While new young stars have emerged in Indian cricket in the last few years, none can match the monumental batting feats or the electric fan frenzy that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli command.
Such is the race for breaking news that if an Indian player sneezes, a report may immediately go out stating he may have caught the flu bug and could be a doubtful starter!
'I think he is going to carry Yuvraj's legacy forward. He is a phenomenal talent.'
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of Asia Cup 2025.
When the Indian team entered the ICC Cricket Academy Arena for their evening net session ahead of the Asia Cup, Samson was the first to start his solo keeping drills with fielding coach T Dilip, even as others were just about lumbering up.
Karun Nair's struggles at the crucial No. 3 position is a big headache for Team India.
Asia Cup: Hardik Pandya goes past Chahal to become second-highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is
'This is a new India, we won't tolerate it.'
Abhishek Sharma was brutal and beautiful in equal measure during his scintillating 74 as India made a tricky chase look comfortable, winning an ill-tempered Super 4 contest of the Asia Cup against Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai on Sunday.
Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh moved up to the sixth and 10th spot respectively in the latest ICC T20 rankings released on Wednesday.
One can't say with a degree of certainty that Rinku Singh is an automatic choice going into the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year.
Shubman Gill said he could not have asked for a better all-round performance from his team after they hammered the West Indies by an innings and 140 runs in the first Test.
Star India pacer Mohammed Siraj, who devastated the West Indies batting lineup with a four-wicket haul on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday, said that he was overjoyed to bowl on a green-top wicket after a long break.
Almost all the Indian batters ended their batting sessions with lofted shots. Every few minutes, screams of 'Watch out!' filled the air -- not from the players, but from scribes trying to protect their laptops, cameras, and skulls.
After the proceedings began with light warm-up and catching, the action shifted to the nets where all batters had long stints in the nets while the other pace bowlers too put in the hard yards.
India captain Rohit Sharma has climbed to second place in the ICC men's ODI batting rankings, closing in on top-ranked Shubman Gill.
'The only thing is I said that make sure that be brave enough. At the most, what will happen, you know. But be brave enough to face it.'
Unless a player picks up an injury in training, India's team is expected to wear the same look against a Pakistan squad that are without top stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, lending it a look of youth and experience.
The just-concluded Asia Cup was deeply saturated with off-field drama. But even amidst the bedlam, there were sparks of brilliance, emergence of new stars and tears of failure.
As the continental tournament kicks off on September 9 in Dubai, India will look to lean on this mix of proven winners and new leaders while keeping uncompromising fitness standards at the heart of their preparations.
Shaheen Afridi, who once tore through their batting lineup with ruthless efficiency, is showing signs of reclaiming his lethal edge just in time for the Asia Cup game against India on September 14.
Mystery spinner Varun Charkravarthy on Wednesday rose to the top spot in ICC's T20 International Bowlers' Rankings for the first time
With WI Tests starting next week, 25 overs in Asia Cup is good build-up for Bumrah: Doeschate
The Indians have not featured in ODIs in recent months but Kuldeep Yadav (650) and Ravindra Jadeja (616) still remained static at number three and number nine in the latest ODI rankings for bowlers.
Responding to India's squad selection for the home series against West Indies, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan opined that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah could have been rested for the series in order to groom a young fast bowler.
There are three aspects of the decision taken jointly by Agarkar and Gambhir with the blessings of someone very powerful in Indian cricket ecosystem. First, they are on same page that both Rohit and Virat Kohli aren't exactly in their scheme of things for the 2027 World Cup.
India's two time World Cup-winning hero Yuvraj Singh has said golf could have helped him score "at least 3,000 more runs" in international cricket and advised his "wards" Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma to take up the sport for its calming influence.
India Test skipper and T20 vice-captain Shubman Gill reached the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) for fitness assessment ahead of travelling to Dubai for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Former World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh led the accolades, hailing the team's 'serious temperament' and singling out the standout performers who defied the odds.
'We have to forget this game because we have one the day after tomorrow. We're looking forward to delivering a better performance there.'
Gill's recall would mark his first T20I appearance since the Sri Lanka series in July 2024, right after the T20 World Cup, where he didn't feature.
The inclusion of Gill in the squad has raised doubts in the minds of management about who will open the innings for their side, along with left-hand batter Abhishek, in the tournament.
Some felt India should not have been so ruthless with the UAE and could have opted to bat first, as they hadn't played a T20 match for a while.
A few months after his U-19 World Cup heroics, three senior journalists sought his cellphone number, which he readily provided -- only, he gave three different, but similar, numbers to the three of them!
This Asia Cup has charred the relationship between India and Pakistan players.
'Jaiswal has an avg of 36 & a strike rate of 164 in T20Is and he got dropped for Gill who has avg of 30 and a strike rate of 139.' 'There is no place for merit anymore.'
Shubman Gill enjoyed a phenomenal run with the bat in England, piling up 754 runs at an average of 75.40 with four centuries.
T20I skipper Suryakumar's hearing following PCB complaint done in presence of match-referee, board representatives: ICC sources
The Indian team refused to take the trophy from Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board chief and known for his vocal anti-India stand.
Rohit Sharma holds the record for leading India to the most victories in T20 Internationals.
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