Rishabh Pant's place in the playing eleven is far from guaranteed, while Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are locked in a tight contest for the additional all-rounder's slot as India confront several selection dilemmas ahead of the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi.
Team India skipper Shubman Gill is unlikely to feature in the second Test against South Africa, with Cricket Association of Bengal sources confirming that he is not travelling to Guwahati with the team on Wednesday.
The track is historically a high-scoring one and the outfield is quick. But on a red soil surface, the ball grips and can surprise the batters.
Cheteshwar Pujara refuses to believe India's recent poor record at home is because of transition.
Gautam Gambhir, wife Natasha and daughters Aazeen and Anaiza, were seen soaking in the scenic beauty of France's snow-capped mountains.
The second and final Test starts in Guwahati from Saturday with India trailing 0-1 after the defeat on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata.
India shouldn't play Pakistan even at ICC events till terrorism ends: Gambhir
Indian cricket team's head coach and former BJP MP Gautam Gambhir has reportedly received threatening emails, prompting authorities to tighten his security.
India will look to reprise their home template of big first-innings totals and sustained spin in the short two-Test series against South Africa beginning in Kolkata on Friday.
South Africa pulled off a sensational victory inside three days of the opening Test against India on Sunday and the manner of it would go a long way in silencing those who doubted their credentials as the reigning world test champions.
'Am I the reason team will lose? Kuldeep might think, I am bowling so well, even after that I am not playing, then am I the problem in this team?'
Gambhir is reportedly inclined toward appointing a young captain who can serve as a close ally in shaping the team's future, with Gill fitting that profile.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Gambhir, a former BJP MP, was effusive in his praise for the Indian cricket board for inviting the three chiefs of the armed forces to attend the IPL title clash, saying, 'It's an unbelievable step.'
The 36-year-old all-rounder once again rose to the occasion, batting with remarkable patience, steel and a fierce will to fight. Partnering first with Jasprit Bumrah and then Mohammed Siraj, Jadeja weathered thunderbolts and mind games. His 61 not out off 181 balls, spread over nearly five hours, brought India within 22 agonising runs of victory.
Beginning of Gambhir era: Coach becomes most powerful figure in Indian dressing room
The last time two specialist keepers played together in a Test was in 1986, when Kiran More and Chandrakant Pandit featured in the same XI, with Pandit playing as a batter.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul perished early as India fumbled in the chase of a mammoth 549-run target on Day 4 of the second Test.
Working with Abhishek has made me understand how to become a coach: Yuvraj Singh
Hours after Rohit made his understated retirement announcement on Instagram, Gambhir put the speculation to rest with a glowing tribute
Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh expressed disappointment at the loss but praised India's all-round performance.
Ravichandran Ashwin's three-word post on X featured the Nike tick symbol in the Indian tri-colour with the words 'Just leave it'.
We are friends, people have said lot for TRP: Gambhir on his relationship with Virat Kohli
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.
Gill, Rahul, Pant and the irrepressible Yashasvi Jaiswal will now have a chance to script the next glorious chapter in Indian cricket.
Rohit, Kohli can play till they are performing; I have no role in England selection: Gambhir
Gambhir Leads Chorus as Cricket Fraternity Hails India's Triumph
'You also know that Gambhir has an aura, the way he comes and takes the team along. I was just talking about that.'
'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.'
'We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides.'
With the scars of last year's home series whitewash against New Zealand still raw, preparing rank turners may invite risk.
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
'Will any coach think of keeping out Rohit and Kohli from the ODI team? That means there is something going on within the team against the two players.' Manoj Tiwary, who played 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, said iconic players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli deserve greater respect.
Gautam Gambhir broke into a rare smile, trading shayari with Navjot Singh Sidhu, and even (almost) breaking into a dance.
This would mark the first time an Indian head coach travels with the 'A' team on a tour.
Speculations and debates have sparked over social media since last week, after chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the management's decision to hand over the ODI captaincy from Rohit to Shubman Gill.
There are three aspects of the decision taken jointly by Agarkar and Gambhir with the blessings of someone very powerful in Indian cricket ecosystem. First, they are on same page that both Rohit and Virat Kohli aren't exactly in their scheme of things for the 2027 World Cup.
'For him, win or defeat never mattered, he always told us to give our best and never worry about the results.'
Since making a comeback to the T20 team for the Asia Cup, Shubman Gill has struggled to tally just 184 runs in 10 innings.
India's Test No 3 Sai Sudharsan said his primary aim is to win matches for the team rather than focusing on individual goals.
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