Shubman Gill is the flavour of the season after his stupendous show in the recent Test series against England but he will face a contender in Axar Patel for vice-captaincy
Abhishek Sharma's scintillating 75 was beautifully complemented by Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy as India comfortably hammered Bangladesh by 41 runs to enter the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Wednesday.
Even though the couple hasn't shared any pictures on social media, here's a first look of them looking dapper in their wedding outfits thanks to Axar's India team-mate Jaydev Unadkat.
Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh moved up to the sixth and 10th spot respectively in the latest ICC T20 rankings released on Wednesday.
The final Test begins on Friday in New Delhi, and the Shubman Gill-led side is expected to maintain their winning combination as they look to wrap up the home series.
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.
'We cannot deny that Pakistan also played brilliantly.'
Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.
Mohammed Shami was once ignored for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, despite having proved his fitness in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.
'Coaches, captains are constantly being asked a lot of questions. It almost, after a point, feels like you are being questioned as to "Why did you make this change? Why did he play in the XI? Why is it that the opposition got 200 and we couldn't even get 120? Why are their bowlers getting more spin?"' 'These are questions that we never get asked throughout the year, right? Because the coaches who are there know what's going on. You are only answerable to the coaches and the selectors, who have all played cricket and understand the nuances of the game.'
The likes of Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel would all like to get some decent hit out there in the middle ahead of Sunday's clash against Pakistan.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
South African captain Temba Bavuma on Sunday said his game is built around an unshakeable defence, which stood him in good stead on a disintegrating Eden Gardens track, where 38 wickets fell inside eight sessions.
This was India's third victory in a row against Pakistan and their 11th victory overall against the arch-rivals in 14 T20 matches.
The short turnaround time from the high of winning a controversy-marred Asia Cup notwithstanding, Shubman Gill's India will be outright favourites against a struggling and under-strength West Indies when the teams face-off on a green-top in the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The inclusion of Gill in the squad has raised doubts in the minds of management about who will open the innings for their side, along with left-hand batter Abhishek, in the tournament.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav has found himself in the spotlight for a brief moment of forgetfulness at the toss during their Asia Cup fixture against Oman in Dubai on Friday.
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Rohit Sharma, India's captain, acknowledged the dry pitch and the team's readiness for the challenge.
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India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted his side was "surprised" by how quickly the Eden Gardens surface "deteriorated" after a dramatic second day in which 15 wickets fell and the opening Test swung sharply in India's favour.
'I definitely believe the kind of form he is in, the way he is batting, it will strengthen the Indian batting line-up.'
'My bat did its work, and they (Pakistan) did not get a chance to speak.'
Shubman Gill enjoyed a phenomenal run with the bat in England, piling up 754 runs at an average of 75.40 with four centuries.
Axar Patel out of Asia Cup final due to hamstring injury, likely to miss Australia series, doubtful starter for World Cup too
India captain Rohit Sharma had previously acknowledged Axar's recent fatherhood as a reason for his unavailability for the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Ashwin wants this "unexpected hero" to surprise against Pakistan during Asia Cup
With the much-anticipated Group A clash against arch-rivals Pakistan looming, India is sparing no effort in their training sessions, honing skills and strategising tactics.
The team management now has a tricky call on hand while deciding whether to keep Samson in the playing XI finding a slot for him in top three or play Jitesh Sharma
'I feel Kuldeep Yadav is your automatic choice. But it seems like you are doing an injustice if you leave Axar out.'
'We would like to believe and back ourselves to know these conditions or adapt to these conditions a lot faster even if we find them slightly different, as compared to, say, somebody who is brought up in Johannesburg and has played all his cricket at the Wanderers ground.'
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for Thursday's second ODI against Australia?
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
Mike Hesson is free to rank Pakistan left-arm spinner Mohammed Nawaz as high as he wants but India know where their spinners are placed in the world order.
Chakravarthy couldn't stop praising Kuldeep saying: 'It gave me memories of KKR when we were playing together. And he's always a star. He's one of the best spinners.'
'India is much stronger in white ball than the red ball. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli... they know that these youngsters are pushing them.'
Axar Patel, who had a perfect view of Jaiswal's catch, was lavish in his praise.
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