I won't be able to play freely if I focus on criticism: Harshit Rana
India's bowling coach Morne Morkel expects the batting unit to lift its performance under pressure in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan
Abhishek Sharma's flamboyance will meet its match in Shaheen Shah Afridi's precision in what promises to be an "edge of the seat" battle in the Asia Cup final on Sunday.
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Friday acknowledged that Sanju Samson has been going through a lean phase without doubting the quality of the struggling batter, and reiterated the team management's support for him.
Runs have dried up for Suryakumar, with his last T20I fifty coming back in October 2024. With the World Cup less than two months away, the pressure has begun to mount.
Rishabh Pant's place in the playing eleven is far from guaranteed, while Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are locked in a tight contest for the additional all-rounder's slot as India confront several selection dilemmas ahead of the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi.
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.
Little-known ambidextrous Bengal spinner Kaushik Maity seamlessly doubled up for both roles during the optional practice session.
'Tomorrow we can just focus on doing a good warm-up, get the boys ready to hopefully get the ball in the right area and create a little bit of excitement again.'
Prasidh Krishna has the ability to bowl "magic balls" and the pacer needs to be given an extended run to serve India for a long time, said bowling coach Morne Morkel in London on Sunday.
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 suffered a major pre-match blow in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan as star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the title-deciding clash in Dubai due to a niggle.
The Lucknow Super Giants welcome their bowling and fielding coaches while Gujarat Titans welcome their coach.
'Pretty amazing. The whole tournament, we remained unbeaten, it feels pretty amazing to be in this position.'
'Yeah, 100 per cent. That's a good question, and I think that's something we'll obviously reflect on after the tour, the things we could have done better.'
'We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides.'
This happened following India's practice session that saw both India's senior batters hit the nets at the Optus Stadium.
The others to arrive after a delayed flight were K L Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy along with some members of the support staff.
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.
Siraj took a six wicket haul in the first innings and got rid of Zak Crawley in the final hour on day five.
And ahead of the 4th Test, some members of the Indian team went all out at a gym training session.
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill spoke on the team dinner hosted by head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
'He leads a lot of actions. And in this series so far, he's done it with the ball at times that we've needed somebody to put his hand up and create something.'
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
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.
Seldom has an India vs Pakistan clash played with such a volatile backdrop, where cricket seems inseparably knotted with off-field tension, provocative gestures, and fines slapped on both camps.
Earlier, warm-up routines had players darting through shuttle runs and high knees before bats were unsheathed.
With the much-anticipated Group A clash against arch-rivals Pakistan looming, India is sparing no effort in their training sessions, honing skills and strategising tactics.
The usually mobbed Indian cricket team likes training in a relaxed atmosphere and that was evident in their body language as the players went about their business in their only practice session at the Kent County Cricket Ground before the fourth Test in Manchester.
At the moment, Pakistan's World Cup campaign is stuck against a huge boulder primarily because of their bowlers' inability to fire as a unit, the latest setback being a 62-run defeat against Australia in Bengaluru.
India's pace great Zaheer Khan is reportedly set to part ways with Lucknow Super Giants after just one season as their mentor.
Abhishek Sharma's brutal yet beautiful stroke-play was the highlight of India's optional net session on Tuesday
Mohammed Siraj's match-winning spell in The Oval Test reminded us all what Test cricket -- and fast bowling -- is truly about: Discipline, endurance, and unwavering grit, says Aadharsh A V.
Defending champions India had a full-fledged practice session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Friday as they put the finishing touches to their Asia Cup preparations.
'He has been working hard on his bowling. This was a perfect game for him.'
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.
Harshit Rana has been included in the India Test squad as a cover and travelled with the rest of the team via train to reach Leeds
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
