Last minute T20 World Cup entrants Scotland have included Afghan-born uncapped pacer Zainullah Ihsan in their 15-member squad for the ICC event beginning in India and Sri Lanka on February 7.
The spotlight is on mystery spinners like Varun Chakravarthy and Usman Tariq, who could exploit the Premadasa Stadium's testing pitch during the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Bangladesh Cricket Board maintain they were willing to play the T20 World Cup in India but were overruled by the government, forcing their exit from the tournament.
Ishan Kishan displayed the menacing form he has shown of late in the India nets on Wednesday until being hit by a sharp Jasprit Bumrah yorker.
Tilak Varma set to be cleared by CoE, will join Indian team on Feb 3 in Mumbai
England and West Indies, both former champions, prepare for a critical Group C match in the T20 World Cup after contrasting performances in their opening games. England seeks a more convincing win after a narrow escape against Nepal, while the West Indies aim to continue their strong start.
India opener Abhishek Sharma's availability for Thursday's match against Namibia is uncertain because of a stomach bug.
The Netherlands delivered a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Namibia to 156 for 8 in their T20 World Cup Group A match, despite a recovery in the middle overs by the Namibian side.
Pakistan will be looking to avenge the defeat to the USA in the 2024 T20 World Cup when they clash in Colombo on Tuesday.
Ishan Kishan dedicates his Player-of-the-Match award to Indian fans and teammates after a stellar performance against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
'Not only for us right now in the moment but I think we will qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup as well so I think it is a big thing for us and not only for us but for the fans around America as well.'
India are looking to create history, as they aim to become the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup, while England will be aiming to reclaim the title they last won four years ago.
Seeking to continue their confident start to the tournament, a well-balanced India will begin as firm favourites despite facing a tricky Bangladesh in their second match of the ICC U-19 World Cup, in Bulawayo, on Saturday.
Keeping emotions in check, focus on India: USA skipper Monank after stunning Pakistan
Varun Chakravarthy expresses confidence in India's spin attack ahead of Sunday's T20 World Cup game against Pakistan.
Rohit Sharma offered a hilarious piece of advice to spinner Kuldeep Yadav ahead of the T20 World Cup this year from February 7.
Pakistan coach Mike Hesson credits Ishan Kishan's blistering 77 as the turning point in India's 61-run T20 World Cup win in Colombo, urges team to bounce back.
Jaiswal dilemma: "Non-responsive" India opener "not considered" for Mumbai selection
Pakistan, after a defeat against India, face Namibia in a must-win match to qualify for the Super 8s. Their fragile batting and Shaheen Afridi's form are key concerns, while Namibia aims to play spoiler.
India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav said a short break after the South Africa series last year and a conscious change in his batting approach helped him rediscover his touch.
Group C promises one of the most competitive battles at the T20 World Cup, with former champions England and West Indies joined by ambitious sides Scotland, Nepal and debutants Italy.
Former India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said watching T20 World Cup from the sidelines for the first time in his career will be a "strange" experience as he reflected on the difficult selection calls and leadership decisions that defined his captaincy tenure.
India put on a commanding performance to beat South Africa by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup warm-up clash at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Tilak Varma underwent emergency surgery in Rajkot after complaining of severe abdominal pain while playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Hyderabad.
David Miller smashed a brilliant half-century while Marco Jansen picked up four wickets as South Africa thrashed India by 76 runs in the ICC T20 World Cup Super 8s match.
A versatile and dynamic Australian unit, without key pacer Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who is likely to miss the early stages of the tournament, will be going into the T20 World Cup with hopes of going deep in the tournament.
New Zealand aims to solidify their Group D lead with a victory against the United Arab Emirates in their T20 World Cup match, following a win against Afghanistan. The Kiwis will look for strong performances from Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra, while the UAE seeks to gain experience against a top team.
This will be their first encounter after the controversy-filled the Asia Cup earlier this year, in which India refused to shake hands with the Pakistan players.
Ayush Mhatre was on Saturday named captain of the 15-member Indian side for the U-19 World Cup to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia from January 15 to February 6 next year.
India face arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-stakes U-19 World Cup Super Six clash, seeking revenge for their crushing Asia Cup final defeat in Bulawayo.
"There is no plan to remove Gautam Gambhir": Rajeev Shukla quashes reports of change in Test coach
The 2026 T20 World Cup is likely to be played from February 7 to March 8 with matches spread across at least five venues in India and two in Sri Lanka.
The former South African batter pointed out that Rana does not have a lot of international experience with the new ball, but is well supported in the pace department.
Defending champions India will take on the USA in one of the three matches on the opening day of the tournament.
USA are the first team under ICC's new ruling to receive a run penalty in T20 Internationals for the stop clock violation.
The injury also puts a question mark over his participation in next month's T20 World Cup.
A total of six teams each in men's and women's sections and 180 players will compete in the T20 format in the quadrennial showpiece, which hosted cricket for the first and only time in 1900.
India's aggressive batting approach, which has brought a lot of success, is credit to former captain Rohit Sharma and ex-head coach Rahul Dravid, according to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Shreyas Iyer, Riyan Parag and Jitesh Sharma are the three names that Aakash Chopra has thrown in as potential replacements for the injured Tilak Varma.
Was devastated after 2023 World Cup loss, felt the sport had taken everything out of me: Rohit
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