India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Friday acknowledged that Sanju Samson has been going through a lean phase without doubting the quality of the struggling batter, and reiterated the team management's support for him.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru carried off from last season with dominating performances in their opening two games of IPL 2026.
Kishan's statement knock, Surya's welcome fifty give India 2-0 lead
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.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday?
India edged closer to a comfortable win in the opening Test against Bangladesh
Ashwin wants this "unexpected hero" to surprise against Pakistan during Asia Cup
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.
This is the most open T20 World Cup in history. The traditional powers are compromised. The new powers have gained strength, observes Faisal Shariff.
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.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and New Zealand, at Green Park, Kanpur, on Saturday.
The overwhelmingly bowler-friendly Melbourne pitch on which 20 wickets fell on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test has prompted Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Kartik to point out the selective criticism of Indian tracks when spinners get wickets in a heap.
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.
Fresh from their morale-boosting win over LSG, and bolstered by the return of India wicketkeeper-batter K L Rahul, Delhi Capitals will look to build on the momentum when they take on formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
India captain Rohit Sharma on Friday said left-arm spinner Axar Patel is likely to miss the first two ODIs against Australia next week while middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is "99 percent" match-fit.
'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.'
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.
Who do you should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka?
Shardul Thakur replaced spinner Axar Patel, who was transferred to the list of standby players.
Delhi Capitals looked like a well-oiled machine with four wins in a row before a stunning batting meltdown against Mumbai Indians halted their momentum.
Cricket has never been the same since India's thrilling, last-over win over Pakistan in the final at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on September 24, 2007.
Sanju Samson scored a clinical 97 off 50 balls to guide India to a five-wicket win over West Indies in Kolkata and book a place in the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-final.
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.
Axar also pointed to sloppy fielding as a factor that allowed MI to cross the 200-mark, but praised his spin unit.
But the hosts will be a confident group as star batter Virat Kohli made a return to run-making ways after an all too brief blip.
David Miller smashed a brilliant half-century while Marco Jansen picked up four wickets as South Africa thrashed India by 76 runs in the ICC T20 World Cup Super 8s match.
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.
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 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.
Gill back in full flow, Hardik opts out of practice ahead of SA T20I series
'My bat did its work, and they (Pakistan) did not get a chance to speak.'
The 23-year-old explained that his stint with Delhi Capitals sharpened his cricketing brain.
India need a draw in the final Test, also in Ahmedabad from March 4, to reach the WTC final against New Zealand.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel and top-order batsman Karun Nair put up impressive performances as India 'A' comfortably beat Afghanistan 'A' by seven wickets to register their first-win in the tri-nation 'A' tournament in Pretoria.
Such has been the problem of plenty for selectors in the T20 format that they are finding it difficult to even accommodate Yashasvi Jaiswal -- a proven performer in T20 cricket.
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.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for their T20 World Cup match against The Netherlands on Thursday?
Arshdeep Singh -- statement spells against SA shows need to give pacer consistent ODI outings
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy final played between India and New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.
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.
