'I want to be conventional and also blend with out-of-box thinking. Want to have nice balance...'
Sanju Samson's T20I future took another hit on Tuesday as India benched him yet again, favouring the finishing skills of Jitesh Sharma in a team that now appears fully committed to its Shubman Gill-led blueprint.
India great Virat Kohli continued his push to regain his place as the best ODI batter while moving up to the second spot in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli moved up to No. 4 in the latest ICC rankings with a match-winning hundred against South Africa in the first ODI at Ranchi boosting his ascend.
Captain Rishabh Pant conceded that India needed to get better as a Test team.
Ravichandran Ashwin stressed that Washington Sundar must be treated as a frontline bowling all-rounder and given a full quota of overs to build confidence with the bat as well.
Jadeja returned to haunt South Africa with the ball after the Proteas came out to bat for the second time in the match.
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
The swashbuckling left-hander has a solid record in England, with 808 runs in 10 Tests and 19 innings at an average of 42.52, with four centuries and two fifties. His best score is 146.
Jadeja reduces South Africa to 93/7 in second innings, India smell big win
At the top end of the spectrum sits the familiar figure: The 2 crore bracket, where 40 players have thrown their hats in.
IPL Auction 2026 was not just about money; it was a celebration of ambition, opportunity, and the unrelenting belief that the next big star could come from anywhere.
Film folk hoped to end their week with a laugh, and lined up for the special screening of Mastiii 4 in Mumbai.
Gill may miss ODI series due to unhealed neck injury; Rahul, Pant in line for ODI captaincy
Pace bowling all-rounders always come at a premium and therefore, the troika of Green, Venkatesh Iyer and West Indies' Jason Holder, all coming at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore (US$220,000), are set to headline the bidding war.
At stumps, Sai Sudharsan and Kuldeep Yadav were at the crease with India requiring another 522 runs to win and level the two-Test series.
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.
In-form Kohli, Rohit go hard in nets ahead of 2nd ODI against South Africa
The senior duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma went full throttle in India's practice session on the eve of the India vs South Africa first ODI in Ranchi.
Grind pays off for Ruturaj Gaikwad, now upto him and luck to prove his 50-over mettle.
Reddy's all-round show not enough for Andhra Pradesh.
Images from Day 5 of the second and final Test between India and South Africa, at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, on Wednesday.
The IPL consistently rewards smart squad building, tactical flexibility, and balanced team composition over individual star power. So what exactly are franchises paying for when the bidding war begins?
K L Rahul takes over the captaincy after regular skipper Shubman Gill missed the series because of a neck injury.
Kolkata Knight Riders splashed the cash as they spent a record breaking Rs 25.20 to buy Australian all-rounder Cameron Green.
India will look to address several lingering selection puzzles when they take on South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday in the first ODI of the three-match series, where Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the set-up for a short audition that could well shape their 2027 World Cup fate.
India captain Shubman Gill was on Friday released from the Test squad ahead of the second match against South Africa starting Saturday.
Pant, who will lead India A, is returning after a three-month absence because of a foot injury which he sustained in July in England, and now the 28-year-old southpaw is aiming to get back to the national fold during the two-match Test series against the Proteas.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
Though Shubman Gill travelled with the Indian team to Guwahati on Wednesday, his injury is unlikely to heal in time ahead of the second Test, which begins on Saturday.
Simon Harmer picked up four wickets as South Africa staged an incredible fightback to shock India by 30 runs in a low-scoring first Test match.
Some accused Pant of 'hiding' from the pressure, suggesting that the move reflected a lack of confidence in his batting. Others saw it as a worrying sign for LSG's leadership and strategy.
This is the first time in nearly seven decades that India have suffered two successive series whitewashes at home.
What Gambhir Wants: Players who are not playing to the gallery, care for dressing room
Sourav Ganguly believes India's biggest selection dilemma ahead of the upcoming Test series against South Africa could centre around one man - Dhruv Jurel.
Rishabh Pant is only the second wicketkeeper in the history of Test cricket to hit two hundreds in the same match.
Conversations might have been different if Pant got his execution right: Jansen
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
In India's first innings, only Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 off 97 balls) and Washington Sundar (48 off 92 balls) could contribute substantially as the home team suffered a batting collapse after starting the day at 9 for no loss.
South Africa completed a memorable 2-0 series sweep against India after off-spinner Simon Harmer claimed 6/37 to bowl the Proteas to a comprehensive 408-run victory in the second Test,