Suryakumar reshuffled the batting order to give the lower-order more game time, even pushing himself down to No. 11.
Pat Cummins on Saturday rated himself a "half chance" to play the day-night Test against England in Brisbane from December 4.
Little-known left-arm spinner Shivang Kumar delivered a career-best five-wicket haul as Madhya Pradesh registered a comfortable seven-wicket victory over star-studded Karnataka to book a place in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinals from Group A, in Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
Magical Paddikal overshadows maverick Kishan to hand Karnataka 5-wicket win over Jharkhand
Ignored by the national selectors for T20 set-up, Yashasvi Jaiswal sent another stern reminder to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee with a blistering 48-ball century as defending champions Mumbai crushed Haryana by four wickets in a high-scoring Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League B match, in Ambi, Pune, on Sunday.
Vijay Hazare: Pant's unbeaten half-ton in big Delhi win over Services; Axar hits century for Gujarat
Gautam Gambhir has made it clear that India's new T20 approach isn't just about fearless batting, it's about all-round aggression.
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.
Jitesh Sharma, who has emerged as India's preferred wicketkeeper-batter in T20 format with less than two months left for the World Cup, has played down his 'competition' with Sanju Samson in the squad, saying it only brings out his "A-game" to the fore, strengthening the side.
Senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made a grand comeback to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, smashing centuries on the opening day of the one-day tournament on Wednesday.
With no success beyond opening, where does India fit Samson in batting order?
The JioStar expert also analysed KKR's buys at the auction, saying that getting NZ all-rounder Rachin Ravindra at base price was smart and there is "serious batting power" in the squad.
Devdutt Padikkal slammed his second consecutive ton, while Karun Nair also scored a run-a-ball century to guide defending champions Karnataka to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Kerala.
At the Jaipuria Vidyalaya ground, Shardul won the toss and used the early morning nip to good effect to reduce Chattisgarh to 10 for 4 inside first five overs.
Travis Head smashed a blistering century at the top of the order to set up an eight-wicket win in the Ashes series opener in Perth.
'The runs from his bat at the top of the order will be crucial for India's success in this five-match series against South Africa.'
Padikkal's fourth VHT ton this season powers Karnataka to big win vs Tripura
'He (Pandya) can command a spot in the top five on his batting alone. He could also be one of the top three seamers in any team if he was just a bowler.'
'He is explosive, dangerous, and capable of shots like these. Where do you even bowl to him?'
Marnus Labuschagne said the time for such experiments was over.
Opener Herschelle Gibbs is expected to be moved down South Africa's batting order for the second Test against India.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni stunned many with his decision of sending Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of himself in the batting order but Chennai Super Kings skipper defended the tactics, saying players needed to be given more responsibility to convert them into match winners.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels Australia all-rounder Cameron Green will attract strong interest from teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings at Tuesday's Indian Premier League 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi.
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.
'We'll sit down and review -- see what went well, where we can improve, and how we can keep learning every day. There'll be a meeting for that. One game won't change our mindset.'
Out-of-form India vice-captain Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the last two T20I games against South Africa with a toe injury, sources close to the team told PTI.
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.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
'We could play a couple of all-rounders. Could play a spinner. Could play no spinner. We'll figure it out.'
Rishabh Pant's place in the playing eleven is far from guaranteed, while Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are locked in a tight contest for the additional all-rounder's slot as India confront several selection dilemmas ahead of the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi.
Hardik Pandya marked his return to the Indian team from a two-month injury layoff with a match-winning half-century.
Fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out of the rest of the Ashes series with a left side strain.
Shubman Gill has been guilty of taking too much load on himself since his T20 comeback and the Indian team wants him to bat as freely as he does in the IPL, said assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
With the T20 World Cup less than two months away, India would want their captain Suryakumar Yadav to rediscover his rhythm sooner rather than later.
Kaif also questioned Gill's tactical choices on debut, especially the call to leave out Kuldeep -- a bowler capable of turning games in Australia's own backyard.
Jansen has turned it around with bat, and now he''s a premium all-rounder: Jacques Kallis
Shai Hope's unbeaten hundred steered West Indies to 212/4 in a mammoth chase of 531 on day four of the opening Test against New Zealand.
'One who was aggressive in the Powerplay, and the other after the Powerplay when wickets were falling he turned into an adamant batter, who batted sensibly and was not ready to give away his wicket.'
The Ashes could be decided within days at an Adelaide Oval furnace where England's hopes of wresting back the urn will fire anew or flame out entirely against a strengthened Australia.
Dhruv Jurel continued his remarkable form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 with an unbeaten 160 for Uttar Pradesh against Baroda, a knock that sends a clear message to selectors ahead of India's New Zealand ODI series.
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