IMAGES from the 3rd T20I between India and South Africa in Dharamsala on Sunday.
The T20 WC champions will look to enter this phase with clarity of intent as they refine roles, streamline combinations and settle the XI that will carry the weight of expectations in front of home crowds.
Tilak Varma says out-of-form India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav 'needs just one innings' to rediscover the mojo with which he once dominated bowlers like a marauder.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill's indifferent form is a massive concern but the national selection committee is unlikely to make any shocking changes when it picks the 15-member squad for next year's T20 World Cup in Mumbai on Saturday.
Shubman Gill is set to make a comeback during the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting in Cuttack, on December 9.
Having retained the majority of their squad, MI will be the team to beat given their formidable batting, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals will be out to spoil their party.
SMAT: Haryana beat Bengal to enter Super 8s, Punjab also qualify
When players select themselves, the selectors' job becomes delightfully simple. But did the Indian selectors have that luxury while picking the T20 World Cup squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup? asks K R Nayar.
In the semifinals, Yadav had lost 145-147 to American Curtis Lee Broadnax while Verma went down 145-148 to top seed Mike Schloesser of the Netherlands.
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
Images from the fifth T20 International between India and South Africa, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed that T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill is "ready to start" ahead of the first T20I against South Africa of the five-match series, which will take place on December 9.
As India gear up for the T20 World Cup at home, the selectors have backed a squad built on impact, and versatility.
While some of them were excellent, most were passable. But many were far superior to the theatrical releases.
Investors encountering underperformance must be patient.
The controversial decision to select Shubman Gill in place of a well-settled Sanju Samson as the opener has backfired for the Indian team so far.
Images from the second T20 International between India and South Africa, at the PCA's New Chandigarh Stadium, Mullanpur.
Shubman Gill's fate wasn't actually sealed on Saturday when BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia announced the squad for the T20 World Cup but when the fourth T20 International was called off on Wednesday due to thick smog.
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Suryakumar Yadav-led India ready for Aussie challenge as T20 World Cup preparation begins.
The 34-year-old mystery spinner rewrote the record books during the fifth and final T20I against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday, casting a spell of his bamboozling spin magic on the Proteas batters, four of them surrendering to his bowling.
Virat Kohli moved up to No. 4 in the latest ICC rankings with a match-winning hundred against South Africa in the first ODI at Ranchi boosting his ascend.
IMAGES from the fourth T20I between Australia and India played in Carrara, Gold Coast on Thursday
Hardik Pandya made a memorable comeback to the Indian team, smashing a blistering half-century to power India to a thumping 101-run win over South Africa in the first T20 International.
When Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill bat together at the top of the order, they put smiles on the faces of everyone and are learning the different facets of dealing with various match situations in the shortest format, skipper Suryakumar Yadav said after his team won the five-match T20I series against Australia on Saturday.
Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday acknowledged the shortage of runs from him but India's T20I skipper did not count it as lack of form, saying that runs will come sooner than later.
'It was just put the ball in the right areas, don't try too much and see what happens.'
The charismatic presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma alongside a host of top India cricketers lends unprecedented gravitas to the Vijay Hazare One-Day Trophy beginning on Wednesday, giving all of them a chance to prove a point amid a renewed focus on domestic grind.
Josh Hazlewood clinically dismantled a famed Indian top-order with a probing spell to kill the contest as Australia cantered to a four-wicket victory in the second T20 International.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Ishan Kishan's return to the Indian T20 setup is a story of timing, perseverance and a domestic season that selectors simply could not overlook.
Hardik Pandya marked his return to the Indian team from a two-month injury layoff with a match-winning half-century.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
In the chase, India lost Shubman Gill for a golden duck, while Marco Jansen got rid of Abhishek Sharma and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav, before Baartman broke the 35-run stand between Axar Patel and Varma.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
Sanju Samson boasts of a superb record in T20 Internationals, with 995 runs in 51 matches at a strike rate of 147.40, including three centuries and as many fifties.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
"Gill should cement his place at the top order in T20": Irfan Pathan
The Asia Cup champions will not have it easy against the Mitch Marsh-led Aussies at home as the Indians were seen going hard in the nets on Monday.
Security has been increased in Uttar Pradesh districts bordering Nepal following violent protests in Nepal over a ban on social media. Authorities are monitoring the situation and have increased patrols and surveillance.
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