India will look to overcome batting inconsistencies and finish the tour of Australia with authority when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Brisbane on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has been fined Rs 12 lakh for his side's slow over rate during their two-run win over Punjab Kings in an Indian Premier League match.
India vs New Zealand, 3rd T20, Guwahati: Abhishek blitz hands India series win
Rajasthan Royals announced Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara as their head coach for IPL 2026 next year, following the exit of Rahul Dravid from the role.
Test captain Shubman Gill also doesn't fit in the Indian T20 line-up, which has a settled top three in Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Playing as the opener, Sanju Samson has made just 39 runs in the first two T20 Internationals against Bangladesh.
India will be hoping that Abhishek Sharma returns to his destructive ways and the other batters up their game against spin when the side takes the field for its final T20 World Cup league fixture against the Netherlands.
India and South Africa will face off in their opening Super Eight match of the T20 World Cup. The match will test India's batting line-up against South Africa's formidable bowling attack.
In a surprising move, KKR's batting sensation Rinku Singh was not picked in the 15-member squad.
The indefatigable duo of Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj is expected to be the big talking point on Saturday when the selectors pick a 15-member Indian ODI squad for a three-match series against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara.
Vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra's exhilarating stroke-play was well complemented by Aaron George's composure as India set up an Under-19 Asia Cup summit date with arch-rivals Pakistan after crushing Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a rain-curtailed semi-final, in Dubai, on Friday.
Cricket's rulebook struck again in a bizarre Asia Cup Super Over moment between India and Sri Lanka, leaving fans stunned as Dasun Shanaka survived what looked like a certain run-out.
The 34-year-old mystery spinner rewrote the record books during the fifth and final T20I against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday, casting a spell of his bamboozling spin magic on the Proteas batters, four of them surrendering to his bowling.
A mouth-watering India-South Africa warm-up at the D Y Patil stadium did exactly that, igniting anticipation and hopes among fans.
In this rivalry, numbers fade and national pride takes centre stage.
India put on a commanding performance to beat South Africa by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup warm-up clash at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, on Wednesday.
After this snub, it looks difficult for Shubman Gill at this point to make a comeback to the T20 team with plenty of talented young players waiting in the wings.
Sanju Samson urged his players to pull their socks up after crushing defeat
Rajasthan Royals batsman Sanju Samson sent one flying into orbit... literally!
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru carried off from last season with dominating performances in their opening two games of IPL 2026.
Shivam Dube flickered brightly with a fifty of exceptional quality but it was insufficient to prevent India's 50-run defeat against New Zealand in the fourth T20 International.
Sanju Samson, elevated to No.3 spot, hit his maiden international century in the third and final ODI against South Africa.
India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate highlights the team's challenges against finger spin and the predictability of their left-handed top order as they prepare for the T20 World Cup Super 8s.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Suryakumar Yadav, who returned to form with a blazing 82* against New Zealand at Raipur, spoke on how he dealt with his lean patch
India batter Tilak Varma on Friday achieved a historic feat during the fourth and final match against South Africa in Johannesburg.
'It is a passing phase'. 'He will bounce back'. 'He is a run machine; poor form is just temporary'. The vote of confidence in Gill was inspiring and reassuring, notes Sandeep Goyal.
'I'm a Sanju Samson fan, been that way for years now, (but) he's wasting good form by shot selection'
The report also indicated that Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are unlikely to get a call-up to the T20I squad as the team management might not upset the team's core combination.
"Gill should cement his place at the top order in T20": Irfan Pathan
Sanju Samson hit a fluent half-century and Mukesh Kumar took four wicket as India eased past Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the inconsequential fifth and final T20I.
The Rajasthan Royals have retained their core group of players, including captain Sanju Samson, as they look to build on their recent success.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on #JusticeForSanjuSamson trending on Twitter afer the wicket-keeper batter was not picked for the T20I home series against New Zealand.
Sanju Samson was overlooked for the ODI World Cup despite averaging 55.7 with a strike rate of 104 in 13 ODI innings.
Yorkers on the field, reels off it -- Arshdeep Singh is mastering both games. The left-arm pacer, already India's leading T20I wicket-taker, is fast becoming cricket's social media star.
Samson smashed his way to a brilliant 55 from 27 balls, including three fours and five sixes.
'We have players who can do that. If all of us try that, it's a team sport, but this is the time when we need individual players to step up.'
SMAT 2025: Hardik comeback on cards, chance for rich domestic talent to shine before IPL auction
Samson expressed gratitude for the support from the 'Men in Blue' skipper
As India start their T20 World Cup title defence in less than 72 hours, one is tempted to look at Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir's working relationship which has been fantastic, at least so going by the results -- a whopping 31 wins in 39 games with a winning percentage of 79.48.
