Their bowling attacks struggling to find form, Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad will look towards their power-hitters to do the job when the two erratic teams go head to head in an IPL match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings in Sharjah on Saturday.
Virat Kohli was rested from the three-match T20I series against the West Indies.
When was the last time we saw an IPL top 50 table without the names of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, M S Dhoni, and with Rishabh Pant getting almost the last empty seat? ask Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji as they list the 50 Most Valuable Players after the first 29 IPL 2022 games.
Images from the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab, in Hyderabad.
Jos Buttler is still the front-runner to be this IPL's MVP. He still has at least two matches to play and one big knock will win it for him. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players after the end of the 70 league matches in IPL 2022.
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!
India and Pakistan meet in their opening World Cup match at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Ahead of what promises to be a thrilling contest here's a fact-file on the teams.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle pick the 50 Most Valuable Players in IPL 2022 after Game 55.
It will not be an easy task for a struggling Punjab side to stand up to the challenge thrown by a RCB team
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list the 50 Most Valuable Players after 46 IPL 2022 games.
With the three-match T20I series ahead and also the World Cup round the corner, India will have to address this weakness to ensure that their much-vaunted batting doesn't crumble on an odd day when the condition aids swing bowling in England.
Hosts Australia will pull on a classic uniform from the 1980s featuring green strip on bright gold top and pants when they take on India in the three-match ODI series.
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.
At stumps, India were comfortably placed at 157 for 2, after bundling out the West Indies for a meagre 182 by tea, riding on left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha's five-wicket haul.
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.
For Hyderabad, KXIP encounter is the last game where they can avail the services of Warner before he leaves home for Australia's World Cup preparations alongside Steven Smith and Marcus Stoinis.
It was India's ninth consecutive ODI series win, at home and away, over the West Indies.
The Pandyas continue to be in the thick of things with Hardik Pandya (391) ahead, but Krunal Pandya (300) not too far behind. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list the 50 Most Valuable Players after the first 38 IPL 2022 games.
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.
The top five includes Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav; both reminding the Indian selectors that they can still be formidable magicians.
After their below par showing in the World Cup, some senior Indian players are living on borrowed time.
Glenn Maxwell hammered the India 'A' bowlers to all parts of the LC de Villers Oval in Pretoria to score 145 not out from 79 balls and lift Australia 'A' to 298 in the second match of the 'A' Team tri-series, on Thursday.
Trent Boult top the most valuable players list with Mohammed Shami hold on to second position
'I believe Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, all four can play in the playing XI.'
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.
'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.'
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
Sunrsiers' middle-order has hardly been tested and when the opportunity came against Mumbai Indians, the likes of Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan fell flat.
Formidable India will hope to get more answers for their unsettled middle-order puzzle when they take on a reeling West Indies in the five-match ODI series, starting Sunday and ticking off the home team's countdown to the 2019 World Cup.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings, in Sharjah, on Sunday.
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify India's most valuable players in ODI games this season.
India's ODI squad against Australia announced; squads for New Zealand tour declared
aptain Virat Kohli and premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, were both called back into a full-strength Indian squad, while Dinesh Karthik was left out of the five-match ODI series against Australia, starting in Visakhapatnam, on February 24.
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.
With markets closed and meat supply hit due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown, Muslims are in for a Ramzan without their favourite kebabs and other chicken and mutton dishes.
While Kedar injured his left shoulder during the IPL, Shankar was hit in the nets by a Khaleel Ahmed short ball.
The talented Shreyas Iyer will be auditioning for the vacant number four slot when India take on West Indies in Sunday's second ODI of the three-match series.
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