The in-form Virat Kohli was on Monday rested for the forthcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, while Delhi's left-arm spinner Pawan Negi was a surprise inclusion for the three-match series.
Shocked by an inexperienced Sri Lankan side on a green wicket in the first Twenty20 match, India would aim to regain its winning touch and keep the series alive.
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.
Chennai Super Kings stormed into their second Champions League T20 final with a crushing 65-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Virender Sehwag scored a fluent fifty, but it was not enough to prevent formidable Delhi from going down to India Blue by 18 runs in the opening game of NKP Salve Challenger Series in Indore on Thursday.
Left chasing shadows in the first two games, a listless Indian team would most certainly tweak its bowling combination in order to avoid a second successive clean-sweep when it takes on Australia in the third and final ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday.
Buoyant Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue their winning momentum when they face defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Placed reasonably well at the halfway mark of the ongoing IPL, Sunrisers Hyderbad's key pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said the key to the team's success this season has been the players' clear understanding of their role in the side.
Facing the prospect of a series defeat at home for the first time in 15 months, skipper Virat Kohli will have a relook at his team combination as hosts India take on a resurgent England in a do-or-die second T20 International, in Nagpur on Sunday.
Their winning momentum punctured after a loss to Rising Pune Supergiants, Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to get back to their winning ways when they take on a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore in an Indian Premier League Twenty20 match, in Hyderabad, on Saturday.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is impressed by Hardik Pandya's cameo in India's convincing win in the Asia Cup T20 opener against Bangladesh and called the young all-rounder an "overall package" who could be promoted in the batting order in the coming days.
The renaming will take place on September 12 at a function where a stand at the Kotla will be named after India captain Virat Kohli as announced earlier.
India's World Cup heroes found former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga's demand for an inquiry into the 2011 final as 'outrageous'.
A scrappy India will have to lift their game by several notches against an improving Australia when the two fierce rivals clash in a virtual quarter-final cricket match of the ICC World Twenty20, in Mohali, on Sunday.
Ashish Nehra has contributed significantly to the Indian team's recent success in Twenty 20s, and the old warhorse says he is enjoying his role of a mentor in the fast bowling department.
'In the future, you will get pacers who will bowl even faster than the current lot because these guys are currently setting new standards.'
Where will the line be drawn if external substances are used to shine ball, asks Aakash Chopra.
Buoyed by an overwhelming victory in the previous game, a resilient India would look to continue the momentum and seal off their second successive T20 series win when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 International, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. India shrugged off their embarrassing defeat in opening T20 match in Pune with a commanding show in Ranchi, where they outclassed the island nation by 69 runs to level the series. The Indian batsmen had struggled to cope with the 'green' track in Pune but adjusted well on a slow strip at Ranchi, where they did not put a foot wrong. The bowlers, too, were in complete control, never letting the Sri Lankan batsmen dominate. Moreover, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy was impressive and all his experiments, be it reshuffling of the batting order or bowling tactics, paid off. India not only mastered the conditions but also executed their plans to perfection.
He has nothing more to prove to anyone after haunting batsmen for more than 15 years in international cricket and Harbhajan Singh believes that his 'tried and tested' strengths are the ones he will rely on as he prepares to lay his hands on a record third world title.
With both sides without a victory in their first three matches, it was the Royals who broke their duck with a seven-wicket win in Jaipur, spearheaded by Shreyas Gopal's 3-12 with his leg-spin and a 59 from Jos Buttler's bat.
'You need get the basics right. We need to win close games. We had two close games out of four so far. Our first game was a turning pitch and we got all out for 70. If we had scored 100 it could have been a close game'
Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played a vital role in Sunrisers Hyderabad's Indian Premier League triumphant campaign last year, said he is determined to contribute in the upcoming 10th edition of the IPL especially in the death overs.
Senior pros Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir failed with the bat as Jammu and Kashmir powered by their skipper Parvez Rasool shocked Delhi by two wickets in the opening match of the North Zone leg of the National One-Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
'Virat's career and captaincy are on auto-pilot mode right now.' 'He knows what he is doing and leads by example.'
India remained third, while star batsman Virat Kohli maintained his second spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings released on Sunday.
Gujarat Lions' all-rounder Dwayne Bravo said his team has lacked in adapting to different conditions which has led to the current downward spiral.
'He had a month's break post ODI World Cup. He didn't play white ball format and came for Test matches. But that means workload was well managed but still he had that fracture. Now can you explain why?'
Injuries seem to be a permanent companion of India discard Irfan Pathan as the Baroda all-rounder has again reported unfit even before the ball has started rolling for Chennai Super Kings, who will be taking on Delhi Daredevils in their opening IPL encounter on Thursday.
Unbeaten in all the three games they have played so far in the tournament, Gujarat Lions would look to continue with their impressive winning run when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Rajkot on Thursday. The Lions have been in red-hot form in their debut season with convincing wins in all the three games and they would seek to maintain a clean slate tomorrow at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The home side will also be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who did not play in the Lion's seven-wicket thrashing of defending champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai due to his wedding.
Former India players provide perspective on the effects of saliva ban following the first Test between England and West Indies, the first international match played during the pandemic.
Expect a battle of wits when Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings lock horns in Wednesday's Indian Premier League match in Bangalore.
Chennai Super Kings pace spearhead Ashish Nehra said dismissing Rohit Sharma, when the Mumbai Indians' skipper was poised for a late assault, proved crucial in his side's six-wicket triumph over the home side in Friday night's IPL match in Mumbai.
Statistical highlights of the opening Asia Cup 2016 match between India and Bangladesh, in Mirpur, Bangladesh.
The Indian cricket team would get into the groove for the short limited-overs series against Australia with a couple of warm-up games against a Western Australia XI at the WACA ground on Friday and Saturday. While the first match tomorrow is slated to be a T20 affair, the second match scheduled the day after will be a 50-over warm-up game against the same opposition. It will certainly not be the first team of Western Australia which is better known as Perth Scorchers, which will be playing in the warm-up games. It will be a second string squad that will take on the Indians.
Featuring Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Ashish Nehra.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side played a "complete game" to beat Kings XI Punjab and enter the Champions League T20 final.
A few proven, but currently out-of-form, cricketers are likely to get the nod when the national selectors draw up a list of 30 Indian probables for the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in Mumbai on Thursday.
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.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has picked young leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal as the best young talent from the just-concluded IPL-9, terming the Royal Challengers Bangalore player the best in terms of talent and temperament. 25-year-old Chahal took 21 wickets from 13 matches to finish IPL-9 as second highest wicket taker behind pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 23 from 17 games. "I am considering those who have temperament and not just talent. Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant and Krunal Pandya are the top three. I will pick Chahal at the top as he has got the right temperament," Gavaskar said. "He (Chahal) is not afraid of tossing up the ball and he kept on doing that. When there is some turn on the pitch, there have to be big edges from the batsmen's bat. Chahal also has a big heart and he is not afraid of a big hit. On many occasions, he came back after being hit for sixes to claim wickets," he told NDTV.
India will go for the kill against a determined England in the Garden City, setting the stage for a tantalising series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
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