The likes of Yashaswi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna are on their maiden Test tour of Australia.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir will rejoin the touring party on Tuesday after he returned to India due to 'personal reasons,' according to ESPNcricinfo.
'There is always a temptation for the captain and the coach to decide whether to play him or me.'
The output of eight key infrastructure sectors expanded by 2 per cent in September, though the growth was slower than the 9.5 per cent registered in the same month last year, according to official data released on Wednesday. The output of these sectors had contracted by 1.6 per cent in August. Out of the eight key sectors, three -- crude oil, natural gas and electricity -- recorded negative growth in September.
Mohammed Shami's much-awaited return to top-flight cricket did not receive too many supporting signals during the seasoned pacer's nearly hour-long stint of varying intensity at the India nets here on Friday. Despite working hard on finding his bowling rhythm, Shami never really hit his flowing peak. While he was expected to feature in the playing 11 during India's first T20I against England at Kolkata on Wednesday, the management decided to delay his comeback. Shami's rhythm and sharpness gradually hit a higher gear but the whole picture was one of rustiness, raising questions about his current form and the decision to select him for the series against England and the Champions Trophy.
'We're excited about the game, and obviously, if you can win, it builds a lot of momentum going into the semifinal.'
With an aggressive mindset and intense training sessions, India looks set to make a powerful statement when they step onto the field, observes K R Nayar, the veteran cricket writer, from Dubai.
'Especially in the middle overs. That's going to be a key challenge.'
Continuing the downward trend, retail inflation fell to a five-month low of 4.31 per cent in January, mainly due to a decline in the prices of vegetables, eggs, and pulses. The Consumer Price Index-based retail inflation was 5.22 per cent in December and 5.1 per cent in January 2024. The previous low inflation was in August 2024 at 3.65 per cent.
Domestic rating agency Icra on Wednesday said India's real GDP growth for the September quarter is likely to decline to 6.5 per cent due to heavy rains and weaker corporate performance. The agency, however, maintained its FY25 growth estimate at 7 per cent on expectations of a pick up in economic activity in the second half of the fiscal.
The fervour for the India-Pakistan match is so intense that for many beating Pakistan in Dubai seems even more important than winning the Champions Trophy itself, observes K R Nayar, the veteran cricket writer.
The Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of the eighth month of financial year 2024-25 touched 52.5 per cent of the full-year target, government data showed on Tuesday. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit -- the gap between the government's expenditure and revenue -- was about Rs 8.47 lakh crore during the April-November period, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
Retail inflation breached the Reserve Bank's upper tolerance level, soaring to a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent in October mainly on account of rising food prices. Inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) was 5.49 per cent in September and 4.87 per cent in the year-ago month. Retail inflation trended below the RBI's upper tolerance band of 6 per cent since September last year.
India's cricket team boasts a wealth of talent, with numerous players capable of taking on leadership roles. The Indian team doesn't have a designated vice-captain and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said it does not need one.
The ideal candidate should be deaf to avoid being shocked by the so-called 'shocking revelations' from the dressing room, asserts K R Nayar.
Gambhir had taken charge of the team in July and the team will be playing its first Test in his tenure.
The Indian players went through a gruelling training session ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, starting next week.
The hands that broke records and redefined batting deserve to hold and present the trophy named in his honour. To ignore such a legend during the trophy presentation is an affront to his legacy and diminishes the value of the trophy itself, asserts veteran cricket writer K R Nayar.
'Quickly assessing what's required to do here will be the key for us.' 'If we can assess quickly and adjust our batting or bowling quickly that will help us moving forward.'
While India dominated visiting teams on spin-friendly wickets to put together 18 consecutive series wins at home in last 12 years, the choice to play on turning tracks against New Zealand backfired in Pune and Mumbai.
Sri Lanka leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay wreaked havoc with a six-wicket haul to hand India a 32-run defeat in the second ODI match.
From working in a garment factory, selling bread, and driving an autorickshaw, the 24-year-old fast bowler's path to representing domestic giants Mumbai was anything but easy.
Virat Kohli's conduct came under the microscope in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on Thursday after a clash of shoulders with teen debutant Sam Konstas, but the incident did little to knock the Australian wonder boy off his stride.
The ongoing debate about India and Pakistan playing on each other's soil has given rise to a new term in cricket: The 'hybrid model'. While most people associate 'hybrid' with vehicles, this term has now found its way into the cricket lexicon, points out K R Nayar.
The ICC has rated Chennai's M A Chidambaram Stadium pitch, used for India's Test match against Bangladesh in September, as 'very good'
The December meeting of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will start on Wednesday even as there is no clarity on whether Governor Shaktikanta Das, the chair of the panel, will continue in office after his term ends next week. The outcome of the meeting will be announced on Friday by Das at 10 in the morning.
In case Rohit misses a Test match in Australia, the in-form Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to be his cover although Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are also players with enough experience in the opening slot.
The Indian players got down to business on Friday with an intense session in the nets under the watchful eyes of head coach Gautam Gambhir.
'#TeamIndia could benefit if they have the services of #Tendulkar as the batting consultant in their prep for the #BGT2025.'
Nayar wrote that the central government should initiate steps to address the pending inter-state issues in the North East, especially the boundary dispute of Assam with Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
The Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of the first seven months of financial year 2024-25 touched 46.5 per cent of the full-year target, government data showed on Friday. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit -- the gap between government's expenditure and revenue -- was at Rs 7,50,824 crore during April-October period, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). The deficit stood at 45 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) in the corresponding period of 2023-24.
Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma ignore each other on match eve
With Gautam Gambhir now part of the setup, there is renewed hope for a turnaround in Rahul's Test career. Gambhir's belief in Rahul's abilities, combined with his guidance, could help unlock his true potential and bring the expected consistency.
Despite gross domestic product (GDP) growth being lower-than-expected for the July-September quarter, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may not cut the policy repo rate in the review meeting scheduled for next week due to high inflation in October, according to experts. "Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation breaching the upper limit of the RBI's tolerance band in October (6.2 per cent year-on-year) is not a favourable backdrop for the MPC to commence the easing cycle, even as the growth outcome disappointed the MPC's expectations," said Shreya Sodhani, regional economist at Barclays, who expects the policy repo rate to be kept unchanged in the December meeting.
Virat Kohli spent about 45 minutes in the nets and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah bowled full tilt as the Indian cricket team on Friday began its preparations
Here's a glimpse of India's new faces and veterans sweating it out...
With concern on food inflation ebbing with the monsoon progressing well, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is warming up to the idea of a change in stance to "neutral" from "withdrawal of accommodation", according to economists. In his speech on Thursday during the annual event of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry-Indian Banks' Association, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said: "The balance between inflation and growth is well-poised."
Raghavansi played down his effort and thanked his "guru", saying he has influenced him the most
Yashasvi Jaiswal's intense and innovative pre-tour training against short-pitched balls at the Thane Stadium contributed to his unbeaten 90 in Perth
India's economic growth slowed to near two-year low of 5.4 per cent in the July-September quarter of this fiscal due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors, but the country continued to remain the fastest-growing large economy, data showed on Friday. The gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 8.1 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2023-24 fiscal. The previous low level of GDP growth at 4.3 per cent was recorded in the third quarter (October-December 2022) of financial year 2022-23.
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