Rishabh Pant's return to competitive cricket after a three-month injury-enforced hiatus will be the primary focal point of India A's four-day match against South Africa A.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
India remained on course for a 2-0 series sweep after enforcing the follow-on but West Indies produced a much better batting display in their second innings to reach 173-2 on day three of the second and final Test in New Delhi on Sunday.
Jadeja said he doesn't think too much about records but is always conscious of performing strongly with both bat and ball to justify his role in the team.
'Rishabh Pant is not fit for West Indies series, hopefully he will be available for home Tests against South Africa.'
Yorkers on the field, reels off it -- Arshdeep Singh is mastering both games. The left-arm pacer, already India's leading T20I wicket-taker, is fast becoming cricket's social media star.
South Africa will aim for their first Test victory in India in more than 15 years.
Former India seamer Venkatesh Prasad backed Suryakumar Yadav's men to dominate once again against Pakistan on Sunday.
IMAGES of the Asia Cup Final played between India and Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday
Suryakumar reshuffled the batting order to give the lower-order more game time, even pushing himself down to No. 11.
Shubman Gill struck his 10th Test century, while Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets as India dominated Day 2 of the second Test against West Indies, in Delhi, on Saturday.
'I think it's an ongoing process, just continuously putting in hours of work and speaking to people that have played in these conditions, have done well in these conditions.'
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.
Dhruv Jurel, who impressed during India's series-levelling tour of England, was on Thursday named captain of Central Zone for the season-opening Duleep Trophy, set to begin on August 28 in Bengaluru.
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
The superlative effort of 4-7 in 2.1 overs against the UAE saw Kuldeep Yadav bagging the man-of-the-match award and at the post-match presentation ceremony he got a chance to express his disappointment and question the logic behind his constant omission from the Playing XI.
The home side, chasing a 2-0 series sweep, reduced West Indies to 140-4 with left-armer Jadeja (3-37) leading the way.
After walking down the track earlier in the over to drive the bowler through covers, Gill shuffled again, only this time he used his supple wrists to nonchalantly flick the left-arm pacer over fine leg and deep into the stands.
India crushed West Indies by an innings and 140 runs inside three days in the first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, in Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
The Indian skipper said that the wicket today was much better from a batting point of view.
Kuldeep Yadav's artistry was too much for a clueless UAE to comprehend as India hardly broke a sweat in an emphatic nine-wicket victory in their Asia Cup opener in Dubai on Wednesday.
John Campbell, who registered his maiden Test century, had mixed emotions after the end of day four in the second Test against India, in Delhi, on Monday.
There is a school of thought that having done the hard yards in the England series, Karun Nair deserves an opportunity against a weaker opposition where a century could boost his career.
As Farhan reached his fifty, lofting Axar Patel for a massive six over mid-wicket, he pulled off a gun-firing celebration with his bat, adding another layer of intrigue to an already electric rivalry.
Spinners of both sides will have a significant role to play considering that Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi are the only specialist pacers who will be seen in action in Sunday's match.
Since he took over, head coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed on multi-skilled players across formats, especially those who can add batting depth.
Abhishek Sharma waged a lone battle with an entertaining 68 from 37 balls in the second T20I against Australia at MCG on Friday.
Kuldeep Yadav grabbed 3/18, while Axar Patel played a vital role getting 2/18 besides bowling 15 dot balls in the game to power India to an emphatic seven-wicket victory.
The short turnaround time from the high of winning a controversy-marred Asia Cup notwithstanding, Shubman Gill's India will be outright favourites against a struggling and under-strength West Indies when the teams face-off on a green-top in the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
India will be keen to get the job done against Bangladesh and seal their place in Sunday's final before considering resting their players.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has issued fresh guidelines barring journalists from asking political questions at press conferences in an apparent bid to diffuse the volatile situation that has persisted since the India-Pakistan match last Sunday.
Going into the penultimate game of the rubber, the pressing question is whether to tweak their conservative approach and bolster the spin department by playing left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav at the cost of a spin all-rounder.
Shivam Dube remains a vital cog in India's T20 set-up and bowling coach Morne Morkel wants the Mumbai all-rounder to step up as a back-up medium pacer ahead of the T20 World Cup, in line with head coach Gautam Gambhir's philosophy of packing the XI with multi-skilled cricketers.
We didn't ask for rank turners so need to put in more effort to get bounce and turn: Jadeja
Skipper Shubman Gill had a long batting stint while the troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel returned to action for India's final training session here on Wednesday before the first Test against the West Indies.
Abhishek Sharma reached 931 ratings point, which is 12 more than the previous best rating of 919 attained by England's Dawid Malan in 2020.
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.
Although fielding coach T Dilip said Patel looked "fine" after the match, the short turnaround between games poses a challenge for the all-rounder's recovery.
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