There is a slight desperation to win ODI series after below par Test outing: Ten Doeschate
India set to remain unchanged as team wants Reddy to settle in all-round role
Team India on Friday went through an optional net session in Visakhapatnam on Friday with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma sweating it out under lights ahead of the ODI series decider against South Africa.
Indian spinners will have a tough fourth day in office with the pitch getting slower, thereby making batting way easier, admitted assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate after the end of third day's play in the third Test against the West Indies in New Delhi on Sunday.
In this rivalry, numbers fade and national pride takes centre stage.
Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.
India's young fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy should be persisted with and the cricket fraternity must not rush to pass judgement, former players Aakash Chopra, Robin Uthappa, and Manoj Tiwary said on Thursday.
Sai knows there's competition but he has captain's backing: Ryan ten Doeschate
With WI Tests starting next week, 25 overs in Asia Cup is good build-up for Bumrah: Doeschate
Mike Hesson is free to rank Pakistan left-arm spinner Mohammed Nawaz as high as he wants but India know where their spinners are placed in the world order.
'I have no doubt the players share the compassion and feeling of the vast majority of the Indian public.'
Virat Kohli's batting a plus but lots of areas need improvement, says Shubman Gill
Nitish Reddy released from India squad for India A one day series
Such is the race for breaking news that if an Indian player sneezes, a report may immediately go out stating he may have caught the flu bug and could be a doubtful starter!
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
India's players lauded batting maestro Virat Kohli after his scintillating century guided India to a 17-run win over South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi on Sunday.
The final Test begins on Friday in New Delhi, and the Shubman Gill-led side is expected to maintain their winning combination as they look to wrap up the home series.
The second and final Test starts in Guwahati from Saturday with India trailing 0-1 after the defeat on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata.
India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Thursday said the team is "leaning towards" playing lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test in Manchester as the visitors look to pull themselves back on level terms in the five-match series against England.
And ahead of the 4th Test, some members of the Indian team went all out at a gym training session.
Jasprit Bumrah had made himself available for three of the five Tests in England and the Indian team management felt it was right to honour the star pacer's call considering his workload, said assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill spoke on the team dinner hosted by head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday
Arshdeep Singh suffers injury during practice ahead of Manchester Test.
In a lapse of concentration, Atkinson picked the ball and sent the timber rattling to have Gill run out on 21(35).
'Nitish is our premium batting all-rounder at the moment. So I would say it's a very good chance to play this Test.'
It remains to be seen if the selectors pick Jasprit Bumrah for both Tests considering that there is only is a three day gap between the Asia Cup final and the first Test against the West Indies.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said training with the two-coloured balls helps in eliminating white ball tendencies from the red ball game.
Shubman Gill backed young No. 3 Sai Sudharsan to come good, insisting that the team must look at 'potential, not just numbers'.
'Look, when someone comes back into the Test side like he does after a lengthy absence, the pressure is always there, and I think he has handled that very well.'
Trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, visitors eye spin boost at Edgbaston.
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
Assessing Sai Sudharsan's temperament and Nitish Kumar Reddy's utility in home conditions would be topmost on India's checklist when the high-on-confidence hosts take on a floundering West Indies
With two Tests left, India trailing the five-match series 1-2, and Bumrah available for only one of them, Panesar feels India needs to go all out in Manchester next week.
Gautam Gambhir will join the Indian squad on Tuesday, three days before the start of the first Test against England at Leeds.
India stuck to their pre-series decision to field Bumrah in only three Tests and was hence not played in the final Test at the Oval
To defend their Asia Cup title, India must improve catching and find a steady middle order. Friday's dead rubber is a good chance to try these out.
Against Bangladesh, Samson wasn't even considered good enough to come inside the top seven of the line-up and that begs a question as to what is he doing in the team if he isn't good enough to come ahead of Axar Patel.
'His hands are quite sore. We want to get his confidence back up.'
The Oval will host the fifth and final Test between India and England from Thursday, and the Indian team has hit the ground running two days after staging a remarkable comeback to draw the fourth match in Manchester.
