India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan -- the top-five ranked teams in the ICC T20I rankings are the top seeds and have been granted direct entry into the quarter-finals.
It is understood that Kuldeep, who had lost his mojo in the Kohli-Ravi Shastri era, has been called back as the current team management and selectors feel that he has the X-Factor to contribute to team's cause.
The uber-talented Sanju Samson completed his 11th first-class hundred before Arshdeep Singh showed his wares with the semi-new ball as India D held sway over India B on the second day of their final Duleep Trophy round robin league match in Anantapur on Friday.
Images from Day 4 of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth on Monday.
Yuvraj slammed the youngsters who dropped too many catches in the outfield
Their pre-tournament decision to fill the squad with five spinners drew a lot of flak from all corners, but it is now proving to be a masterstroke on the slow pitches in Dubai.
India B captain Abhimanyu Easwaran single-handedly kept his team in the hunt with a defiant century against India C, in the Duleep Trophy.
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will need more time to recover from his hamstring injury and along with pacer Mohammed Shami could miss the remainder of the five-match Test series against England.
The barren run of skipper Rohit Sharma and the selection conundrum that Virat Kohli's possible return poses are the towering obstacles in India's quest for a series win against England in the second ODI in Cuttack on Sunday.
The 38-year-old played the day-night Test in Adelaide and picked up one wicket.
'He is a unique bowler. The guys is about 25-26 and this is where he is going to get maturity'
Rohit Sharma's request to the BCCI for a break from white-ball cricket in South Africa despite being offered T20 captaincy has been accepted, while Jasprit Bumrah has been named his deputy for the two Tests starting December 26.
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch said that Alex Carey and Rishabh Pant, two left-handed wicketkeeper-batters will be extremely important for their respective sides during the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.
Suryakumar Yadav has been named captain for India's upcoming T20I series against Australia.
Images from the second One-Day International between Bangladesh and India, in Mirpur, on Wednesday.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming allayed concerns around captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's injury, but said all-rounder Ben Stokes will continue to remain on the sidelines for another week.
Axar Patel out of Asia Cup final due to hamstring injury, likely to miss Australia series, doubtful starter for World Cup too
Sanju Samson's technical weaknesses against express pace along with Rinku Singh's dip in form and fitness issues will be a concern for India
Sai Sudharsan upstaged some of the world's top batters as he topped the run scoring charts, while Prasidh Krishna was the most successful bowler of the season.
With the series already in the bag, India will be eager to perfect their freshly-baked T20 template as a team and hope that skipper Rohit Sharma's bat finally fires when they face Afghanistan in the third and last match of the rubber in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
'India needs to score big because they will have to defend those totals without Bumrah.'
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
Kohli also confirmed Shikhar Dhawan would remain the team's third opener, with KL Rahul partnering Rohit Sharma at the top.
Shubman Gill dispelled all doubts about his thumb injury with a stylish fifty even as skipper Rohit Sharma kept cards close to his chest by coming in at No. 4 in India's curtailed pink-ball warm-up game against Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Sunday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first T20 International against Ireland on Friday?
This was India's seventh defeat in their last nine matches as their poor run in Test cricket continues following successive series defeats against New Zealand at home and in Australia.
India captain Rohit Sharma including mainstays Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have placed in the highest category of BCCI central contracts.
England captain Jos Buttler is confident that the upcoming T20I series against India will not impact their preparation for the Champions Trophy.
Eden Gardens will host the first game of the five match T20I series between India and England on Wednesday.
Images from the 1st ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday.
Players who were bought at unexpected price tags...
The 30-year-old Hyderabadi, has so far taken 80 wickets in 30 Test matches but 61 of those scalps have come in 17 away Test matches in three of the SENA countries (South Africa, England, Australia).
India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir finds himself caught between a rock and hard place.
Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the upcoming two-Test series in South Africa on fitness grounds
Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has called for an improved performance from India's batting unit in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, saying the lack of runs from the top-order builds pressure on the lower-order.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against England?
Following a top-order wobble, captain Hardik Pandya (15 not out) and Suryakumar Yadav (26 not out) combined for a crucial 31-run partnership as they helped the hosts reach 101-4 on the penultimate ball, chasing New Zealand's 99-8.
Pathan mentioned that the Hyderabad-based franchise needs a proper spinner who can take wickets.
After Sarfaraz Khan received his maiden Test call-up in the India squad, former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh heaped praise on the 26-year-old and said that he has worked very hard to be in this place.
It was an aha! moment to spot India's leading industrialist at the service at St John's church ahead of Trump's inauguration, and then to see him heading to US Capitol Hill Rotunda for the inauguration in the company of the Big 4 - Tim Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sundar Pichai of Google and Mark Zuckerburg of Meta/Facebook.
