'The call-up from Rahul Dravid was the turning point for Sarfaraz.' 'I would like to thank Virat Kohli for the trust he has shown in Sarfaraz.'
India captain Rohit Sharma is confident that his team will bounce back from the eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru.
In the absence of national regulars, the focus will shift on the likes of Rinku, who was surprisingly not picked for the first round despite having an impressive first-class record.
Rinku Singh picked for second round as top stars leave for Test series against Bangladesh. Mayank Agarwal has been named as India A captain in Gill's place.
The Men's Selection Committee has picked India's 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match IDFC FIRST Bank Test series against New Zealand.
The national team, captained for the bulk of those years by Misbah Ul Haq, hosted its 'home' games in the United Arab Emirates and remained relatively successful until fixtures trickled back onto Pakistani soil in 2018.
The pace trio of Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini did the damage with the ball as India B outclassed India A by 76 runs in the Duleep Trophy.
Woeful India dismissed for 46 as New Zealand pacers run riot
A spectacular seven-wicket haul by Mitchell Santner helped New Zealand dismiss India for 156 before the tourists reached 198-5 at stumps on day two of the second test in Pune on Friday to tighten their grip on the three-match series.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie will no longer have a say in selection matters after the PCB selectors cut down their powers, according to a source.
Sourav Ganguly names Rishabh Pant as the next-best red-ball batter after stalwart Virat Kohli and predicts him to have a "huge impact" in the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth on Friday.
Sarfaraz had told head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq, before the match that he didn't wish to play.
Australia's batting great Ricky Ponting on Friday said he was 'surprised' by the Indian camp's wording around Rohit Sharma's absence from the Sydney Test.
Former captain Wasim Akram led Pakistan's cricket community in lambasting the team for "going down without a fight" against arch-rivals India.
Rishabh Pant last played a Test match in December 2022 before a serious car crash saw him sidelined for nearly two years.
Easwaran compiled an unbeaten 151 off 212 balls, and laced his innings with 12 fours and a six on the third day of the match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium.
'Young people say they know all this emphasis on Hindu-Muslim differences is politically motivated.' 'If you stop watching TV and turn off social media, you'll find the situation on the ground different.'
"They lacked imagination, lacked out of the box thinking."
Skipper Rohit Sharma asserted that the 'three hours' on Day 2, when they collapsed for a lowly 46 in the first Test against New Zealand.
Batsman Fawad Alam, who was also named in the 20-member squad along with two specialist spinners could make a comeback to Pakistan's Test team after 11 years.
'Bumrah is not the right option for captain.' 'All the pressure to deliver is on his shoulders. So taking on the mantle of captain will be added pressure.'
Sarfaraz was removed as captain from all three formats last year in a sudden move by the Pakistan Cricket Board but made a comeback to the national squad for the tour of England due to the unusual circumstances arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For India, the biggest disappointment was the poor showing of their senior most players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.
It was a stunning defeat for India, who were dismantled by eight wickets in seamer-friendly conditions in the opening match at Bengaluru, as they suffered their first series loss on home soil since falling to England in 2012.
'The IPL provides a different ladder in terms of recognition.' 'If you do well, you will obviously get noticed and it enhances your selection into white-ball formats.'
Since 2022, he has scored 514 runs in Tests from 12 matches (21 innings) at an average of 25.7, having registered three half-centuries and a century.
Sarfaraz, Imad Wasim dropped from Pakistan white-ball squad vs Australia.
He steered the team away from trouble and kept grinding. His innings of 80 consisted of 6 fours and 2 maximums.
A lot of former Pakistan cricketers suggested that India did not give their best against England, making it nearly impossible for Pakistan to make the semi-finals.
Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, is reportedly using individuals under the influence of drugs or posing as mentally disturbed to infiltrate India and deliver messages to terrorists in prisons. Officials have reported over 10 such cases since July, with individuals entering from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and being sent to prisons in Jammu, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Security agencies suspect these individuals are couriers tasked with relaying communication to jailed terrorists. The ISI's tactic is believed to be a response to the increased use of technology in communication, which leaves behind electronic footprints. This method of infiltration has also been linked to drug smuggling operations. The ISI's current tactic is reminiscent of its past use of "sawari operators" on the Samjhauta Express for covert operations, which were effectively curtailed by authorities.
Despite the challenging build-up, Gambhir said he is "extremely confident" of retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The players will hope to be as confident as they prepare for the fight to keep their World Test Final chances alive.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday.
Sarfaraz Ahmed was among 11 players and officials who were denied clearance to board commercial flights to Abu Dhabi
Rohit and the team management will also have to keep some of the young talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel wrapped in cotton wool after experiencing some early success in top-flight cricket.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir threw his weight behind under-fire batter K L Rahul ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, starting in Pune from Thursday.
While the pace department needs some urgent solutions, the spin has a slightly different landscape.
As many as four world-class match-winners are expected to bid adieu to the game one by one in the next couple of years and Gautam Gambhir is in an unenviable position as head coach.
Shreyas Iyer would be aiming to revive his start-stop international career, while Ishan Kishan would aim to clear the popular perception about his allegedly 'misplaced priorities'.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
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