Needed to bowl stump to stump to negate dew factor: Axar Patel
Rohit Sharma followed up his knock of 73 in the second ODI in Adelaide with a match-winning unbeaten 121 in Sydney to be named the Player of the Series.
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.
Abhishek Sharma waged a lone battle with an entertaining 68 from 37 balls in the second T20I against Australia at MCG on Friday.
Josh Hazlewood clinically dismantled a famed Indian top-order with a probing spell to kill the contest as Australia cantered to a four-wicket victory in the second T20 International.
Axar Patel will lead Delhi Capitals against Royal Challengers Bengaluru after the suspension of regular captain Rishabh Pant.
Ravichandran Ashwin exposed India batters' lack of quality to battle ball tweakers by claiming that if legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar or past domestic heroes Amol Muzumdar, the India women's team head coach and Mithun Manhas had played against spinners on such a track, the Test would have gone to four days, unlike India's harrowing 30-run defeat against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
Against Bangladesh, Samson wasn't even considered good enough to come inside the top seven of the line-up and that begs a question as to what is he doing in the team if he isn't good enough to come ahead of Axar Patel.
The others to arrive after a delayed flight were K L Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy along with some members of the support staff.
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.
With Bumrah leading the charge, India prised out five wickets in the second session to snuff out South Africa's hopes of reaching the 200 mark.
The grand comeback party of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma endured a quick 22-ball ending, and their lowkey outing reflected in India's seven-wicket defeat against Australia.
Gill said a victory in Colombo will instill in the team a winning habit, and fill them with confidence.
The Indian team's heavy reliance on all-rounders will be tested by a plucky Australia in the second ODI but the spotlight will continue to stay firmly on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom would look to turn back the clock with series-saving knocks in Adelaide on Thursday.
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.
India captain Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir along with Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel arrived in Kolkata late on Sunday ahead of the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.
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
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.
The cricketing ecosystem has learned to survive the prolonged absence of Kohli and Rohit -- at least in two formats -- in this interim period.
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
'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.'
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.
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.
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.
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.
'Rishabh Pant is not fit for West Indies series, hopefully he will be available for home Tests against South Africa.'
Mohammed Shami was once ignored for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, despite having proved his fitness in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.
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.
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill spoke on the team dinner hosted by head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
Kuldeep Yadav has a good record in T20 Internationals with 69 wickets in 40 matches at an economy rate of 6.77, with a best of 5/17 against South Africa.
KKR, CSK to engage in bidding war in IPL mini-auction with big purse in hand
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.
'It was unfortunate that I got injured during the World Cup and missed it. But I took it positively and tried to improve my game.'
Since he took over, head coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed on multi-skilled players across formats, especially those who can add batting depth.
'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.'
'I have been speaking to him on the phone. So he is very much in the line.'
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.
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.
India set to remain unchanged as team wants Reddy to settle in all-round role
