Besides KL Rahul, another individual who would like to answer his critics with solid performances is Pant.
There will be a strong focus on buying uncapped Indian players with eight franchises gearing up to pick a maximum of 76 out of the 350 plus, who will go under the hammer at the auction for the 10th Indian Premier League.
The former India captain not just rejected the accusations thrown at him but also offered a gentle reminder to his critics -- much before becoming the BCCI boss, he was a celebrated India cricketer and played in a whopping 424 international matches -- 113 of them Tests.
It's been two years since Congress politician Baba Siddique and his son Zeeshan Siddique, a Maharashtra MLA, hosted threw their annual, star-studded, Iftar parties. The pandemic had played spoilsport, but no longer it seems for Baba and Son.
'I just need to go back and bat at my old position at No 3.' 'In the IPL, captaincy is just for namesake. You just need to go out there and play well.' Suresh Raina tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about the challenges that lie ahead as he leads the Gujarat Lions and how much he will miss his beloved Chennai Super Kings and under his favourite skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Saurashtra left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been recalled, while India also have three first-timers in Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.
The prosecution complaint, ED's equivalent to chargesheet, has urged the court for confiscating attached assets totalling to Rs 1.22 crore in the case, besides other punishment under Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah produced his career-best spell in first-class cricket as Gujarat staged a sensational comeback to beat Jharkhand by 123 runs and reach their second ever final of the Ranji Trophy cricket Tournament. Bumrah finished with figures of six for 29 and alongside veteran pacer R P Singh plotted the downfall of Jharkhand, who were skittled out for 111 in their second innings after being set a target of 235 runs on day four of the semifinal.
A look at the top 10 purchases at the IPL auction.
The 13th edition of the IPL will have added significance as 2020 is also a T20 World Cup year.
Former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar on Saturday slammed India's team selection in the ongoing Test series against South Africa, saying it is a shame to pick players for a Test match based on their form in limited overs cricket.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy limited-overs' tournament.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar took six wickets to help Bengal beat Karnataka by 174 runs and enter the final of the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 13 years, in Kolkata, on Tuesday. Chasing 352 for victory, Karnataka were bowled out for 177 in their second innings with Mukesh taking 6-61 in 21 overs, while Ishan Porel and Akash Deep took two wickets each.
He has enjoyed prime form in first class cricket this season, but despite being excluded from the IPL auctions list, Jharkhand's Ishant Jaggi tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian that he is mentally strong and will continue to perform. He also reckons that the auditions and the simulation tests conducted by the IPL franchises to identify players is not the right way to go about things.
Lesser known cricketers who could make waves at the IPL auction.
Bowler Jaydev Unadkat in another player to watch out for as the three-match series in the shortest format kicks off in Johannesburg on Sunday
'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.'
Out-of-favour India openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir found some form going their way as Delhi got the better of Himachal Pradesh by six wickets in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match for North Zone in Mohali on Tuesday. Sehwag smashed 42 off 32 balls, while the left-handed captain Gambhir scored a 40-ball 41, helping Delhi complete the chase of 134 with 10 deliveries to spare at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium.
War-torn Afghanistan, playing only their third match after being inducted as a Test-playing nation two years ago, completed a famous victory by defeating Bangladesh by 224 runs with 3.2 overs left on the final day on Monday.
'... And give him the confidence and freedom to express himself.'
Domestic cricket will only happen when travelling is safe: Ganguly
'I just want to keep learning and keep getting better.'
A summary of all the action from Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Hardik has just taken 10 Tests to record a rare feat -- scored a ton and taken 5 wickets. Still not 25, Hardik has shown that he belongs to the place, says Rajneesh Gupta, giving us the numbers that matter.
'My brother is seedha saadha. He will spend the money on me only,' Hardik Pandya says about Krunal Pandya bagging a Rs 2 crore contract from the Mumbai Indians.
Seven terror convicts were hanged on Tuesday in jails across Pakistan, including a junior technician at Pakistan Air Force who was involved in the attack on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Sreesanth, who was not shortlisted in IPL 2021 auction's final list, returned figures of five for 65 in his first List A game in more than eight years.
Pak had realised in 2018 that Hurriyat Conference, the separatist conglomerate created by Inter-Services Intelligence, won't be able to deliver any more
Harbhajan Singh, who bowled India to memorable victories against the Aussies, looks at the India-Australia series.
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Monday.
Carlos Brathwaite's inclusion will lift the spirits of Delhi Daredevils.
The auction ahead of the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League had in store something on expected lines and some surprises. Here's a look at the top buys after the first round.
A round-up of final day of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
After Ambati Rayudu failed the Yo-Yo test, the selectors turned to Suresh Raina for the ODI series in England.
'You can still acquire the COVID-19 virus even if you are vaccinated.' 'But if you develop the disease, (after being vaccinated) the likelihood is that it will be mild.' 'It just makes sense to continue to take precautions, because you may be around a lot of unvaccinated people.'
Twelve suspects, arrested from across the country for their alleged links with terror group ISIS, were remanded in the NIA's custody till February 5 by a special court in New Delhi.
While the auction ahead of the ninth edition, starting in April, was great for Indian players in general, there were a few surprises in store. Rediff.com takes a look at the Indian players who secured themselves the best deals.
It was batters who mostly lead their teams to victories and some into the knock-outs. While Mumbai trailblazer Sarfaraz Khan continues to find the big runs, Baba Indrajith's consistency wasn't enough for Tamil Nadu to make even the top two in Group H.
The NIA told the court that Iqbal was required to be interrogated to ascertain the identities of his other associates and know about their funding pattern.
A special court on Monday refused bail to 14 suspected Islamic State operatives, arrested from across the country.
