Interestingly, the two players were named in the 15-member squad in place of Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India not specifying any reason for leaving out the two players.
Leaving behind the bashing they suffered in the opening match, Indian bowlers bowled with supreme control to bundle out West Indies for 143 in the second and final Twenty20 international in Florida on Sunday. Leg spinner Amit Mishra (3/24) provided the opening breakthrough by dismissing Johnson Charles (43) and R Ashwin then combined with paceman Jasprit Bumrah to tighten the noose around the West Indies with regular strikes.
Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal were among the big names to be released ahead of the mega auction.
Skipper Virat Kohli played a handy cameo after yet another impressive show by the bowling unit as India comfortably beat Australia by nine wickets in a rain-curtailed opening T20 International, in Ranchi, on Saturday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad face an uphill task to find their way through in the ongoing Indian Premier League as they get ready to take on formidable Chennai Super Kings.
India became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 after a thumping eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a Group 2 match, in Mirpur, on Friday. After restricting the hosts to 138 for 7, courtesy yet another dominating performance by the spinners, their batsmen hit up the required runs easily, with nine balls to spare.
Not really impressed with the preparation that India will have going into the Test series against Australia, former captain Sourav Ganguly has said a couple of two-day practice games are just not enough.
Ajinkya Rahane was chosen as captain of the depleted Indian team for the limited overs tour to Zimbabwe next month as the selectors decided to rest several seniors including Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a complete statistical IPL dossier.
Images from the third One-Day International between New Zealand and India in Mount Maunganui on Monday.
Statistician Rajneesh Gupta has interesting numbers from India's Asia Cup match against the UAE. Check them out.
Praising centurion Virat Kohli for his superb batting in the team's series-levelling win against South Africa on Thursday, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that it was the first game in which his team did well in all the three departments.
While Ajinkya Rahane always scores good runs, he seldom scores them quickly enough. And he doesn't bowl, although he is a handy fielder. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji assess the India-West Indies ODI series.
Check out detailed statistics of the Indian team for South Africa ODIs.
Royals are more affected than Sunrisers with the absence of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joffra Archer, who have left for England to join the World Cup camp.
Batting legend Rahul Dravid has backed Virat Kohli to lead the Indian cricket team on a long-term basis, describing him as the ideal leader around whom the country can plan its Test future.
Virat Kohli will be facing the toughest battle of his nascent ODI captaincy career when defending champions India take on South Africa in a do-or-die match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in London, on Sunday.
India captain Virat Kohli says the six-wicket victory in the first One-Day International against South Africa will give his side the momentum in the remainder of the six-match series.
MS Dhoni is ready for limited overs series against South Africa.
Who was the most valuable player of the India-West Indies ODI series?
'India has the best bowling attack they have ever had at any World Cup.' 'They have the best fast bowler in the world in Jasprit Bumrah and then they have got Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who looks good, (Mohammed) Shami looks good.'
RCB suffered four consecutive defeats to finish the league stage at the fourth spot, SRH registered a hat-trick of wins to edge past Virat Kohli's men in the standings.
Led by aggressive Australian opener David Warner, Sunrisers would be relying mostly on foreigners to deliver the goods, given the scarcity of local stars in their ranks.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bangalore on Saturday
Unorthodox Jasprit Bumrah gives MS Dhoni welcome option at the death.
Calm Dhoni says it's more about 'dressing room atmosphere'
Up-and-coming Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul and Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Karn Sharma were named in India's 19-man Test squad for the tour of Australia, which was announced after the selection committee of the Board for Control of Cricket in India met in Mumbai on Monday morning. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will miss the opening Test, from December 4, at the Gabba in Brisbane, because of an injury and Virat Kohli will stand in for him.
India will look to crush a South African revival before it becomes a threat to their pursuit of a maiden ODI series triumph here when the two sides clash in the fifth one-dayer, on Tuesday.
Pant had so far scored 222 runs in the IPL compared to a mere 93 by Karthik, but the latter's experience helped tilt the scale in his favour for the mega-event, starting in England from May 30.
Fans of the ace cricketer, who recently turned 38, took to Twitter to appeal to their idol to keep his chin high while praising his efforts in turning tables in favour of the Men in Blue.
The series appeared done and dusted when in the 4th ODI on Sunday India began a modest 190-run chase but their intimidating batting line-up fell short by 11 runs in a stunning turnaround on a slow pitch.
Selectors once again ignored Ashwin and Jadeja for the 3-match T20 series against Australia.
The coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad Tom Moody is hoping for Yuvraj Singh's speedy recovery ahead of season nine of the Indian Premier League. The Hyderabad-based franchise made some smart picks in the 2016 IPL Player Auctions. But the biggest name that caught everyone's attention was Yuvraj. However, the senior all-rounder is recovering from an injury, that he sustained during the World T20 and is expected to miss out on the first two weeks of IPL. "A player like Yuvraj Singh is important to any team. He is not only a match-winner with the bat but he is a very useful bowler in those middle overs," Moody said. "Sadly, Yuvraj will be out for a couple of weeks but we don't know how long that is going to be," Moody hoped for Yuvraj's speedy recovery from an ankle injury.
India's captain Rohit Sharma says he will continue to back his young bowlers and give them opportunities to showcase their skills at crunch moments of a game.
Colin Munro blasted a quickfire half-century as New Zealand pipped India by four runs in a high-scoring thriller to win the three-match T20 International 2-1, in Hamilton, on Sunday.
Captain Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane struck sublime half-centuries before Australia staged a strong fightback to bowl India out for 252 in the second One-Day International, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Litmus test awaits India and MS Dhoni in second ODI against South Africa.
'It was quite an exciting game of cricket, fans and players must have been entertained'
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi is not at all surprised with the current team's surrender in South Africa as he believes Virat Kohli's men went into the series without serious preparation and 'wasted time' playing against Sri Lanka.
Opener Ambati Raydu scored his maiden century in the Indian Premier League as Chennai Super Kings coasted to an easy eight-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad to virtually seal a play-offs berth, in Pune, on Sunday.
