The indefatigable duo of Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj is expected to be the big talking point on Saturday when the selectors pick a 15-member Indian ODI squad for a three-match series against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara.
Mohammed Siraj returned 17-3-56-4 to help Hyderabad bowl Chhattisgarh out for 283 on Day 1 of their Group D Ranji Trophy contest, in Hyderabad, on Thursday.
The senior Indian seamer had previously returned seven wickets in their previous match against Uttarakhand, and he now has 15 wickets in just two matches.
Ganguly backs fit-again Shami, says he should play for India across formats
India's T20 World Cup squad had space for only 15, but the pool of quality options ran far deeper. The consequence was inevitable: several players with genuine claims were left on the outside, the unlucky ones who narrowly missed the cut.
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Talented wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel has been named vice-captain, while the pace department will receive a major boost with the inclusion of India fast bowling duo of Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep.
The Indian selectors will be announcing the team for the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps, starting January 11 in Vadodara and there have been speculations about whether Pant can hold on to his place in the squad.
Shami has not exactly been pleased with the national selectors and has gone on record to say that they have not communicated with him. However, sources in the BCCI say that it may not be the correct picture.
Mohammed Shami was once ignored for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, despite having proved his fitness in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.
Shami, 35, was left out of India's 15-member squad for the two home Tests against South Africa, scheduled to commence on Friday at the famed Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Before his most recent snub, Shami had openly expressed his disappointment about being sidelined from India's recent Test fixtures.
'My motivation is to stay fit and be available for Indian team.'
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Now in 16 ODIs against South Africa, the spinner has taken 36 wickets at an average of 17.58, with a strike rate of 21.3 and an economy rate of 4.95.
'The whole country is behind him and watching his performances. You can't ignore a guy who's done so much for India.'
With India's home aura cracking again, Sourav Ganguly has stepped into the pitch debate admitting the Eden surface was far from ideal but stressing that a world-class Test side should never crumble in pursuit of 124.
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Abhishek Sharma smashed the joint third-fastest half-century and broke his own record for most sixes by an Indian in a T20 innings while scoring an unbeaten 148 in Punjab's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Bengal, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
India pacer Mohammed Shami, whose troubled marriage with Hasin Jahan has often made headlines, has broken his silence on the controversies surrounding his personal life.
The pitch, left unwatered for nearly a week, appeared dry and brown with faint traces of grass, conditions that could bring reverse swing and variable bounce into play later in the match.
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Pace bowling all-rounders always come at a premium and therefore, the troika of Green, Venkatesh Iyer and West Indies' Jason Holder, all coming at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore (US$220,000), are set to headline the bidding war.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Bihar's teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged just 14, blasted an 84-ball 190 to become the youngest List-A centurion ever. His captain Sakibul Gani, then upstaged him with a 40-ball 128 not out -- the fastest List-A century by an Indian.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
The former CSK stalwart also noted that Axar Patel's consistency over recent years positions him as a natural leader within the DC core. But the trickier decision, according to Raina, concerns veteran opener Faf du Plessis, who endured a lean run with just 202 runs from nine games.
Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Mukund, who represented India in seven Tests from 2011-17, said: "I think Shubman has it in him to become an all-format captain, but I do not think India should have an all-format captain anymore."
Rishabh Pant was ruled out for nearly three months after he fractured his foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
A record-extending 52nd ODI century by Virat Kohli and a rapid 57 from Rohit Sharma paved the way for India's victory in the series-opener in Ranchi.
The petition points out that Shami's annual income, as disclosed in his Income Tax Return for 2021-22, stood at nearly Rs 48 crore, while she has been forced to live in "downtrodden conditions", struggling to meet even basic expenses.
Bengal will be bolstered by the return of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami who has who has been out of India contention since the Champions Trophy.
'After the media exchanges between Ajit Agarkar and Mohammad Shami last week, newly-appointed selector R P Singh is at Eden Gardens for the Bengal vs Gujarat clash. The World T20 winner spoke to Shami at length after the day's play today.'
Mohammed Shami possesses a rare ability of landing the ball in an upright seam position every single time and no coach in the world can create such a fast bowling "artist", gushed India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
Saurashtra registered their narrowest T20 victory in terms of runs, edging Karnataka by one run in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 Elite Group D match.
Shami's five wickets on final day sets up fine win for Bengal over Gujarat in Ranji Trophy
The Indian team management has not asked for a rank turner for the opening Test of the two-match series against South Africa beginning at the Eden Gardens on Friday, Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly said on Monday.
Star pacer Mohammed Shami has developed an ankle condition, which currently requires medical attention, as the Indian team management will hope that he regains fitness in time for the first Test against South Africa starting from December 26 at Centurion.
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Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara on Thursday stressed that each and every bilateral assignment will be "very important" now for stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as India look ahead to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Dravid fully understood what the younger crop of players were going through after the loss in the final, following a dominant 10-match win streak, saying that he went through such emotions when India lost to Australia in the 2003 World Cup finals, and it hurts a lot when something comes really close and players miss out on it.
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