Wow! October 25 was quite a fast-paced day for Indian cricket fans. It all started with the Indian batters falling from grace against the mastery of Mitchell Santner, who wreaked havoc with a seven-fer. This put New Zealand in contention to clinch the Test series, thus putting them as heavy favourites to become the first visiting team to win a Test series in India since 2012. Indian batters would need a miracle on Day 3 to have any say in the game. Then came India A’s crushing loss in the Emerging Asia Cup T20 semi-final against Afghanistan A. However, the biggest news came late in the day when the BCCI announced India’s squads for the T20I series against South Africa and for the ultimate Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia. On that note, below are the top six head
No Ruturaj Gaikwad again in Team India
While India revealed its twin squads for overseas series, one huge name was missing out: Ruturaj Gaikwad. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper missed out on the T20I series against Bangladesh and has also been overlooked for the T20Is in South Africa. Moreover, in Tests, India have opted to go ahead with Abhimanyu Easwaran as the third-choice opener. Easwaran is all but certain to make his Test debut when Rohit Sharma becomes unavailable in the initial part of the series. Gaikwad last featured for the Men in Blue in the T20I series against Zimbabwe in July.
Virat Kohli, what!?
Virat Kohli has been a shadow of himself in Tests in recent times. In the first innings against New Zealand, he missed a full toss and got bowled for just one run, continuing his horrible form with the bat this year. He has averaged a mere 22.19 with just two fifties and no hundred so far this in year across all three formats.
MS Dhoni the first CSK retention?
Former CSK spinner Harbhajan Singh has shared his thoughts on CSK’s potential retentions for IPL 2025. He believes that if MS Dhoni decides to continue playing, he would be the top priority, even as an uncapped player. Ravindra Jadeja, Rachin Ravindra, and Ruturaj Gaikwad are also likely to be retained. As of yet, MS Dhoni has still not announced his availability to the media.
Unfit Mohammed Shami!
Veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami wasn’t selected for the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, starting this November. The pacer, who hasn’t played since his outstanding 2023 World Cup campaign, is still recovering from ankle surgery. Despite recent videos showing Shami bowling in the nets, including a session with batting coach Abhishek Nayar in Bengaluru, captain Rohit Sharma previously confirmed they won’t risk an “undercooked” Shami for the Australia tour. In his absence, India’s pace attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah, supported by Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, with Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana as backup options.
New faces for IND vs SA T20Is
The BCCI announced a surprising T20I squad against South Africa. Suryakumar Yadav is the captain, but there is no vice-captain. Regulars like Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel are in as usual. The surprises are Karnataka pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak, who impressed in the Duleep Trophy and IPL, and KKR’s Ramandeep Singh who also featured in the Emerging Asia Cup. Vyshak has 13 IPL wickets in 11 matches and 42 overall T20 wickets. Ramandeep has a strike rate of 170.00 in T20s.
Maxwell’s insights on Sehwag
Glenn Maxwell has revealed a strained relationship with Virender Sehwag during his time at Kings XI Punjab. Maxwell claims Sehwag’s high-handedness and unilateral decision-making, particularly regarding team selection, created a toxic environment. Sehwag’s disregard for other coaches and the captain’s input led to frustration and demotivation among players. Maxwell’s book, “The Showman,” details these experiences, shedding light on the negative impact in his IPL stint with the Punjab franchise that stood for 5 years.
