Abhishek Sharma shone with both bat and ball as Punjab hammered Puducherry by 54 runs in a Group C encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy , in Hyderabad, on Thursday.
Indian seamer Arshdeep Singh entered the top 10 among bowlers and was placed eighth in the ICC T20I rankings issued in Dubai on Wednesday.
'Myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time.'
Pandya's return from a nearly two-month layoff due left quadriceps injury propelled India to a massive 101-run win against South Africa in the opening T20I in Cuttack on Tuesday.
Shardul Thakur will lead Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. The 17-member squad includes India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube.
'He (Pandya) can command a spot in the top five on his batting alone. He could also be one of the top three seamers in any team if he was just a bowler.'
'His preparation, his belief in his own ability, the range of shots that he has, and then the mindset to go out there and back himself from ball one.'
'He has been benched so many times that he has lost a bit of rhythm.'
Abhishek Sharma waged a lone battle with an entertaining 68 from 37 balls in the second T20I against Australia at MCG on Friday.
Axar Patel's 11-ball 21, laced with a four and a six in the last over off Marcus Stoinis, was instrumental in India's 48-run victory in the fourth T20I.
India's mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy retained his place among the world's top T20I bowlers, sitting just ahead of New Zealand's Jacob Duffy in the latest ICC Men's Rankings update.
Ireland snaps 14-month win drought, defends 181 to beat Bangladesh in T20I opener
Accepted captaincy after Rizwan said he would step doIn an interesting revelation, Pakistan's ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has claimed that he only accepted the captaincy after his predecessor Mohammad Rizwan said he would step down.wn: Shaheen
'He is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us.'
At a loss to explain South Africa's capitulation in the series-opener, their batting coach Ashwell Prince said the visitors simply failed to answer the questions posed by India's "formidable" bowlers while being dismissed for their lowest T20I total of 74 Cuttack.
While big buys grabbed attention, several franchises quietly walked away with proven performers at throwaway prices -- the kind of signings that often make the difference between mid-table finishes and title runs.
India take on Bangladesh in the first of the three-match T20I series in Gwalior, on Sunday.
'I believe the spirituality he has imbibed has played a big role in this turnaround. It has played a big role.'
Kuldeep Yadav has acknowledged that playing all three formats "is a luxury" but an attacking mindset has kept him relevant in the face of stiff competition.
India spinner Varun Chakravarthy was on Thursday named the captain of Tamil Nadu for this seasons' national T20 tournament for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beginning on November 26.
Gautam Gambhir's penchant for shuffling cricketers has often come under sharp scrutiny, but the head coach insisted that "batting order is overrated" in white ball cricket, strongly hinting of him sticking to his trusted ways.
Star opener Smriti Mandhana, wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh and all-rounder Deepti Sharma were on Saturday named in the ICC Women's T20I Team of Year 2024.
Abhishek Sharma and Smriti Mandhana have been named ICC Players of the Month for September after setting new benchmarks in India's dominance across formats.
Hardik Pandya smashed seven fours and fours sixes in his 42-ball knock to fire Baroda to victory against Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Since making a comeback to the T20 team for the Asia Cup, Shubman Gill has struggled to tally just 184 runs in 10 innings.
'...I think they deserve the trophy the way they played the semi-final game'
Pace bowling all-rounders always come at a premium and therefore, the troika of Green, Venkatesh Iyer and West Indies' Jason Holder, all coming at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore (US$220,000), are set to headline the bidding war.
Shubman Gill has been guilty of taking too much load on himself since his T20 comeback and the Indian team wants him to bat as freely as he does in the IPL, said assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
In keeping with workload management for frontline pacers, spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is also likely to be rested from the three-match ODI series, which carries little significance in the build-up to the T20 showpiece.
Harmanpreet-led India scripted history on Sunday, defeating South Africa by 52 runs in the final to secure their maiden ICC Women's World Cup title.
'The will to work and commitment to put in work is as high as it has ever been.'
Australian batter Matthew Short is relishing the opportunity to face "world-class" Indian bowlers in the ongoing five-match T20I series.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) fell silent on Friday as players from India and Australia, along with match officials and staff, paid an emotional tribute to 17-year-old cricketer Ben Austin, who tragically lost his life after being struck on the neck during a training session earlier this week.
Gill back in full flow, Hardik opts out of practice ahead of SA T20I series
'Someone like Virat Kohli, that's a once-in-a-generation sort of player.'
As India gear up for the T20 World Cup at home, the selectors have backed a squad built on impact, and versatility.
Images from the second T20 International between India and South Africa, at the PCA's New Chandigarh Stadium, Mullanpur.
The T20 series is tied at 1-1 ahead of the fourth match on the Gold Coast on Thursday, with the series-opener in Canberra washed out by rain.
Namibia pulled off a shock four-wicket win over South Africa in a one-off Twenty20 international on Saturday that marked the opening of the new cricket stadium in Windhoek.
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
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