Sudeep Tyagi and Siddharth Trivedi, the medium pacers from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat respectively, won't be a part of the Saurashtra Ranji Trophy squad for the first two matches this season.
Kings XI Punjab will be looking to get their campaign back on track after a couple of defeats when they lock horns with bottom-placed Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in Indore on Sunday.
India gets new face in pace attack
India's premier Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will play for Team Zalawad Royals in the inaugural Saurashtra Premier League.
In a thrilling match in Surat, Gujarat defeated Rajasthan "by one over eliminator" after the two teams ended with identical scores in 20 overs and the match was tied.
Sanju Samson's breathtaking strokeplay formed the cornerstone of Rajasthan Royals' 19-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a high-scoring Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
India 'A' registered a thumping innings and 13 runs victory over South Africa 'A' on the fourth and final day of the unofficial first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, in Rustenburg, on Tuesday.
The domestic season-ending five-day Irani Cup game between newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai and the Rest of India, commencing in Mumbai from Sunday, will provide fringe players a good opportunity to stake claims for the national team. The first class match is the last occasion for hopefuls from both ranks to impress the five-member national selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil before attention shifts totally to the T20 format, commencing with the ICC World T20 Championships. With the country expected to play over 15 Test matches post Indian Premier League till the end of next season, this match is the ideal platform for these players to strengthen their claims for the long Test haul. Mumbai, who clinched the Ranji crown for the 41st time last week by defeating Saurashtra by an innings, have a settled combination led by wicket keeper batsman Aditya Tare. They appear to be better prepared than the motley bunch of Rest of India, being led by Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha. However, they would take the Rest of India lightly at their own peril as the latter have a good bowling attack at their command even without originally named Barinder Sran and Nathu Singh who have been injured and replaced by Ankit Rajpoot and Anureet Singh, according to their coach Ashish Kapoor.
A roundup of the matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy One-Day tournament, on Saturday.
Images from Thursday's IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, in Jaipur.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 26 games in IPL-12.
India maintained their stranglehold over Zimbabwe, winning the fourth ODI in the five-match series by nine wickets, in Bulawayo, on Thursday. Opting to field after winning the toss, India dismissed the hosts for a paltry 144, and then chased down the target with 115 balls to spare at the Queens Sports Club.
Was any cricketer missing at the skipper's wedding reception in Mumbai?
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
A round-up of Day 1 in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches.
Jammu and Kashmir made it to the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy despite suffering a two-wicket defeat at the hands of Haryana in their final Group C match in Jammu on Saturday. In the quarter-finals to be played from February 20 to 24, Saurashtra will be up against Andhra, Karnataka will face Jammu and Kashmir, Bengal will take on Odisha and Gujarat will square off against Goa.
Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin starred with a five-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu bundle out Himachal Pradesh for 158 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match. A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Tuesday.
In a potential knock-out clash, Pune defeated Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets on Sunday to finish second in the points table behind Mumbai Indians, which means they will get two shots for a place in the summit clash.
Zaheer Khan feels that one shouldn't go 'crazy or overboard' if the bowler in question is not ready for the challenge.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 44 games in IPL-12.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the just concluded IPL-12.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 35 games in IPL-12.
Their fate hanging in balance, a loss in the penultimate league round match may virtually sound the death knell for one of the two teams.
A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on a miserable Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match series when the two mismatched teams face off in the second Twenty20 International in Indore on Friday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers' impressive defence of modest totals continued as the visitors pulled off a 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals on a tricky pitch to claim the top spot
Shikhar Dhawan hammered a record 248 to help India 'A' outclass South Africa 'A' by 39 runs and storm into the final of the 'A' teams' tri-series, in Pretoria, on Monday.
Umesh Yadav starred with a match haul of 12/79 as defending champion Vidarbha routed Kerala by an innings and 11 runs shortly after lunch on Day 2 to storm into the Ranji Trophy final for the second year in a row.
Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, the two franchises that returned to the IPL after serving bans in the aftermath of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, will come face to face for the first time in the ongoing edition, keen to regain lost momentum in Pune, on Friday.
A keen contest is on the cards as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals cross swords in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals will need to regroup quickly after a heavy loss when they face Delhi Daredevils in what will be their first IPL home game in five years at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he wants his youngest son, five-year-old AbRam, to grow up to be a hockey player and represent the country in international stage.
Kevin Pietersen failed to fire in his first match for Delhi Daredevils, as Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on brilliant batting by Aaron Finch and David Warner to notch a four-run victory in Friday's IPL match in Dubai.
With India needing 34 runs off the last two overs, Karthik hammered 29 not out off just eight deliveries, his third six sealing India's third, and the most hard-earned, victory over Bangladesh in the tournament.
Having already clinched the series, India would look to hand Zimbabwe a third successive whitewash while testing more youngsters when they take on the lacklustre hosts in the third and final One-day International in Harare, on Wednesday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday
Captain Virat Kohli's huge workload will come up for discussion while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to make a comeback when the selectors announce the India squad for T20 and Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively.
Rajasthan Royals defeated Delhi Daredevils by three wickets.
Under-fire Indian pacer Ishant Sharma whose sloppy bowling cost India the third One-Day International against Australia, worked overtime with bowling coach Joe Dawes on Monday even as his team mates took a day's break ahead of their fourth match in Ranchi.
Dropped from the Ranji Trophy squad, opener Jay Bista slammed his maiden first class ton to lead Ranji Trophy champions to a strong 386 for 3 on day one of the five-day Irani Cup game against Rest of India in Mumbai on Sunday. At stumps the 41-time national champions were sailing along merrily at 386 runs for the loss of three wickets by riding on the bespectacled opener's 104, Akhil Herwadkar's 90 and half centuries from in-form Shreyas Iyer (55) and Suryakumar Yadav (not out 88) after choosing to bat first at the Brabourne Stadium. Bista, who impressed with his strokes on both sides of the wicket in his chanceless knock that came off 90 balls with 15 fours and a six, and left-handed Herwadka put on a solid foundation with a partnership of 193. Both departed within a short span of each other, Bista trapped leg before by Krishna Das while flicking and Herwadkar edged to slip off Ankit Rajpoot after facing 148 balls and striking 15 boundaries. But Rest were then frustrated by the attacking Iyer, who cracked 10 fours in his 49-ball cameo, and Yadav as the third wicket duo put on a quick 69 before the former was caught cutting off Stuart Binny.
Kerala hit back to reduce Gujarat to 97 for 4 after being bowled out for 185 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals.