Tilak Varma stole the show with a spectacular maiden century as India clinched a narrow 11-run win over South Africa in a high-scoring third T20 International.
The future of some senior India players will be decided after the tour of Australia as the BCCI evaluates the shocking 0-3 drubbing against New Zealand at home while rolling out a structured phaseout policy before the start of the next WTC cycle.
'Sundar is the front-runner behind Ashwin right now. He's done well in whatever limited opportunities he's got and I feel he will get his due first before going to anybody else.'
At the start of the auction on Sunday, Punjab Kings had the highest funds at Rs 110.5 crore, which decreased to Rs 10.9 crore before Day 2 on Monday.
The big-hitting Suryakumar Yadav is the highest placed Indian at second spot, while young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal occupies the sixth position in the ICC T20I batting rankings issued on Wednesday.
Navjot Singh Sidhu believes Yashasvi Jaiswal, a left-handed batsman, would have been an ideal opening partner for Rohit Sharma
Rajat Patidar and Axar Patel struck half-centuries in a match dominated by the bowlers.
'I hadn't really planned to get a wicket on the first ball. My mindset was to put the ball in the right areas. Obviously, when you play knockouts, you want to start and finish well with the first and last ball.'
Siraj's economical spell of 1-13 in just three overs wasn't his only contribution. His fielding brilliance led to a crucial dismissal in the 16th over, putting Ireland under pressure.
Washington Sundar said that he "needs to give his 100 percent" to stake claim for the spin all-rounder's slot in India's T20 side.
Wellalage was the star of the show with a five-wicket haul inflicting a dent that the Indian team could never recover from.
The mega auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season is expected to be held in Riyadh at the end of this month, according to sources.
Axar Patel completes 200 T20 wickets, joins Ravindra Jadeja in elite company
The sight of a pitch with a fair smattering of grass and premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah putting in hard yards at nets might be the early signs of India sticking to the three pacers theory for the first Test against New Zealand
'I feel Kuldeep Yadav is your automatic choice. But it seems like you are doing an injustice if you leave Axar out.'
Could the Chennai Test against Bangladesh this week be Ravichandran Ashwin's last Test in front of his home fans?
'When I was injured, I had a conversation with myself that when I am back, I should be looking better, moving better and thinking better. Something that keeps me awake at night is that I should not be in the same place.'
'You should have the ability to strike the ball. You don't have to have time for technique in T20 cricket. But your basics should be there and he's always had that.'
Despite scoring just single digits in his first three matches of the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli remains a key player for India, according to batting coach Vikram Rathour.
India's young batter Yashaswi Jaiswal was placed sixth with 714 points.
'Every team is looking to play either a pure batter or a pure bowler as the Impact Player, and the all-rounders are not being used.'
The BCCI's retention and auction rules ensure that franchises will have to make careful decisions to balance retaining star power with building depth across their squads.
India's chase got off to a rocky start with captain Rohit Sharma being bowled out by Fazalhaq Farooqi (1-28) for a golden duck. But the 22-year-old Jaiswal built a 57-run partnership with Virat Kohli (29) that put India in the driving seat.
Pace sensation Mayank Yadav is expected to unleash his raw speed while the absence of India's T20 regulars will provide another opportunity to the fringe players in the three-match series against Bangladesh, beginning in Gwalior Sunday.
Avishka Fernando scored a superb 96 and Dunith Wellalage took five wickets as Sri Lanka thumped India by 110 runs in Colombo.
India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was ruled out of the upcoming Duleep Trophy because of illness.
Suryakumar Yadav will miss the first round match after suffering a a sprain to his right thumb.
Chahal asked Axar about being promoted to number four in the batting order to which the bowling all-rounder said that things were made easy as Pant was joking around and having fun between the deliveries.
India's newly-forged coach-captain combination of Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav will look to make instant impact against a Sri Lankan team in disarray.
Heinrich Klaasen is the most expensive retained player in IPL history.
Axar Patel out of Asia Cup final due to hamstring injury, likely to miss Australia series, doubtful starter for World Cup too
Shreyas Iyer, who led KKR to the IPL 2024 title, could be headed for the players' auction after failing to make a breakthrough in negotiations, while K L Rahul is also unlikely to be retained by LSG.
The national selectors want all the players to be available for the Duleep Trophy ahead of the two Test series against Bangladesh next month.
Mike Atherton feels India's spinners will win it for them
Kapil said about Gambhir, "Good luck to him. All the best..."
New Zealand great Stephen Fleming feels Kuldeep Yadav can provide that 'extra bit of wicket-taking flair' in the Super 8 stage.
'Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward.'
India will look for the right balance as they aim for a series-levelling victory against a spunky New Zealand in the must-win second Test.
For the team management, it is a choice between a younger man's (Sarfaraz) flamboyance and fearlessness versus a seasoned campaigner who has been a Test captain and is part of the national set-up for a decade now.
Australia opener Travis head on Wednesday toppled India's Suryakumar Yadav as the number one batter in the latest ICC T20 rankings.
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