Captain Rishabh Pant conceded that India needed to get better as a Test team.
India will look to address several lingering selection puzzles when they take on South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday in the first ODI of the three-match series, where Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the set-up for a short audition that could well shape their 2027 World Cup fate.
Sai Sudharsan and Dhruv Jurel faced spinners while wearing only one pad to counter the turning deliveries, a method that comes with an element of risk, in Kolkata on Monday.
'But I would say given the importance of this series and given the conditions we think we are going to face, he (Nitish Kumar Reddy) might miss out in this Test this week.'
K L Rahul on Saturday conceded that Indian batters' repeated struggles against spin, especially on home tracks, remain a concern.
Despite India's seven-wicket win in Delhi, Gambhir called the surface 'alarming' and stressed the need for more balanced wickets to keep Test cricket alive.
Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel on Friday dedicated his maiden Test hundred against the West Indies to the Indian Army, saying he has always had "respect for what they do on the battlefield".
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 2nd Test between India and West Indies in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Sack Gambhir before he damages any more careers, if you must. But it cannot stop there. The project ahead must be bigger, more ambitious, and far more urgent: Rebuilding the spine of Indian cricket from the grassroots up, and giving the Test team the seriousness it deserves. Only then will Indian cricket stop lurching from one crisis to another and begin, once again, to imagine greatness, suggests Prem Panicker.
A good batting surface is in store for the second and final Test between India and the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with curators expecting the pitch to aid strokeplay for the first two days before offering only slow turn as the game progresses.
'Rishabh Pant is not fit for West Indies series, hopefully he will be available for home Tests against South Africa.'
Responding to India's squad selection for the home series against West Indies, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan opined that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah could have been rested for the series in order to groom a young fast bowler.
Ravindra Jadeja powered to his record sixth fifty of the series to extend his stunning run with the bat, on Day 3 of the fifth and final Test against England.
India beat West Indies by seven wickets in the second and final Test to complete a 2-0 series sweep at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
Mohammed Shami was once ignored for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, despite having proved his fitness in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.
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.
While many captains have buckled under the pressure, the responsibility to lead a team followed by a billion-plus fans appears to have brought the best out of Gill.
Spin great Anil Kumble heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja for his consistency and growing maturity with the bat.
Ravindra Jadeja's omission from the India ODI squad for Australia tour raised a few eyebrows but the veteran all-rounder was not surprised as the selection committee and team management had "communicated" to him about their inability to pick him.
The aura of home advantage -- long regarded as a hallmark of India's Test side -- seemed secure. But in barely over a year, that fortress has not just cracked, it has collapsed, raising uncomfortable questions about strategy, selection, and temperament.
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India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted his side was "surprised" by how quickly the Eden Gardens surface "deteriorated" after a dramatic second day in which 15 wickets fell and the opening Test swung sharply in India's favour.
Obviously, we miss Ashwin but one day Jadeja will also be gone: Ravindra Jadeja
Shubman Gill said he could not have asked for a better all-round performance from his team after they hammered the West Indies by an innings and 140 runs in the first Test.
With the pitch here not assisting the spinners so far a great deal, Rampaul expressed his surprise.
It was a day where cricket wasn't just about the result, but about character, spirit, and moments that transcend rivalry -- a Lord's classic remembered not just for its edge-of-seat drama, but for its heart.
Shubman Gill was "extremely proud" of the fight that his team put up after being down and out but rued the absence of one fifty partnership and Rishabh Pant's first innings run-out in their 22-run defeat against England in the third Test at the Lord's.
From Ravindra Jadeja's stoic resistance to Jofra Archer's fire and the emotional collapse of Mohammed Siraj at the end, this was a Test for the ages - one that even veteran voices like Nasser Hussain hailed as the best in recent memory.
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.
Former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday criticized India's star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for his inability to handle pressure and win overseas Test matches.
Ravindra Jadeja became only the third cricketer in the history of Tests, to score 1,000 runs and pick up 30 wickets in an away country.
The towering presence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Indian ODI team can only help newly appointed captain Shubman Gill grow as a leader, said Axar Patel.
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.
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.
Steely Jadeja completes 7,000 international runs, joins Ganguly, Dhoni, Pant.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja got engaged to a Rajkot-based mechanical engineer, Reeva Solanki, in a private ceremony on Friday.
India's K L Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja will be eager to put their best foot forward and etch their name in the record books in the fourth Test at Manchester.
The most wickets by an Indian in international cricket are by spinner Anil Kumble, with 953 scalps at an average of 30.06, with best figures of 10/74, with 37 five-wicket hauls and eight ten-fers.
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'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
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