Players from the other teams who could push the Men in Blue to the limit.
India captain Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir along with Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel arrived in Kolkata late on Sunday ahead of the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.
A flawless maiden hundred from opener Ryan Rickelton helped South Africa crush Afghanistan by 107 runs.
For the second successive day, not a single ball could be bowled at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports complex in Greater Noida putting the venue under scanner and making it an international embarrassment.
A dominant Afghanistan crushed Papua New Guinea by seven wickets to storm into the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup in Trinidad on Thursday.
Former BCCI president and batting great Sourav Ganguly on Monday side-stepped the debate surrounding Indian players' refusal to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts after their Asia Cup clash in Dubai but said terrorism must end "all around the world, not just India and Pakistan."
Book to tell 500 years of cricketing stories beyond the scorecards
Afghanistan are the hosts of the game.
Last month, a group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott the Champions Trophy group stage match against Afghanistan.
'We gave too many freebies to Afghanistan, but we came up with a plan today and implemented it more effectively.'
Kuldeep Yadav has a good record in T20 Internationals with 69 wickets in 40 matches at an economy rate of 6.77, with a best of 5/17 against South Africa.
Yashaswi Jaiswal advance two slots to fifth after notching 175 in the first innings of the New Delhi game while KL Rahul's knocks of 38 and 58 not out lifted him two places to 33rd.
Afghanistan's performances at the 50-overs and Twenty20 World Cups mean there is no chance of Australia taking them lightly in Friday's Champions Trophy match.
With stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan sidelined, it will be a test of character for the Salman Agha-led Pakistan side.
Only seven matches in the history of Test cricket have been abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Ravindra Jadeja's standout performance in the first Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad has helped him reach a career-best 25th position in the ICC men's Test batting rankings.
Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha broke the silence about playing the format without the nation's batting bigwigs Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam.
England captain Jos Buttler says he and his team-mates are saddened by the plight of women in Afghanistan.
The clash was a record-breaking one. Right from individual pieces of glory to team milestones, India opener Smriti Mandhana's records to Australia once again re-writing history books to justify the seven titles in their trophy cabinet, this match had it all.
Gill's highest score in the three Asia Cup matches has been an unbeaten 20 with the Test skipper failing to click in the games against Pakistan and Oman after a fruitful red-ball away series against England.
In all the three group matches, Sri Lanka thrived while chasing and one would expect the Islanders to continue the same trend if they win the toss on Saturday.
The players, looking towards Bravo, crooned along Bravo's hit number Champion while the song played on the team bus.
South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said he supported calls for a boycott of Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next month.
Suranga Wellalage, Sri Lankan all-rounder Dunith Wellalage's father, died on September 18, the same day his son played the Asia Cup Group fixture against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.
Australia have called off a T20 series against Afghanistan citing a deteriorating human rights situation for women and girls in the Taliban-ruled country.
Namibia beat Tanzania by 63 runs to become the first team from the African Qualifiers to secure a spot in the next year's T20 World Cup.
Rajaneesh Gupta lists the amazing numbers that make Rohit Sharma one of the finest ODI batters of his time.
UAE batter Alishan Sharafu hailed the quality of India's players ahead of their Asia Cup opening match in Dubai on Wednesday.
UAE play Oman at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday, 15 September. Their last group game is with Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday, 17 September.
Tickets for the match on September 14 are in huge demand than for any other match. Most journalists are also arriving only in time for this match, even skipping India's opening match against the UAE on September 10.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board said the final 15-member squad will be announced at the end of a week-long preparatory camp in Greater Noida.
India's first match of the tournament against the hosts United Arab Emirates is scheduled to take place in Dubai on September 10.
In a letter written to the global governing body, the women cricketers praised the splendid performance of the men's team in the T20 World Cup but rued that they were not getting opportunities to flourish.
Bangladesh will see this as an opportunity to start on a strong note and settle into the tournament.
UAE captain Muhammad Waseem said they won't treat the opening match against T20 World champions India as a big game and will look to play normally.
'Scoring those half-centuries and winning the trophy for India is indeed special.'
Pakistan's reported threat to pull out from the ongoing Asia Cup after demanding ICC match referee Andy Pycroft's removal won't be particularly easy
Unless a player picks up an injury in training, India's team is expected to wear the same look against a Pakistan squad that are without top stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, lending it a look of youth and experience.
'...all we were looking for was a leg spinner and Rishad has done very well'
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