Rishabh Pant is closing in on a return to competitive cricket, with a BCCI fitness clearance expected by October 10, nearly two months after a foot injury sidelined him during India's England tour.
Rahul Dravid had backed Shubman Gill to become India's all-format captain four years ago.
Ravindra Jadeja's omission from the India ODI squad for Australia tour raised a few eyebrows but the veteran all-rounder was not surprised as the selection committee and team management had "communicated" to him about their inability to pick him.
'My motivation is to stay fit and be available for Indian team.'
Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar reportedly opposed Pandya's World Cup selection due to his form and injuries. However, they allegedly conceded 'under pressure', hinting at the BCCI leadership's strong backing of Pandya as the future T20 leader.
While Kapil scripted the best bowling figures of 5/43 against Australia at Trent Bridge in in 1983, Shami's fifer in Mohali on Friday, was the third-best bowling effort against the Aussies.
Rishabh Pant is yet to recover from the injury suffered during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
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.
Kaif expects Rohit's retirement after 2027 ODI World Cup, picks his replacement
'The whole country is behind him and watching his performances. You can't ignore a guy who's done so much for India.'
Ajit Agarkar was linked to the chief selector's post in the past as well, but this time, he is likely to get the high pressure job.
Former India left-arm fast bowler Rudra Pratap Singh and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha are set to become national selectors with the exit of S Sharath and Subroto Banerjee.
The Indian cricket team's chief selector Ajit Agarkar lauded the 28-year-old chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav and said that he will be one of the trump cards for the Men in Blue in the ODI WC.
How well will Shubman Gill fit in the T20 team? Is it a gamble by the selectors in order to unite captaincy across formats? asks Harish Kotian.
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.
'Don't make him wait. If I were chairman, I would definitely have him in the 16.'
The two A teams will engage in the three-match 50-overs series at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium a few days after the conclusion of their two four-day unofficial Tests in Lucknow.
India's next international assignment is Asia Cup T20 tournament and it would be a surprise if Bumrah opts to play the tournament considering that the next Test series against West Indies will start in less than a week's time after the event in the UAE.
Former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is hopeful that the newly appointed India's ODI captain, Shubman Gill, will carry forward the legacy of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and other captains who served before him in the format.
Robin Uthappa on Shubman Gill's ODI captaincy, says 'Rohit will be 41 by 2027 World Cup'
Sack Gambhir before he damages any more careers, if you must. But it cannot stop there. The project ahead must be bigger, more ambitious, and far more urgent: Rebuilding the spine of Indian cricket from the grassroots up, and giving the Test team the seriousness it deserves. Only then will Indian cricket stop lurching from one crisis to another and begin, once again, to imagine greatness, suggests Prem Panicker.
The preference would be for a fast bowler 'who still has seven to eight years of cricket left in him rather than someone who'll be turning 35 soon.'
Speculations and debates have sparked over social media since last week, after chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the management's decision to hand over the ODI captaincy from Rohit to Shubman Gill.
Karun Nair's wife Sanaya Tankariwala Nair took to social media to vent her frustration, labelling Nair's omission as pure injustice to the batter and a 'complete contradiction of the system's stated purpose'.
The squad also features Karun Nair, who returns to the national set up after a long gap of eight years.
It has now emerged that the BCCI top post could go to Mithun Manhas, who was also involved as director of cricket operations with the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson got the nod as the two wicketkeepers in India's 15-member squad.
Shubman Gill is stepping into leadership with clarity and calm, backed by two strong voices in Indian cricket - Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar.
'Jaiswal has an avg of 36 & a strike rate of 164 in T20Is and he got dropped for Gill who has avg of 30 and a strike rate of 139.' 'There is no place for merit anymore.'
Shubman Gill enjoyed a phenomenal run with the bat in England, piling up 754 runs at an average of 75.40 with four centuries.
The matter of Bumrah's availability for the series should have been a highly-guarded secret. That it was bandied about all through suggests the matter was deliberately placed in the public domain. This has become the basis of the hounding of Bumrah, by some former players and fans, asserts Rohit Mahajan.
'I have said this before... Selection is not in my hands. If there is a fitness issue, I shouldn't be here playing for Bengal.'
Shreyas Iyer has been named captain of the India A squad for the upcoming three-match one-day series against Australia A, starting September 30 in Kanpur.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla also spoke on how domestic cricketers have seen a rise in their pay and scale over the years to an unprecedented level.
'No matter how well you perform, sometimes luck doesn't favour you.'
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia made it clear that such discussions have not taken place. Speaking to the Hindustan Times newspaper, he said, 'That's news to me. There have been no such discussions.'
I felt India needed me in Australia, selectors should look at intent than age: Ajinkya Rahane
'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.'
Ajit Agarkar, who is the frontrunner for the Indian chief selector's job, relinquished his assistant coach's post in Delhi Capitals.
Shubman Gill has described his appointment as India's ODI captain as the "biggest honour", expressing pride in carrying forward the legacy left by Rohit Sharma, who will play under him in the upcoming three-match series in Australia.