Little-known ambidextrous Bengal spinner Kaushik Maity seamlessly doubled up for both roles during the optional practice session.
Rishabh Pant's return to competitive cricket after a three-month injury-enforced hiatus will be the primary focal point of India A's four-day match against South Africa A.
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
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.
Team India skipper Shubman Gill is unlikely to feature in the second Test against South Africa, with Cricket Association of Bengal sources confirming that he is not travelling to Guwahati with the team on Wednesday.
Rishabh Pant's 'chaotic' leadership style and batting might be the wildcard India need to level the Test series against South Africa, former cricketer Jonty Rhodes said on Friday.
The last time two specialist keepers played together in a Test was in 1986, when Kiran More and Chandrakant Pandit featured in the same XI, with Pandit playing as a batter.
Asked about it at a media interaction in Dubai, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar clarified: 'He is injured.'
Rishabh Pant was ruled out for nearly three months after he fractured his foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
Devdutt Padikkal sets sights on Test opportunity with upcoming red-ball series
Bihar's teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged just 14, blasted an 84-ball 190 to become the youngest List-A centurion ever. His captain Sakibul Gani, then upstaged him with a 40-ball 128 not out -- the fastest List-A century by an Indian.
Narayan Jagadeesan blended caution with aggression in right proportions during his undefeated knock of 148 as South Zone were comfortably placed at 297 for three against North Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI-CEG ground in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
Saurashtra registered their narrowest T20 victory in terms of runs, edging Karnataka by one run in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 Elite Group D match.
Karnataka on Tuesday named internationals K L Rahul, Prasidh Krishna, and Karun Nair in the probables list for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season.
Saurashtra will be bolstered by the presence of India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja against a strong Madhya Pradesh i the second round of Ranji Trophy.
K L Rahul made a solid 74 before retiring hurt as India remained on course to chase a formidable 412-run target set by Australia A on day three of the second unofficial Test in Lucknow on Thursday.
'Sometimes it might look wrong in the fans' eyes, but please don't twist things or create narratives that aren't even close to the truth.'
After the proceedings began with light warm-up and catching, the action shifted to the nets where all batters had long stints in the nets while the other pace bowlers too put in the hard yards.
Abhimanyu Easwaran made the future path all the more tough with his second duck of the match, while Sai Sudharsan concluded his lukewarm preparation for the South Africa Test series with an underwhelming 23 off 38 balls.
'He has the mental strength and skill to play anybody and any attack.' 'He is a fearless cricketer.'
It was also his third hundred in the last seven innings after going past three digits against Australia A at Lucknow and the West Indies at Ahmedabad.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage matches.
There is a school of thought that having done the hard yards in the England series, Karun Nair deserves an opportunity against a weaker opposition where a century could boost his career.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who played in the fifth and final Test at The Oval against England in their last assignment, has been named Iyer's deputy.
Pant's gritty fifty keeps India A together in chase of 275
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
'So make sure first you pick the right characters and then if you see that, try and give them a longer run so that they themselves should be content and happy that they've got a longer run rather than just chopping and changing as well.'
N Jagadeesan hit an unbeaten half-century to lead India A' confident reply in Australia A's huge first innings total on Day 2 of the first unofficial Test.
India A captain Shreyas Iyer has pulled out of the second unofficial Test against Australia A starting in Lucknow on Tuesday because of personal reasons.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
The short turnaround time from the high of winning a controversy-marred Asia Cup notwithstanding, Shubman Gill's India will be outright favourites against a struggling and under-strength West Indies when the teams face-off on a green-top in the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Skipper Shubman Gill had a long batting stint while the troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel returned to action for India's final training session here on Wednesday before the first Test against the West Indies.
Azharuddeen was the vice-captain of the side, and now that role has been handed to Tamil Nadu's N Jagadeesan.
Tilak Varma was in fine touch for Hampshire recently, smashing 100, 56, 47 and 112 in four innings for the English county side.
After bowling out SA A for 309, overnight 299/9, in the first session, India succumbed to their own waywardness, and the relentlessness of off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen (5/61), to concede an innings lead of 75.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
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