With a "no-vacancy" sign plastered on India's top order and his utility in the middle questioned by his own captain, Ajinkya Rahane suddenly finds his consistency with the bat means very little. The 27-year-old Mumbai batsman has forced his way into the final 15 for next month's World Twenty20 on home soil but is unlikely to play a major role in the hosts' bid for a second 20-over World title under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The left-right combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have locked up the opening slots, followed by batting mainstay Virat Kohli and limited-overs specialist Suresh Raina. An industrious accumulator in a lineup teeming with swashbuckling power-hitters, Rahane can only hope for a middle order slot but Dhoni, forthright as ever, has virtually dismissed the possibility. Dhoni insists Rahane, as evident from his consistent performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 competition, is at his best as an opener and lacks the muscle power to excel as a lower-order slogger.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and several Indian cricketers are expected to fly to Rajkot to attend the reception.
The tri-series in Australia, India's final ODI engagement before the World Cup, gets underway on January 16, says Chandresh Narayanan, casting a fascinating look at the survivors from earlier World Cups.
A net bowler with the Indian team right now, uncapped Karnataka all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham is still trying to get a grip on his emotions after fetching a mind-boggling Rs 9.25 crore deal with Chennai Super Kings which left his parents and wife overwhelmed by tears of joy.
The Indian selectors finally lost patience with the under-performing pace duo Ishant Sharma and R Vinay Kumar and ignored them for the upcoming three-match One Day International series against the West Indies.
Was any cricketer missing at the skipper's wedding reception in Mumbai?
Stung by the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the Indian Premier League, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's top officials are working out a contingency plan to ensure that the high-profile league remains an eight-team affair.
England batsman Sam Billings says working with Rahul Dravid during his six-week stint for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League last year helped him improve his footwork against spin bowling.
95 per cent of advertising inventory has been sold on television and 18 on-air sponsors have been signed up so far, the highest for any season.
Ricky Ponting was frank in his admission that the Michael Clarke-led Aussie outfit will be a force to reckon with on its home ground.
The sight of a West Indian batsman stealing a cheeky single is a rarity in international cricket but skipper Darren Sammy does not mind as long as the fours and the sixes keep flowing from their bats. The Caribbean side flexed their batting muscle to storm into the World Twenty20 final against England who they beat in a group stage match in Mumbai. Sammy is aware of the criticism of his team's poor strike rotation but believes the power-hitters can more than make up with big shots. "People say we don't rotate our strike well, we'll talk about that but first thing is you have to stop us from hitting boundaries that has been difficult for oppositions once we get in that swing," the ever-smiling all-rounder told reporters on Saturday. The semi-final against India illustrated Sammy's point.
Gujarat Lions defeated Rising Pune Supergiants by seven wickets to register their second win in the Indian Premier League.
Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad indicated that Wriddhiman Saha will regain his rightful place in the Indian Test for upcoming matches.
India's captain for the One-day series in Zimbabwe addressed the media prior to the team's departure. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a comprehensive statistical analysis of the two teams ahead of the T20I series this weekend.
Inclement weather poses a threat to the India-Australia T20 international in Rajkot on Thursday, with the Met department forecasting rainfall over the next 48 hours.
Cricket legend Kapil Dev is not losing sleep over the recent lean patch of Virat Kohli and is confident that the India captain will bounce back into form in the ICC Champions Trophy commencing on June 1.
'If I played that 5 balls in the end in the 20th over, we could've scored 20 runs more which would have been a tight game I guess'
The Gujarat Lions team members and supporting staff came wearing orange turbans to the reception.
The BCCI has set a salary cap of Rs 90 crore for 10 IPL franchises, including the two new entrants, for the next season and allowed a maximum of four retentions for the eight established teams.
The IPL, by giving a large pool of Indian talent the opportunity to compete with the best international players, has also come to be seen as the cauldron that spews out the most exciting talent for not only the shortest format but also the longest and the one in between, says Suveen Sinha.
Unlike in previous years when the under-19 players were in focus and even got lucrative offers, this time the franchises were rather subdued when it came to locking in the junior stars as evidently, it takes time for them to be mature enough for top-flight cricket.
Rohit Sharma believes that there is 'enough time' before the IPL starts and he would slowly build on his strength, stamina and skills during the next one month after the long lay-off.
'We won the last World Cup and the Champions Trophy on the all-round performance -- so the Jajedas, Binnys, Ashwins could play a role in India defending the title' 'Stuart Binny could come in very handy in those surfaces with the seam bowling, as a lower order batsman also or as a floater' 'Yuvraj must be motivated to try and make a comeback'
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Tuesday
With a powerful batting lineup, power-hitting all-rounders and bowlers capable of taking early wickets and strangling sides through the middle and at the end of an innings it would not surprise if India did clinch their third World Cup title.
Former batsman Yuvraj Singh claimed that India's cricketers feel compelled to play even when they are not in a condition to for the fear of losing their place.
After their below par showing in the World Cup, some senior Indian players are living on borrowed time.
Former captain Rahul Dravid on Thursday said India are one of the strong contenders for the 2015 World Cup to be played in Australia and New Zealand as the team has the "advantage of playing five bowlers" in a match.
It is said he worked towards losing weight in natural and safe ways.
Sachin Tendulkar said that he doesn't have his first car with him anymore and appealed to those who bought it to get in touch.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has warned that his team cannot lower their guard against the Indians despite captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni being rested for the first three ODIs.
From Captain Cool losing his, well, cool to Rabada's super over, and Malinga's unbelievable bowling for the cup, IPL 2019 was not short of magical moments. Here are a few.
The 10 teams in the league will be bidding heavily for the Indian players in a list of 590 cricketer
IPL Season 10 saw the likes of Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Rashid Khan grab the spotlight. Let us check out what they did.
The jury is still out on whether the Indian Super League (ISL) can wake the world's second most populous nation from its football slumber but the first week of the eight-team competition has at least made people sit up and take notice.
Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals confirmed that they are preparing a roster of net bowlers.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma struck scintillating half-centuries during a record 158-run partnership and powered India to a formidable 202 for three.
India will go for the kill against a determined England in the Garden City, setting the stage for a tantalising series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
'If we don't win the series, then there could be something radically wrong with the team.'
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