Following is a factbox on the second World Twenty20 semi-final between West Indies and India to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
South Africa were dealt a major blow before the first ball was even bowled, with pace ace Kagiso Rabada ruled out of the opening Test against India due to a rib injury.
Organisers are confident West Indies will take part at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand early next year despite the crisis caused by their withdrawal from the tour of India earlier this month.
ICC ODI Rankings: India retained top spot while West Indies slipped to 10th spot.
Paceman VRV Singh and opener Wasim Jaffer have been included in the squad for the four-Test series.
Handed a sound thrashing by Australia in their opening Super Eight match, India will have to quickly sort out their batting woes as they take on the West Indies in a do-or-die contest in the ICC World Twenty20 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday.
The West Indies Cricket Board will ask for a meeting with its Indian counterparts as it seeks to find a way out of the crisis caused by the abandonment of the recent tour.
Mohinder Amarnath will always be remembered as a giant-hearted cricketer who stood tall against the fiercest attacks, carried the bruises with pride, and turned every setback into a comeback.
'We need to get a better share of the pie because we were the cash cows for a long time.'
While many captains have buckled under the pressure, the responsibility to lead a team followed by a billion-plus fans appears to have brought the best out of Gill.
Jason Holder's men drew a five-match ODI series against top-ranked England 2-2 at home recently, in a timely boost before the May 30-July 14 showpiece event.
Now in 16 ODIs against South Africa, the spinner has taken 36 wickets at an average of 17.58, with a strike rate of 21.3 and an economy rate of 4.95.
India marked one of the greatest days in cricket history as they lifted the ICC ODI World Cup for the first time in England on June 25, 1983.
Swashbuckling former India opener Virender Sehwag has picked India, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies as the teams which will make the semifinals of the World T20 starting in India on March 8. Sehwag has already picked hosts India as favourites to win the coveted title for the second time. "Apart from India I would pick New Zealand in their group. The teams to watch out from other group will be South Africa and West Indies. India remain favourites to repeat the feat of 2007. They are playing good cricket at the moment and the combinations are working well," Sehwag told PTI on the sidelines of the Royal Stag Perfect Strokes event. India are yet to lose to Pakistan in a world event and of late have had an upper hand over the arch-rivals. The two teams meet again in the mouthwatering World T20 clash in Dharamsala on March 19. What is the reason for India's recent dominance over Pakistan? Sehwag said: "It is difficult to pinpoint a reason but to put it simply, India is playing much better cricket than Pakistan and we have better talent than Pakistan."
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
Shubman Gill on Thursday said he would look to imbibe the 'calmness' that his predecessor Rohit Sharma brought to the dressing room
"The West Indies are a difficult team to beat at home," said the India captain.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's late assault and some fine bowling by the spinners saw India crush West Indies by 93 runs in the third One-Day International at North Sound in Antigua, on Friday.
Sai Sudharsan pulled off a jaw-dropping catch on Day 2.
Check out the points table of the tri-series played in the West Indies also involving India and Sri Lanka.
Was devastated after 2023 World Cup loss, felt the sport had taken everything out of me: Rohit
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Chase and Greaves took a particular liking to Pakistan's part-timers of Saim Ayub and Salman Agha, with the pair each conceding 33 runs from their spell as the West Indies squared the series at 1-1 ahead of the final match at the same ground on Tuesday.
A look at India's narrowest victories by run margin -- games that tested nerves, showcased grit, and etched unforgettable drama into Test history.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be the key to India's success in the Test tour of the West Indies, their first series under head coach Anil Kumble.
'So we are missing players. Evin Lewis just decided to push back on a central contract. He is good enough to play Test cricket. So the shorter versions of the game curtail our progress. Having said that, it would be unfair to blame the players for making the choice (of playing IPL). We all want to be financially secure at the end of the day'
On paper as well as on current form, West Indies are no match for defending champions India, who have registered convincing victories against Pakistan, South Africa and UAE in their first three matches of the ICC World Cup.
For their next assignment in the ICC World Test Championship cycle, the two-time WTC runners up will aim to grab maximum points across those four home clashes. Here are five key questions the side must answer prior to their next Test match-up.
Paceman R P Singh, who played for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League, was on Saturday ruled out of the India 'A' tour of the West Indies, due to a knee injury.
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill spoke on the team dinner hosted by head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday
Shreyas Iyer's 604 runs across 17 matches for Punjab Kings at a strike-rate in excess of 175 did not resonate with the selectors during the Asia Cup selection.
Pakistan meet Ireland in Adelaide later on Sunday with the winner of that game advancing, while the losing side could also go through depending on what happens in the West Indies game. A washout in Napier would result in both sides getting one point and ending West Indies' hopes.
Curtly Ambrose, the West Indies pace legend and the team's bowling consultant, backed it to win the ICC World Twenty20 2016. The squad, he said, had numerous match-winners suited for the format. The West Indies is currently ranked No. 3 in the ICC rankings for T20s and won the ICC World T20 2012 in Sri Lanka. It is placed in Group 1 for the 2016 editionalong with Sri Lanka, England, South Africa and the top team from Group B. "Look at the team that we have, half of the team are in demand across the world for different T20 leagues," Ambrose was quoted as saying by the Antigua Observer. "So you may find one guy here, maybe two in this league and two in another league, but we have all at once so we have a great chance of winning this T20 tournament, just look at our squad." Ambrose, who picked up 630 international wickets, called on the West Indies' senior players to raise their games and guide the juniors. The West Indies will be without Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine but has enough experience and firepower in Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy.
Images from the first T20 International between India and the West Indies, in Basetterre, St Kitts, on Monday.
Check out the points table of the tri-series played in the West Indies also involving India and Sri Lanka.
Marco Jansen smashed the records held by legends Matthew Hayden and Vivian Richards for the most sixes hit by an overseas batter in a Test innings in India.
In India's title-winning ICC Women's World Cup, Richa scored 235 runs in eight innings at an average of 39.16 and a strike rate of over 133, with a brilliant, innings-saving 94 against South Africa as her best knock.
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
A strike could hit West Indies' tour opener against India on Wednesday due to a row between leading West Indies players and their own union.
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