Will India retain the same playing XI?
India will be desperately hoping that Rohit replicates his limited overs success in the traditional format
As much as Ishan Kishan has done his bit, India will need Iyer, the proverbial slayer of spin bowling in the middle overs during the World Cup.
The domestic season-ending five-day Irani Cup game between newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai and the Rest of India, commencing in Mumbai from Sunday, will provide fringe players a good opportunity to stake claims for the national team. The first class match is the last occasion for hopefuls from both ranks to impress the five-member national selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil before attention shifts totally to the T20 format, commencing with the ICC World T20 Championships. With the country expected to play over 15 Test matches post Indian Premier League till the end of next season, this match is the ideal platform for these players to strengthen their claims for the long Test haul. Mumbai, who clinched the Ranji crown for the 41st time last week by defeating Saurashtra by an innings, have a settled combination led by wicket keeper batsman Aditya Tare. They appear to be better prepared than the motley bunch of Rest of India, being led by Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha. However, they would take the Rest of India lightly at their own peril as the latter have a good bowling attack at their command even without originally named Barinder Sran and Nathu Singh who have been injured and replaced by Ankit Rajpoot and Anureet Singh, according to their coach Ashish Kapoor.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma sustained the injury during their last IPL game against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar blew away Bengal top-order in an incredible five-wicket haul
However, with six back-to-back Tests against the Windies and Pakistan, the rotation policy could be used to keep the paces fresh.
Before the opening day of the second Test, the BCCI officially announced that Rahane, Ishant and, more importantly, Ravindra Jadeja are out of the match due to various injuries.
The 3-0 series win against the West Indies could be called a precursor and the real battle begins now against Quinton de Kock's Proteas who are also in the midst of a tough transition.
Infused with new energy under Rohit, India looked a completely overhauled unit after being whitewashed in South Africa and the team would certainly want to continue from where it left of on Sunday night.
Retired Australian speedster Brett Lee has become the latest player to be named in the Sachin Tendulkar-led Marylebone Cricket Club XI which will take on Rest of the World XI in a Lord's Bicentenary celebration match on July 5.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the third Test?
Shaun Marsh is in a battle with his brother Mitchell and hard-hitting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for the middle order position for the forthcoming four-Test series in India.
Bowler Jaydev Unadkat in another player to watch out for as the three-match series in the shortest format kicks off in Johannesburg on Sunday
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood received his reward for some fine domestic form on Wednesday when he was included in a pace-heavy 13-man squad for the first two One-Day Internationals against South Africa next month.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Charitable Foundation received 20,000 pounds out of the 300,000 raised during the inaugural T20 fundraiser, 'Cricket for Heroes', at the KIA Oval last week.
India ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join compatriot Virender Sehwag and a host of other international cricketers for a charity match at the Kia Oval on September 17.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, on Friday, batted for Twenty20 tournaments, saying without it, the game of cricket could not survive.
The problem with non-selection of an Indian player in the XI is more to do with lack of matches rather than poor show since they have won both the series that they played in 2021.
Australia's stand-in coach David Saker on Wednesday said that the team management will closely monitor premier fast bowler Pat Cummins' workload in the upcoming limited overs series against India even though they expect him to play all the five ODIs.
It all starts in Guwahati on Sunday as the biggest city in Assam is slowly getting back to normalcy after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Help Captain Kohli and Head Coach Shastri pick India's XI for the Rajkot Test.
The agenda is to give a concrete shape to a Development Bank and pitch for reforms of the UN Security Council.
Pandya not scoring enough runs, lacks control with ball, says Holding
A testimony to KKR's problems has been the fact that 20 players have played in 12 games. There has not been a single game, where the playing XI has been retained, making the outfit look completely unsettled.
It will interesting to see how the pitch behaves on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli warmed up for their first training session
Ajinkya Rahane will be aiming to get his mojo back as India, formidable even without regular skipper Virat Kohli, eye another 'Whitewash' against Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series, starting on Sunday.
Joy knew no bounds for Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur when he was selected earlier this week for the Indian team's tour of the West Indies, although the celebrations at his home were low key due to a close relative's demise. "They (family members) were happy. But a couple of weeks ago, my uncle - my mom's brother - had passed away, so the celebrations weren't too high," said Thakur when asked about the reactions within his family at his home in neighbouring Palghar district. "We kept it easy. Obviously, my friends came home and we cut the cake," said the 25-year-old pacer who was in the forefront of the Mumbai bowling attack when they lifted the Ranji Trophy for the 41st time earlier this season. This is the first time that Thakur will be touring with the Indian squad and he said he will talk to senior players about the wicket conditions he will encounter in the West Indies, where India are to play a four-Test rubber in July-August.
The 21-year-old Renshaw has averaged 36.64 from his 10 Tests in a positive start to his international career but has had a tough Shield campaign for Queensland, failing to surpass 20 runs in his four innings.
Morgan expects English cricketers to take full advantage of the IPL, starting April 10.
The fond memories of 2015 came rolling back for Mitchell Starc after beginning his World Cup campaign in near-identical fashion to his crowning moment.
The squad will then be trimmed to 15 for the ICC World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton starting on June 18, as per ICC regulations.
The Mumbai youngster took the place of Kedar Jadhav, who was dropped from the T20I squad after his below-par showing in the three-match series against Australia.
'I believe Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, all four can play in the playing XI.'
So India lost its first World Twenty20 game on Tuesday night. Maybe, we fielded the wrong team :) Haresh Pandya picks 11 India greats who never played the shortest format, but can take on any team in the World T20 championships.
A bizarre standoff between Michael Clarke and selectors over the Australia captain's hopes of playing the first Test against India next week remained unresolved on Tuesday after the nation's cricket board dug in its heels.
The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League will return to India, after the completion of the first phase in the United Arab Emirates, on May 2, with a high-profile match between past winners Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Ranchi.
Virat Kohli will join the elite company of eleven other Indians and a total of 70 other players across the various countries to complete the century of Test match appearances.
'We have five to six bowlers and everyone is different from each other.' 'Someone has got pace, someone has got swing, someone has got seam... we complement each other well.'
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