Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar, with his fast leg-breaks, will fight it out for the additional tweaker's slot when the selectors pick the Indian squad for next month's ICC T20 World Cup in the coming couple of days.
Fit again Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari made their way back into the Indian Test squad, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was left out for next month's IIC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-match series against England.
IMAGES from day 3 of the 1st Test between Bangladesh and India played in Chottogram on Friday.
Gujarat are clearly the team to beat in the competition having won eight out of nine games.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore
With 3,248 runs to his name, Martin Guptill is atop the leading T20I scorers' list, ahead of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have scored 3,227 and 3,086 runs respectively.
Rahul would like to make full use of the game time he gets as an opener during the three games against Zimbabwe
India made just one change to their squad as Umesh Yadav replaced Shardul Thakur for the last two Tests of the ongoing four-match series against England.
Images from the second One-Day International between Bangladesh and India, in Chattogram, on Saturday.
Virat Kohli, who has given up the RCB captaincy, was retained along with Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and young pace bowler Mohammed Siraj.
Australia's blockbuster four-Test series against India will be the greatest challenge Pat Cummins has faced in his young captaincy as he looks to conquer the "final frontier".
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Kane Williamson is aware that spin is a "big component" in a Test series in India and expects his specialist slow bowlers -- left-arm orthodox Ajaz Patel and off-spinner William Somerville -- to adapt to the conditions quickly and make a difference.
The Most Valuable Player Index table is telling another (worrying?) story: Performance from players in teams that are not going to make the top four is dropping somewhat alarmingly. The IPL is gruelling and cruel. It can do wonders to your career, but can also seriously hurt your international prospects if you get injured in a match that is essentially inconsequential. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after Game 63.
While a draw always seems a safe option in a game like this but Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri wouldn't like to play a defensive game which at times can be counter-productive.
Before facing the might of Shaheen Shah Afridi in Asia Cup, a morning session with deliveries moving both sides, albeit with a gentle pace, would be decent enough extended net session for Rahul.
IMAGES from the 2nd ODI played between Zimbabwe and India in Harare on Saturday.
Just when it looked like RCB were back in the game, Sunil Narine, who had done the job with the ball (4 for 21), came out to bat and wasted no time to get going and tilt the momentum back in KKR's favour.
New Zealander Lockie Ferguson finished with 4/28 which accounted for Shaw, Singh, Pant and Patel.
Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal were among the big names to be released ahead of the mega auction.
Their opponents New Zealand, who effectively knocked India out of the World Cup, have reached Jaipur on a chartered flight from Dubai with little time to reflect on their loss to Australia in the title clash.
Both RCB and PBKS will have new captains at the helm in Faf du Plessis and Mayank Agarwal respectively
Chappell cites Joel Garner while telling Manjrekar that Ashwin is among the best right now
It turned out to be a lop-sided contest as India were thoroughly outplayed in both batting and bowling by a dominant England.
Shami was hit on the hand by a Pat Cummins short ball during India's second innings last Saturday, which ended at a record lowest score of 36 for nine at the Adelaide Oval. He was taken to a hospital for scans, which revealed a fracture.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals in Pune on Tuesday.
While Rohit Sharma will be eager to test his ultra-aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Virat Kohli it is the perfect platform to return to form after enduring a tough phase in the last few years.
A virgin Motera pitch has become the big talking point as captain Virat Kohli looks to get the combination right with India looking to continue their momentum to trouble England in the day-night third Test match, starting in Ahmedabad, on Wednesday.
India would be looking to sort out issues such as the opening blues, the middle-lower order conundrum and also the bowling strategies during the three-match T20 series against West Indies.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Dubai.
Our government shows a benign mask to the world behind which its fangs are bared against its own citizens, observes Aakar Patel.
'From our perspective, we have to change the way we play but also sticking to some of the key principles of Test cricket. We will try to be competitive for long, long periods of time.'
Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Sanjay Bangar believes the inclusion of the experienced Faf du Plessis has added 'real strength' to their batting department.
New Zealand's three-pronged attack could spell trouble for India on a spiced-up track and Will Somerville, who played a gutsy knock in Kanpur, might have to sit out.
Virat Kohli would hope for a turnaround when India take on an under-prepared Sri Lanka in the second Test in Bengaluru
Should the non-performers in IPL's UAE leg be axed?
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup match played between India and Zimbabwe in Melbourne on Sunday.
The onus would be on their famed batting line-up of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell to start firing once again and put pressure on the KKR batsmen.
Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
Police had sought an extension of Zubair's custody by five days.
