Sanju Samson continued his dream run in T20I cricket, smashing his second consecutive century in the first match of the series against South Africa at Kingsmead, in Durban on Friday night.
Shubman Gill was ruled out of the second Test against South Africa and the recently concluded three-match ODI series due to a neck injury.
The T20 WC champions will look to enter this phase with clarity of intent as they refine roles, streamline combinations and settle the XI that will carry the weight of expectations in front of home crowds.
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A video showing Gautam Gambhir and Hardik Pandya engaged in an animated chat after the defeat in the second T20I vs South Africa has gone viral.
The Indian leg-spinner, whose base price was Rs 2 crore, was sold to Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 7.4 crore at the Indian Premier League 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
'We have to show consistency and move forward with the current combination.'
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Sticking to the basics and drawing from a larger talent pool, fighting for limited spots in the team has led to South Africa's resurgence across formats in the past couple years, according to pacer Anrich Nortje.
"Jaiswal, Dube and even Rahane will not be a part of the Mumbai squad for at least first two matches as the selection panel is going ahead with a young squad," Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil had earlier told PTI.
Even as the focus remains on the T20 World Cup which is less than a month away, Kohli and Rohit will hog the limelight in the three ODIs over the next seven days.
Ishan Kishan's return to the Indian T20 setup is a story of timing, perseverance and a domestic season that selectors simply could not overlook.
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'I'm feeling strong. I am feeling fit, and I am feeling ready to go,'
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New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell on Tuesday said it would be "silly to underestimate" Indian batting superstars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and backed the stalwarts to play next year's ODI World Cup.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins' chances of playing at next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka are "quite grey at the moment" as he battles a back stress issue that has affected his participation in the ongoing Ashes series against England.
Sanju Samson's T20I future took another hit on Tuesday as India benched him yet again, favouring the finishing skills of Jitesh Sharma in a team that now appears fully committed to its Shubman Gill-led blueprint.
New Zealand are not dwelling on the T20 World Cup, which is still a month away, and are instead focused on the immediate challenge of facing the Indian bowlers in the upcoming white-ball series, batter Daryl Mitchell said on Wednesday.
Tilak Varma says out-of-form India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav 'needs just one innings' to rediscover the mojo with which he once dominated bowlers like a marauder.
So far in the T20I series, Bumrah has taken three wickets in three matches at an average of 26.33, with best figures of 2/26 and an economy rate of 6.58.
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'Hearts are broken for sure. You've got to feel bad for Shubman Gill.'
Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Mukund, who represented India in seven Tests from 2011-17, said: "I think Shubman has it in him to become an all-format captain, but I do not think India should have an all-format captain anymore."
Hardik Pandya is only the fourth Indian to complete a century of sixes in T20 Internationals.
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Gill, who donned the opener's role during India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup trophy, mustered up 127 runs in seven appearances.
Amid India's recent struggles in Test cricket, former England spinner Monty Panesar has raised doubts over Shubman Gill's leadership, describing him as a 'complacent cricketer' and insisting that the burden of all-format captaincy is currently beyond him.
India host Sri Lanka for a five-match T20I series from December 21 to 30, with Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram set to stage the action.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta feels that India's T20I vice-captain Shubham Gill, who is currently struggling to get going in the shortest format, has to play a similar role what Virat Kohli did for so long by consistently holding on to one end.
Eden Gardens will host the first game of the five match T20I series between India and England on Wednesday.
Arshdeep Singh starred as India ended their wait for a major ICC trophy win with victory in the T20 World Cup last year.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged 14 years and 272 days, shattered former South African cricketer AB de Villiers' record for the fastest 150 in men's List A cricket.
The national selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar, in all likelihood, will select identical squads for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and the marquee ICC T20 World Cup, a BCCI source said on Friday.
In a must-win situation to keep the five-match series alive, England would be hoping to put a much improved performance with the bat.
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A well-settled India are trying out a few new things in the ongoing five-match T20I series against visiting Sri Lanka keeping in mind next year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup in the UK, said head coach Amol Muzumdar on Thursday.
India spinner Varun Chakravarthy says his T20 World Cup preparation is centred around backing his lengths, maintaining confidence and constantly challenging himself mentally even in matches that appear straightforward.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has dropped the ultimate cricket compliment, comparing 14-year-old Bihar batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
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