Ranji Trophy Group B league encounter against Karnataka at 293 for seven.
Despite the need for an outright win, Mumbai settled for a draw in their Group A match against Saurashtra when they restricted the hosts to 300 and then decided to bat again instead of imposing follow-on, in Rajkot on Tuesday.
Rajasthan made a promising start by scoring 266 for four against Karnataka on the opening day of the Elite Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match in Mysore on Saturday.
Delhi looked on course for an outright victory after pacer Parvinder Awana's four-wicket burst forced Tamil Nadu to enforce follow-on in their Group B Ranji Trophy match in New Delhi on Monday.
Young pacer Siddarth Kaul took four wickets as Punjab reduced Saurashtra to 212 for seven in their second innings to reach a commanding position in their Ranji Trophy Group A match, in Mohali, on Sunday.
Saurabh Wakaskar hit an unbeaten century as Baroda inched closer to Haryana's first innings total of 295 on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Rohtak on Sunday.
A little over half-an-hour of play was possible on the first day of the Elite Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Odisha batsmen defended doggedly to delay an inevitable defeat as Delhi bowlers struggled on a dead Feroz Shah Kotla wicket on the penultimate day of the second round Ranji Trophy.
Irfan Pathan and Aditya Waghmode hit contrasting centuries as Baroda piled up an impressive 308 for 4 against Karnataka on Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy Group B match at Moti Bagh stadium, in Vadodara, on Friday.
