The Indian team management has asked Axar Patel to be mentally ready as he could be asked to bat in the top six.
A formidable squad at his disposal, Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson is hoping to end his team's 13-year-long title drought in IPL 2022.
Winless in two matches, both India and Afghanistan are out of the tournament and Thursday's match between the two sides in Dubai has been rendered inconsequential.
As the 16th edition of the glitzy Indian Premier League is set to unfold, let's take a look at the driving force of the T20 league and what's in store in this edition.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup match played between India and Bangladesh in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Ajinkya Rahane has been retained in India's Test squad, to be led by Virat Kohli, for the South Africa series later this month.
Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj have been added to the squad as injury replacements but they do not figure in the World Cup-bound squad, as of now.
'He is already training in Mumbai and is expected to be in Bangalore for the fitness test and get a formal okay from the National Cricket Academy.'
Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant said the failure of the Indian bowlers to claim wickets in the middle overs proved vital in their seven-wicket defeat against South Africa in the second ODI in Paarl on Friday.
Karun Nair and KC Cariappa are back in the Royals camp for IPL 2022 and are looking forward to contributing to the team's success
'It is a very uncomfortable film to watch, and that is what makes it so good. A good film should be able to get into our skin, challenge us, shake us up and Talvar does all of that.' Aseem Chhabra reviews Meghna Gulzar's film on the Aarushi murder case, the first of our reviews on arguably the most controversial movie of the year.
There is only ever one aim for India in World Cups, to win, and T20 World Cup 2022 is no different.
Australia head coach Justin Langer on Wednesday hinted that the Indian Premier League could be responsible for the large number of injuries suffered by India in the ongoing four-match Test series.
Delhi done in by poor batting as Karnataka win by 4 wickets
India will look to clinch the series albeit with a more impactful batting performance from the middle-order in the second T20 International in Ranchi on Friday.
CSK will be eliminated if they lose to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
Looking to salvage pride in the third Test beginning, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, team India got down to business at the Wanderers with a practice session that lasted just under four hours.
Bolstered by Shreyas Iyer's return, Delhi Capitals will look to maintain the form they showed in the first half of the season as they resume their IPL campaign against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Captaining a young side could be tricky, but Hardik Pandya, who led India to a 2-1 series win over Asian champions Sri Lanka, feels it was not that difficult, as he just had to ensure that they "belong at this level".
Rajasthan Royals' director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara said on Friday that the availability of a full-strength bowling attacking is a real confidence booster for the team at a time when many sides are struggling with their overseas recruits.
Images from Thursday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, in Dubai.
DC has talented India bowlers like Mandeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Chetan Sakariya
The BCCI had to postpone the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to January 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Top scoring for Rajasthan was the youngster Riyan Parag who hit a 31 ball 56* which included three fours and four sixes.
Images from the first T20 International between India and New Zealand, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Against England on Monday and then Wednesday's game versus Australia, the Indian team management would look to give the players who are still not automatic choices in the playing XI, more overs to bat or bowl to get a better idea about their current form.
Whether he is batting in the middle or fielding at the boundary line, Virat Kohli's every move will be tracked, though some of that attention will now be on skipper K L Rahul.
A welcome news for India fans will be Ravichandran Ashwin is doing fine and although he sustained a painful blow from a Jofra Archer short ball during the Indian second innings and needed immediate attention from the physio Nitin Patel.
Dugout can really be at ease when he is batting: Rohit on Suryakumar
With the ball difficult to grip, the pacers had a tough time but once the spinners started operating India started to peg things back a little.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for Wednesday's opening T20I against New Zealand?
Their opponents New Zealand, who effectively knocked India out of the World Cup, have reached Jaipur on a chartered flight from Dubai with little time to reflect on their loss to Australia in the title clash.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between KKR and Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
Fresh from his exploits in Mumbai's maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 triumph, Kotian got down to business after his pace colleagues Tushar Desphande (2/23) and Mohit Avasthi (1/29) handed Bengal early blows.
With a massive pool of talent that have performed in the IPL and in other T20Is, Indian selectors have their task cut out when they meet to pick the squad for the T20 World Cup on Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians have so far looked like anything but IPL's five-time champions, losing both their opening games - against Delhi Capitals by four wickets, followed by a 23-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals.
Delhi Capitals have made the perfect start to IPL, with two morale-boosting victories, while SunRisers Hyderabad are the only side yet to register a win in the tournament, having lost both their games.
In the end, it turned out to be a nightmare with dark clouds hovering over the future of this Indian team and no sign of 'VIBGYOR' in the Rainbow Nation.
Shubham Arora came out all guns blazing with his maiden List A century as Himachal downed five-time champions Tamil Nadu
Out of India's total tally of 842 runs in five matches, the duo has rattled up 471 runs -- which accounts to 55 percent of the runs -- at a strike rate of 160.
