Medium pace all-rounder Thakur, popularly known as 'Lord Thakur' on social media, was bought by the Delhi Capitals for Rs 10.75 crore (Rs 107.5 million), but had struggled to make an impact with the ball so far. He made it count right when it mattered in a must-win game.
The English cricketers should not miss international duty at the expense of playing in the IPL, former England captain Michael Atherton has said in the wake of the team's disastrous Ashes campaign in Australia.
Curran, who was rested for the first two matches, was due to fly to Ahmedabad in time for the fourth Test, which begins on March 4, but will instead arrive with the limited-overs squad.
Will the Indians set the England team an intimidating target?
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Ashes Test played between Australia and England at the MCG on Tuesday.
Operating like a well-oiled unit, Chennai Super Kings will start as overwhelming favourites when they clash with struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in New Delhi on Wednesday.
James Anderson hailed England's all-round improvement and called inspirational captain Ben Stokes a "freak" as they thumped South Africa by an innings and 85 runs in the second Test at Old Trafford on Saturday, setting up a series decider at The Oval.
Both RCB and PBKS will have new captains at the helm in Faf du Plessis and Mayank Agarwal respectively
England swept to a dominant 118-run victory as they dismissed South Africa for a paltry 83 to win the second One-Day International at Old Trafford on Friday and square the three-match series at 1-1.
England's selectors are acutely aware of the impact on players of bio-secure bubbles and with a demanding year ahead, are making sure they protect their key performers.
Images from the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Chennai, on Sunday.
Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy and Curran brothers Sam and Tom landed on Wednesday morning.
England will be eyeing their second T20 World Cup after a long wait of 12 years.
A change in approach is required and for that a paradigm shift in the mindset during tricky run-chases unlike the first game at the Oval where the game was singlehandedly won by Jasprit Bumrah's six-wicket haul.
'We came in very excited and there was a good feel around the group ... I thought everyone, from one to 11, stood up today.'
Yuzvendra Chahal showed why he is one of the key players in the Royal Challengers Bangalore team along with Virat Kohli and A B de Villiers.
New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell said he has no regrets after falling agonisingly short of a maiden Test double hundred in the second match of the series against England.
The management was keen on Agarwal as the leader even before the auction.
In David Warner, who is back as captain for this season, the franchise has an inspirational leader and a superb batsman, who would like to lead from the front.
Usman Khawaja scored his second century of the match to help Australia to 265 for six declared on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test on Saturday, handing England an unlikely victory target of 388.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will start as firm favourites against bottom-placed SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Delhi on Tuesday.
Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal was disappointed with the poor showing of his batters after losing to Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs in the IPL match, at the MCA International Stadium in Pune, on Friday, saying they were below par.
'If we're going to be the best team in the world we're going to have to play on good wickets which are flat in certain periods. We're also going to have to be able to learn to deal with the scoreboard pressure. We should also be able to deal with the pressure of spinning wicket towards the back end of the Test match.'
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Ashes Test played in Melbourne on Sunday.
South Africa's Imran Tahir became the first spinner to bowl the first over in a World Cup match on Thursday.
How India's players rated in the three-match ODI series.
IMAGES from the 3rd ODI played between England and India at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Batsman Harry Brook and seamer Matthew Potts received maiden call-ups as part of the 13-man squad announced on Wednesday.
'I think the ECB has been very forward-thinking,' Buttler said, praising the board for recognising the challenges of living in bio-bubbles
Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
Captain Mayank Agarwal hailed pacer Arshdeep Singh as the "leader in the team' after Punjab Kings demolished Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs in the IPL match, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, on Friday.
'Bazball' could be the most used term in world cricket over the last one month but the inspiration behind it, England Test coach Brendon McCullum, finds the incessant talk around the newly coined word 'silly'.
Jonny Bairstow, who is not even the first choice wicketkeeper in the English team, was picked as the wicketkeeper in Sachin Tendulkar's World Cup all-star XI.
However, Mumbai will take heart from the fact that they defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings, their first loss in four games, in the last match.
India have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee and penalised two ICC World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over-rate against England in the rescheduled fifth Test in Birmingham.
'I want them to play the game for the reasons they started playing the game at the first place, which is the love for the game. I don't know what it was like in the past but I will run this team like I have always done.'
"You look at the CPL which becomes more important with the next World Cup being there in the Caribbean, and how many players can you get put into that tournament to get an idea of conditions. It is an advantage,"
Jasprit Bumrah's appointment as India's stand-in Test captain is a 'courageous decision' based on his 'tactical nous', and his leadership duel with England skipper Ben Stokes is providing a fascinating sidelight to an entertaining game in Birmingham, said the legendary Ian Chappell.
Images from Day 4 of the first Test between England and India, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Saturday.
