India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has dropped one place to third spot in the ICC men's T20 bowling rankings, while Hardik Pandya continues to top the all-rounders' chart issued on Wednesday.
'I have been speaking to him on the phone. So he is very much in the line.'
Last year's runner-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) suffered a heartbreaking exit from the IPL 2025 play-off race after rain washed out their must-win game against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Hyderabad on Monday.
The Capitals sit pretty at the top with 10 points from six games, while the Titans trail close behind with eight from as many outings.
A full-strength Punjab Kings will fancy their chances of securing their first top-two finish in 11 years, when they face Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Rahul, who had joined Delhi Capitals' training camp just a day before the high-stakes clash, was unavailable for the match as he was on paternity leave.
India captain Rohit Sharma had previously acknowledged Axar's recent fatherhood as a reason for his unavailability for the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
India began their Champions Trophy campaign with a six-wicket victory against Bangladesh after opener Shubman Gill anchored their nervy chase with a classy hundred.
Though Delhi Capitals ended up on the losing side in their IPL encounter against Gujarat Titans, Axar Patel played an entertaining cameo for the hosts.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy final played between India and New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.
India's Asian Games cricket team captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who played the first two ODIs, has been released from the squad and will link up with the Hangzhou-bound outfit. Also released is pacer Mukesh Kumar, who came in as cover for Bumrah.
K L Rahul stroked a fluent half-century as a dominant Delhi Capitals outclassed Chennai Super Kings by 25 runs.
Axar Patel claimed 2/23 and 2/16 in India's identical six-wicket wins over Afghanistan in the first two T20Is.
IMAGES from the IPL match between Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad on Saturday
KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Harshit Rana Face Rohit Sharma's Wrath
'Just backed my execution, running with a clear plan. Sometimes it comes off, a bit of luck goes a long way.'
Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant believes his bowlers could have done the basics better at the back end as the target of 210 was defendable.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2025 after Game 55.
There are some speculations over some rejigging in the A+ category following the retirement of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja from T20 Internationals.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals in Hyderabad, on Monday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji check out who could be the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2025 before the final.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for their first Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh on Thursday?
Goenka approached Rahul after the match to congratulate, only to receive what looked like a cold, disinterested handshake. No words, no eye contact. Just quiet closure and a telling payback.
The spotlight was firmly on the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai as captains from all ten IPL franchises gathered for the official pre-season meet ahead of IPL 2025 on Thursday.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy Group A match played between India and Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai on Thursday.
Despite enduring severe cramps that had him hopping in pain and necessitated physio attention, Gill played a key role in anchoring India's chase on a tricky, two-paced surface at Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2025 after Game 68.
Suryakumar Yadav's doughty 73 not out proved to be the difference as Mumbai Indians sealed the fourth and final play-off berth with a 59-run trouncing of Delhi Capitals.
Raina also laid emphasis on how Kuldeep Yadav could be a lynchpin in India's success.
Rohit cited India's last Group A match against New Zealand here on Sunday to emphasize his point.
K L Rahul's impeccable 93 not out off 53 deliveries propelled Delhi Capitals to an emphatic six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru, on Thursday, April 10 2025.
'You are creating insecurity, which, at some stage, will come back and hurt you.'
Although India are playing a strong brand of 50-overs' cricket of late, they have some selection riddles to solve before they face Bangladesh in their opening match of the Champions Trophy.
Glimpses from Day 2 of the second Test between India and Australia at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi, February 18, 2023.
DC will start their campaign with an away game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 before returning to their home base to play defending champions Gujarat Titans on April 4.
India announced their final squad for the ICC Men's ODI World Cup with the injured Axar Patel dropped from the final squad and Ravichandran Ashwin making his way into the 15-member team.
After a stellar performance in domestic cricket, premier batter Karun Nair is confident of reclaiming his India cap.
The reaction probably stemmed out of RCB not signing him at the mega auction despite the batter showing interest in rejoining the franchise.
Here's a closer look at the standout performances of the DC vs SRH match.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy justified his selection with a five-wicket haul and bowled India to a 44-run victory against New Zealand.
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