Shubman Gill had fired a verbal salvo at Zak Crawley during the Lord's Test after he and his opening partner Ben Duckett arrived 90 seconds late to the crease.
As India gears up to face Oman on Friday, September 19, at the Dubai international stadium, the focus returns to cricket.
Fresh from a hard-fought 2-2 draw in England, Shubman Gill's men will be eager to translate their overseas resilience into home dominance.
Australia held their nerve in a tense chase, edging past India by two wickets to seal the series 2-0 despite a late fightback from the visitors on Thursday in Adelaide.
After the proceedings began with light warm-up and catching, the action shifted to the nets where all batters had long stints in the nets while the other pace bowlers too put in the hard yards.
Former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday lauded current head coach Gautam Gambhir for his conviction during the gruelling England tour and asked his detractors if they would now "stand up and salute him" for the 2-2 draw.
The just-concluded Asia Cup was deeply saturated with off-field drama. But even amidst the bedlam, there were sparks of brilliance, emergence of new stars and tears of failure.
The 'Impact Player' in IPL might have restricted Chennai Super Kings' Shivam Dube's role but 'India's Shivam Dube' aspires to be a full-fledged all-rounder backed by head coach Gautam Gambhir and helped by bowling coach Morne Morkel.
The Indian team under Gautam Gambhir's coaching has been about multi-skilled cricketers, and Washington Sundar feels blessed that he is one of them.
Asked about his plan for David Warner, he said, "I was planning for him. I have seen the Delhi wicket; it was holding and keeping low. So I was trying to give him a single or two (and contain boundaries), mixing the pace and variation." "It has been very good. I have been working very hard since the domestic season. I have been working very hard with Adrian (Le Roux - KKR Trainer) and also on my bowling with Brad Hogg and some of the senior players. And if you can perform like this, you feel good," the 21-year old Chinaman spinner added. "They keep telling me about how to plan for various batsmen. During net sessions, they also keep telling me how to bowl to an attacking batsman or a defensive batsman. So that really helped me a lot," he said.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
This is the first-ever India vs Pakistan final across 17 editions of the Men's Asia Cup since the tournament's inception in 1984.
Such has been the problem of plenty for selectors in the T20 format that they are finding it difficult to even accommodate Yashasvi Jaiswal -- a proven performer in T20 cricket.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the series against England due to a knee injury.
The Indians have not featured in ODIs in recent months but Kuldeep Yadav (650) and Ravindra Jadeja (616) still remained static at number three and number nine in the latest ODI rankings for bowlers.
With a five-match T20I series in October-November in Australia, five T20Is against South Africa at home in December and five T20Is against New Zealand at home in January 2026, Team India will now look to test itself, its combinations and youngsters against some of the world's best T20I teams ahead of the T20 WC 2026, which will start in early 2026.
Obviously, we miss Ashwin but one day Jadeja will also be gone: Ravindra Jadeja
Will Shubman Gill force either Sanju Samson or Tilak Varma out of the playing XI for the Asia Cup opening match against the UAE?
Pakistan are currently in the second spot with two points, ahead of UAE (2 points) on net run rate.
Pat Cummins captured the sentiment perfectly, calling this potentially the 'last chance' for fans Down Under to witness these legends in action. With both stalwarts set to be 39 and 40 respectively by the 2027 World Cup, every appearance carries added significance. Ro-Ko have been the heartbeat of Indian cricket for over 15 years. Their return brings an emotional lift to the team and raises expectations for the series against the world champions.
Kuldeep Yadav is one match-winner India can't afford to leave out for the upcoming Test series in England and the wrist spinner should be picked ahead of batting all-rounders, reckon former selectors and coaches.
The spinners kept a lid on the scoring with Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja taking wickets at regular intervals.
Varun Chakravarthy said head coach Gautam Gambhir has instilled in the Indian team a mentality that leaves no room for mediocrity and where losing is not an option.
'Though I would like to see him in the playing XI, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma will open the batting for the team.'
This isn't just a Test match - it's a test of Shubman Gill's leadership, temperament, and decision-making.
Gill's highest score in the three Asia Cup matches has been an unbeaten 20 with the Test skipper failing to click in the games against Pakistan and Oman after a fruitful red-ball away series against England.
As the continental tournament kicks off on September 9 in Dubai, India will look to lean on this mix of proven winners and new leaders while keeping uncompromising fitness standards at the heart of their preparations.
Team India wasted no time in getting their preparations underway as they kicked off their first training session at Lord's a few hours after their arrival in London on Saturday.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav made optimal use of available resources in both departments as India did enough to beat a spirited Oman by 21 runs to end their league stage commitments in Asia Cup with a hat-trick of victories.
Calling Kuldeep a world-class spinner, Morkel said India are trying to fit the wily operator into the side. He can now only play the last Test at The Oval from July 31.
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.
Sachin Tendulkar was effusive in his praise for Akash Deep after India's thumping 336-run win at Edgbaston
Kuldeep slips to third in ODI rankings, Maharaj regains top spot
India Test skipper and T20 vice-captain Shubman Gill reached the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) for fitness assessment ahead of travelling to Dubai for the upcoming Asia Cup.
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
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of Asia Cup 2025.
Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali sees shades of Virat Kohli in Shubman Gill's aggressive on-field demeanour, but feels the India batter's approach during the Lord's Test may have triggered a stronger response from the hosts.
Every summer, Sudhir Gautam makes a pilgrimage to Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai home, carrying a box of Muzaffarpur litchis from his home town in Bihar, a gesture sweeter than the fruit itself.
The India vs Bangladesh rivalry has gotten bitter in recent years, thanks to the partisan young fans, many of whom perceive India as an adversary.
In 42 first-class matches, Kuldeep has taken 161 wickets at an average of 29.14.
