Rohit Sharma has backed Ravichandran Ashwin's idea of an early start in the ODI World Cup to negate the dew factor. India's captain does not want any team to gain undue advantage in a major event.
India are yet to finalise their middle-order ahead of the World Cup but are unlikely to tinker much with the playing eleven for Friday's second ODI in Mount Maunganui.
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
Rising Pune Supergiant, who have gone from strength to strength, will look to seal their place in the Play-offs with a win over inconsistent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League in New Delhi, on Friday.
Rishabh Pant, on Thursday, earned a maiden call-up to the Indian ODI team, replacing Dinesh Karthik for the first two games against the West Indies.
Thousands of fans from both countries have crisscrossed the globe to watch their team in action and trust rival captains Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam to tell you this is another 'match' for them, but all the 22 players and reserves know that this is 'The Match'.
Gujarat Titans spinner Rashid Khan expressed happiness after his side defeated Delhi Capitals on Saturday, saying he is enjoying his time in Indian Premier League 2022.
Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik combined with excellent performances from their bowlers helped India 'A' outclass Australia 'A' by 50 runs to win the 'A' teams tri-series in Pretoria, on Wednesday.
Both Gujarat and Delhi Capitals started their campaign in IPL 2022 with wins and they would look to continue in the same vein at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
While Kedar injured his left shoulder during the IPL, Shankar was hit in the nets by a Khaleel Ahmed short ball.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Hardik Pandya has quit Gujarat Titans to rejoin his former team Mumbai Indians, following a trade between the two franchises.
Kings XI run into a RCB squad which has grown in confidence by leaps and bounds since their last meeting.
Rohit Sharma will be back in his familiar opening position with an aim to get some quality batting practice when India take on Bangladesh in their final warm-up game before the Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan.
A World Cup year tends to dominate discussion on ODI cricket, and bilateral series are usually quickly forgotten. Before the series against Australia begins, let us take a look at India's best ODI players during the ongoing 2019-2020 season.
For Kohli, in probably his last three matches as T20 captain of India, one would expect some prudent team selections and it starts with the question of repeatedly ignoring a player of Ashwin's calibre.
One of the finest fast bowlers in current times, Mohammed Amir would be pitted against the talismanic Virat Kohli in what could turn out to be a battle primarily between India's vaunted batting line-up and against Pakistan's potent bowling attack.
It will not be an easy task for a struggling Punjab side to stand up to the challenge thrown by a RCB team
The World Cup disappointment will continue to linger but Kohli will fancy his team's chances in the series, notwithstanding the return of the swashbuckling Chris Gayle.
Indeed, this might be the easiest way to select India's World Cup team of 15, by picking the top 15, with only No 16 Vijay Shankar perhaps replacing No 13 Khaleel Ahmed to bolster the batting!
The World Cup is just a couple of months away, and even after even a 0-2 loss in the just-concluded T20 series there won't be any shift in plans as far as skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri are concerned.
After their below par showing in the World Cup, some senior Indian players are living on borrowed time.
'Since we cannot trust the net bowlers about their exposure to COVID, it would be ideal to go with a large contingent as we can be assured of all the players' safety as they will be in a bio-secure environment.'
One of the primary focus of Monday's encounter could be the inclusion of Indian cricket's latest enfant terrible Hardik Pandya, who is coming back from provisional suspension for his loose talk on a TV chat show.
The Men in Blue have never won a bilateral ODI contest on Australian soil.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
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.
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
The former captain's struggling innings of 51 off 96 balls and his failure to rotate the strike in the first ODI has brought to focus the rejigging that captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri will have to fret upon.
Ishan Kishan had to sit out of the Sri Lanka series despite scoring the fastest double hundred in the history of ODIs against Bangladesh.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings in Sharjah on Saturday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify India's most valuable players in ODI games this season.
While the two T20 matches will be a precursor to the ODI series, vice-captain Rohit Sharma is likely to be given a short break to rejuvenate and come back fresh for the ODIs.
Here's the full list of players sold on Day 1:
India will be expecting more runs from the middle order and discipline in the death overs as they look for a series sealing win against New Zealand in the second ODI in Raipur on Saturday.
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Former Pakistan fast bowler and current United Arab Emirates coach Aaqib Javed feels that Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah will "find it difficult" to sustain for long without injury in international cricket with his unusual action.
'I believe Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, all four can play in the playing XI.'
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Indian ODI Players in the 2018-19 season so far.
How the IPL teams have shaped up after the auction.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances