A fit-again Gautam Gambhir will lead a 14-member Indian Board President's XI against the touring Australian team in a three-day practice match from September 25 in Chandigarh.
Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma will captain the Board President's XI in a two-day warm-up match against the visiting South African team beginning at Nagpur on Tuesday. The squad also includes youngster Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan, while Abhimanyu Mithun, who has also been included in India's 15-member squad for the first Test, will spearhead the pace department along with Punjab seamer Manpreet Gony.
Unseasonal rain in Mumbai could deny the tourists vital match practice before the first Test against India that begins in Ahmedabad on November 16.
Lokesh Rahul enhanced his case for inclusion in India's first Test XI with a composed half century, guiding Board President's XI past a difficult period on day one of the two-day practice game against visiting South Africa on Friday.
Batting first, Board President's XI made 295 for 9 in 50 overs and then bowled out the tourists for 265 in 47.4 overs.
The Australians, led by Steve Smith, arrived in Chennai from Bangladesh after drawing a two-Test series and the match tomorrow would give them opportunity to at least switch to the One-day format.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing to discuss a range of issues, including trade frictions and the war in Iran.
Thanks to Taylor's 102 and Latham's 108 (both retired out) on a flat Brabourne Stadium track, New Zealand notched up a mammoth 343 for nine in the allotted 50 overs.
US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss trade, technology, Taiwan, and the Iran war. Xi Jinping said that 2026 will be a 'historic, landmark year' for China-US relations.
Donald Trump says several issues were settled during the final day of talks with Xi Jinping covering trade, tariffs, and diplomacy.
India A will undertake a shadow tour of New Zealand ahead of the senior team's multi-format series in the country, with the itinerary comprising three List A matches and two first-class games.
A massive flash flood originating in Tibet has devastated central Nepal, killing 17 people and leaving nearly 500 missing, including 105 Indians. The deluge, caused by a rock slide near the Nepal-Tibet border, swept through districts, washing away bridges and severely damaging at least a dozen hydropower projects.
A source at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru has expressed significant concerns regarding players competing in the Indian Premier League while injured, attributing this to franchise and financial pressures, which subsequently complicates their rehabilitation and return to international cricket.
For India, the guiding principle should remain clear: Engage Bangladesh as a sovereign nation and society rather than through the prism of any individual leader or political party, suggests Manoj Mohanka.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump stated, "We have a deal," referring to the trade pact which will be routinely extended. "Every year we'll renegotiate the deal, but I think the deal will go on for a long time, long beyond the year. We'll negotiate at the end of the year," he added.
The Beijing summit may have reduced immediate diplomatic uncertainty, but it did not resolve the deeper structural contest between the United States and China. That contest appears likely to define the coming decade, notes Varun Arya.
Ricky Ponting-led Australia will be keen to get vital match practice, and key Indian players returning from injuries are looking to assess their fitness, when the visitors and Board President's XI clash in a three-day practice match in Chandigarh on Saturday.
United States President Donald Trump boards Air Force One for his return home following diplomatic engagements in Beijing.
'We can integrate AI and tech into education, but that is just a means and not an end.' 'Ultimately, we need to control what happens in a classroom and we need to let teachers innovate their teaching style to suit the needs of Gen Z and beyond.'
US President Donald Trump received a red carpet welcome in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade, the Iran war, and other key issues. The visit underscores the importance both nations place on their relationship amid ongoing tensions.
A depleted India will be thoroughly tested by Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI, which boasts of six players from the Test squad, in the three-day warm-up match, starting at the Colts Cricket Club in Colombo, on Tuesday.
For the foreseeable future, the most likely outcome remains continuation of the status quo. Taiwan will remain self-governing without formally declaring independence, while China continues to apply sustained pressure short of war, predict Krishnan Srinivasan and Manoj Mohanka.
All-rounder Yuvraj Singh will lead the Board of Control for Cricket in India's President's XI which will take on the visiting Australian team in the four-day warm-up game in Hyderabad, starting October 2. The BCCI, on Tuesday, also announced an India 'A' squad for the four-day matches against New Zealand 'A', in Chennai. It will be led by Suresh Raina.
United States President Donald Trump is set to engage in high-stakes bilateral meetings on Thursday, including a closed-door session with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Oval Office, according to Trump's public schedule released by the White House.
Firefighters battled for a second day on Thursday to contain a massive inferno that ripped through seven high-rise residential towers in Hong Kong, as the death toll climbed to 65 and over 280 people remained missing in what officials described as the city's worst disaster in 70 years.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
In addition to the Karnataka batsman, leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who has been in great form for India A against the Black caps A side, was called as a replacement for injured Rajasthan youngster Rahul Chahar.
The domineering Board President's XI punctured Australia's usual aura of invincibility in the drawn warm-up match, exposing numerous chinks in the visitors' armour ahead of the four-match cricket Test series.
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
'We will likely never know why Xi decided not to travel to New Delhi. One possible explanation could be his desire to avoid a meeting with US President Joe Biden.'
Board President's XI were 110 for 2 in their second innings when stumps were drawn on their third day, having stretched their overall lead to a healthy 251.
"The two sides note that the relationship between Russia and China has progressed to a more advanced interstate cooperation compared to the military-political unions of the Cold War era as it is not bloc or confrontational in nature, nor does it target any third countries," Russia's new agency Tass quoted the document as saying.
It may be recalled that India had played a Test each against England and Australia at Mumbai in December last year, winning them by 347 runs and eight wickets respectively.
Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade will lead the touring Australian side in a two-day game against the Board President's XI in Chennai on Tuesday.
The one-off three-day match against Sri Lanka will be held in Bangalore from November 26.
On his arrival, Xi will be welcomed by traditional peformances including 'tappu' folk drum art display at the airport by about 500 artistes.
The Central Committee members on Sunday elected a 25-member Political Bureau which picked the Standing Committee members to govern the country.
Indian bowlers, with the exception of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, were far from impressive as they struggled for wickets on the third and final day of the second tour match against the West Indies Board President's XI which ended in a draw in Basseterre, St. Kitts on Saturday.
Mithun Manhas: Street-Smart cricketer, who was always at the right place at right time
