Suryakumar Yadav will miss the first round match after suffering a a sprain to his right thumb.
India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was ruled out of the upcoming Duleep Trophy because of illness.
India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel's Army upbringing gives him the "fearless attitude" on the field, felt former cricketer Suresh Raina, adding that the young player had put in a lot of hard work to reach this level.
'The discussion before this innings with Dhruv was 'go down to the level of your practice and everything will be fine'. The talk is always about staying hungry.'
India has only minor concerns, but New Zealand's troubles across batting and bowling departments are more pronounced.
India's batting is a major concern with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling for runs ahead of the tour of Australia.
For the team management, it is a choice between a younger man's (Sarfaraz) flamboyance and fearlessness versus a seasoned campaigner who has been a Test captain and is part of the national set-up for a decade now.
Rohit and the team management will also have to keep some of the young talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel wrapped in cotton wool after experiencing some early success in top-flight cricket.
The Indian squad for the marquee event in June is set to be announced soon and Rishabh Pant is set to be drafted in as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter.
Ashwin feels the rule, introduced in the 2023 season which allows all IPL teams to substitute a player -- batter or bowler -- during their respective innings as per the demands of the match, makes the game fairer.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against New Zealand?
After the accident and the kind of rehabilitation that he had to go through, this knock will be right up there, says Rishabh Pant's coach Devender Sharma.
Dhruv Jurel got his Test career off to a cracking start. Following his match-winning performance in Ranchi, the young wicketkeeper-batter thanks skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid for believing in him.
The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended six officials of civic agencies for gross negligence following road cave-ins and waterlogging at several sections of the newly-built Ram Path in Ayodhya.
Shubman Gill said on Monday he had planned not to lose his wicket to an lbw decision come what may, despite the odd ball keeping low and turning sharply during the fourth Test against England, which India won by five wickets.
'There will be a lot of spice to the contest -- there is a reason India is the only team other than England against whom Australia is keen to play a five Test series.' 'I'll watch, as I suspect most fans will -- but this one time, I'll watch with considerable trepidation and, from a fan's point of view, with the hope that the team finds its feet and that right quick,' notes the distinguished cricket commentator Prem Panicker.
Abhishek Sharma, who slammed a 46-ball century in the second T20I against Zimbabwe, might have to make way for Yashasvi Jaiswal for the third match on Wednesday.
The three players will travel back home to India with the rest of the T20 World Cup winning squad.
The chopper has been validated for high-altitude, low temperature flying, required to maintain the supply lines for the Siachen region
The fire on a merchant vessel off the Karwar coast has been brought under control after more than 24 hours but one of the ship's 21 crew members was missing, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said on Saturday.
India would want their big guns Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to fire when the mighty hosts aim for a clean sweep against a beleaguered Bangladesh in the second and final Test starting in Kanpur on Friday.
The incident took place between 8.30 am and 9 am near the campus of a temple during a religious programme in Shahpur village under Rehli assembly seat, as per officials.
The 'keeper and the opener were seen talking about their struggle of finding a seat on the team bus!
The new-look Indian team to be captained by Shubman Gill departed for their upcoming tour for Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
It had to be grounded as a precautionary measure after one chopper crashed near Hyderabad.
In Agartala, the Group A match between Mumbai and Tripura ended in a draw with the reigning champions earning three points by virtue of the first-innings lead.
Led by Sanju Samson, the Royals are on a roll, winning an impressive four matches in a row.
The pace trio of Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini did the damage with the ball as India B outclassed India A by 76 runs in the Duleep Trophy.
It will be an all-Petroleum Sports Promotion Board affair when Devendra Joshi clashes with Dhruv Sitwala in the final of the National Billiards Championship.
Rishabh Pant's fifty, Sarfaraz Khan's aggression give India B control on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru on Saturday
Jurel's knock was especially sweet as his father Nem Chand -- a retired Indian Army soldier who fought in the Kargil War 25 years ago -- was present at the stadium to witness it.
Musheer Khan, younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan (9), saved his side from a total collapse with an innings of rare maturity that belied his 19 tender years.
Shreyas Iyer, who led KKR to the IPL 2024 title, could be headed for the players' auction after failing to make a breakthrough in negotiations, while K L Rahul is also unlikely to be retained by LSG.
Even after 10 years of its production, the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv still depends heavily on imports as most of its components are procured from foreign sources, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said.
India's 40-4 (win-loss) home record in the last decade is awe-inducing but there is an ever-little crack, which is getting more pronounced in the past three years, particularly in the case of star batter Virat Kohli.
Punjab, starting the penultimate day on 73/3 and needing 144 more runs, crumbled under pressure from Sindhu's relentless spin and Jayant Yadav's precise off-spin (3/35 in 10.4 overs), collapsing well before lunch and handing Haryana their second outright win in four matches.
If one looks at selection pattern, Jurel was the second keeper behind Sanju Samson for this series and Jitesh was a late entrant because of the unavailability of the World Cup squad members.
As Bharat faces scrutiny, the spotlight shifts to whether Jurel will get an opportunity to prove his mettle on the international stage.
Australian batsmen's woes against spinners were exposed once again as India A's unfancied duo of left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv and off-spinner Jalaj Saxena excelled with an impressive display, forcing the visitors to follow on before the warm-up match ended in a draw in Chennai.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances