'India gave me its heart first. So India will always have mine.'
IMAGES from the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals played in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The cricketing ecosystem has learned to survive the prolonged absence of Kohli and Rohit -- at least in two formats -- in this interim period.
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.
'I'll tell you one thing straight away, that trust me, these two guys are going to win matches in World Cup (in February-March) and in this series as well.'
Kuldeep was instrumental to India's success at the Asia Cup, topping the wicket-taking chart with 17 wickets. Chopra explained the rationale behind dropping the left-arm wrist spinner, attributing it to batting depth.
He's a champion bowler: Rahane hails Narine's game-changing spell
Though Delhi Capitals ended up on the losing side in their IPL encounter against Gujarat Titans, Axar Patel played an entertaining cameo for the hosts.
Pat Cummins captured the sentiment perfectly, calling this potentially the 'last chance' for fans Down Under to witness these legends in action. With both stalwarts set to be 39 and 40 respectively by the 2027 World Cup, every appearance carries added significance. Ro-Ko have been the heartbeat of Indian cricket for over 15 years. Their return brings an emotional lift to the team and raises expectations for the series against the world champions.
India will be keen to get the job done against Bangladesh and seal their place in Sunday's final before considering resting their players.
Australia opener Travis Head expects the "great white ball" duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to carry on till the 2027 ODI World Cup.
DC will start their campaign with an away game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 before returning to their home base to play defending champions Gujarat Titans on April 4.
The national selectors brought back wicketkeeper-batter Kishan along with Rinku Singh while dropping Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill who has been struggling in the T20 format.
Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel would like to quickly forget the underwhelming performances of his side in home conditions and get their stuttering campaign back on track when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are teetering on the edge of elimination, in the IPL match in Hyderabad on Monday.
Skipper Shubman Gill acknowledged that the choice between a spinner and an extra seamer for the first Test against South Africa is nothing short of a "conflict".
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.
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.
Axar Patel and senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin exploited the turning Motera pitch to bundle out England for 112 in their first innings
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar feels the debate over preparing a spin-friendly track at the Eden Gardens for the opening Test against South Africa is pointless as the country has been laying out such wickets for ages.
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.
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.
Shubman Gill enjoyed a phenomenal run with the bat in England, piling up 754 runs at an average of 75.40 with four centuries.
Gill back in full flow, Hardik opts out of practice ahead of SA T20I series
This was India's third victory in a row against Pakistan and their 11th victory overall against the arch-rivals in 14 T20 matches.
With the T20 World Cup less than two months away, India would want their captain Suryakumar Yadav to rediscover his rhythm sooner rather than later.
After this snub, it looks difficult for Shubman Gill at this point to make a comeback to the T20 team with plenty of talented young players waiting in the wings.
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.
Gill said a victory in Colombo will instill in the team a winning habit, and fill them with confidence.
Arshdeep Singh -- statement spells against SA shows need to give pacer consistent ODI outings
For a bowler this effective to be sidelined repeatedly, there must be either a very specific tactical reason -- or something unspoken within the dressing room dynamics.
'We cannot deny that Pakistan also played brilliantly.'
The duo pulled off a superb chase beat Mumbai with 10 balls to spare.
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.
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.
Leg-spinner's bowling and Lalit and Axar's batting ensure Delhi victory.
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.
When the boundaries were hard to come by, next men in Axar Patel and Rovman Powell rotated the strike, waiting for the odd boundary. They posted a 29-run stand off 23 balls.
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
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
Rohit Sharma hit an unbeaten century, while Virat Kohli returned to form with a fluent fifty as India cruised to an emphatic nine-wicket victory in the inconsequential third and final ODI against Australia.
