They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh finds it a bit unfortunate that the future of legends like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is being decided by "people who have not achieved much" but he nonetheless expects the duo to carry on till the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Now in 16 ODIs against South Africa, the spinner has taken 36 wickets at an average of 17.58, with a strike rate of 21.3 and an economy rate of 4.95.
Tilak Varma enjoys the longer formats and has been seeking inputs from Virat Kohli on fitness and running between the wickets as he looks to make the most of the opportunities coming his way.
Temba Bavuma, who led South Africa to their maiden ICC World Test Championship title and a historic 2-0 series sweep in India, also made the cut, while four Australian players were included.
Batting maestro Virat Kohli on Tuesday posted a heartfelt note to pay tributes to former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara, who announced retirement from international cricket the other day.
Virat and Rohit have made oppositions look silly, fun to see them in dressing room: KL Rahul
Rishabh Pant's wicket was more than just another dismissal on the scorecard -- it was the moment Delhi's chase began to collapse
Rohit Sharma poised to become 4th Indian batter to score 20,000 international runs
India have been served well by Shreyas Iyer in ODIs at No. 4 but with the Mumbai batter unavailable due to injury, the team management entrusted Gaikwad with the job to build the innings and he did it with aplomb, hitting his maiden century in the second ODI against South Africa on Wednesday.
The Indian men ruled white-ball cricket, while South Africa ended decades of hurt by winning the World Test Championship at Lord's. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted their maiden IPL title, though the celebrations were dimmed by a deadly stampede. Above all, it was India's women who won a billion hearts by finally adding an ICC World Cup trophy to the cabinet.
'Special mention to Siraj, who will put everything on the line for the team. Extremely happy for him.'
'If they had continued playing Test cricket and quit ODIs, then staying in the groove would have been a lot easier.'
Speaking on Taruwar Kohli's YouTube channel, Vijay praised Dhoni's power-hitting, mental strength and unmatched impact on the game.
Rohit Sharma is 41 short of 20,000 international runs, will be fourth Indian to reach milestone
'We will need to review the scheduling of matches between 15 December to 15 January in north India.'
The tryst with instant fame began on June 28 when Manish, son of farmer Gajendra Bisi, purchased a new Jio SIM from a mobile shop in Deobhog, around 8 kilometres from his village.
'Kohli and Rohit do not fit in our plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup.'
Lots to look forward to in Indian sports as packed 2026 calender awaits
Former coach Ravi Shastri praised Virat Kohli's tenure as India's captain, stating that he did he a 'magnificent job' both as a skipper and a batter.
Hardik Pandya is only the fourth Indian to complete a century of sixes in T20 Internationals.
With India set to name their T20 World Cup 2026 squad on Saturday in Mumbai, the spotlight has firmly shifted to Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav, whose recent struggles have turned the selection meeting into a high-stakes call.
'He is explosive, dangerous, and capable of shots like these. Where do you even bowl to him?'
The BCCI never believes in taking decisions in haste and would always gauge the public perceptions before taking a call, which is sensitive in nature considering the massive fan following of the two greats.
Indian pacer Ishant Sharma recalled scoring his maiden Test half-century against the West Indies back in 2019 at Kingston, Jamaica, and how he faced some teasing from his skipper and childhood friend Virat Kohli, who jokingly asked him to just "play the ball".
'A majority of filmmakers cannot truly understand the city because they don't live here,' says Anusha Rizvi, Director, The Great Shamsuddin Family.
India's aggressive batting approach, which has brought a lot of success, is credit to former captain Rohit Sharma and ex-head coach Rahul Dravid, according to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ajay Gupta, co-owner of Goa's 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, was questioned in Delhi regarding the fire that killed 25 people. He claimed to be 'only a partner' and was located at a hospital before being detained.
Virat Kohli has spoken for the first time since his emotional decision to retire from Test cricket.
As Virat Kohli turned 37 on November 5, 2025, Yuvraj Singh led the flood of birthday wishes pouring in from across the cricketing world.
Writer and director Anusha Rizvi returns to cinema after 15 years with warmth, wit and many a laughs.
Interpol has issued a Blue Notice against the owners of a Goa nightclub who fled after a fire claimed 25 lives. Police are investigating violations and illegalities related to the nightclub's operation.
'As a nation, we create beautiful content and a high volume of it (films) but we are limited by the number of theatres and screen density.' 'You now have a living-room large screen available to showcase that.'
India cricketers, along with coach Gautam Gambhir, visited Shri Jagannath Temple in Odisha's Puri on Tuesday to seek blessings ahead of the first T2OI of the five-match series against South Africa, set to be played on the same day at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium.
India have been fined 10 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur.
India skipper KL Rahul said his side needed to be sharper in key moments but felt the toss played a decisive role in the home team's four-wicket loss to South Africa in the second ODI, in Raipur, on Tuesday.
Ambati Rayudu picked Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's best ever captain ahead of the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Kapil Dev.
India's bowling drew sharp criticism, particularly Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. Krishna leaked runs and failed to maintain pressure, prompting Rohit Sharma to intervene during the 37th over.
Whether in cricket or business, Kohli continues to play the long game.
Ravichandran Ashwin paid a heartwarming tribute to batter Cheteshwar Pujara following his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket, calling his batting a "symphony".
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