India have kept most of the squad that won the T20I series in Australia, with one major boost, Hardik Pandya returns after recovering from a left quadricep injury.
Opener Abhishek Sharma has carved out an identity for himself with his aggressive batting and he should stick to his approach, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said on Friday after the visitors lost the second T20I against Australia by four wickets here. The 25-year-old stood out as the lone performer in the top order smashing a 37-ball 68 as the rest crumbled with India being dismissed for a below-par 125 in 18.4 overs. Australia shot down the target in just 13.2 overs. "Abhishek has been doing this for quite some time now. He knows his game and his identity," Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation. "He is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us." The Indian captain gave credit to Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood (3/13) for his brilliant show with the ball to restrict India to a low score. "The way he (Hazlewood) bowled in the powerplay, if you're four down in the powerplay it's difficult to recover from that. Well ...
Under Suryakumar's leadership, India clinched the Asia Cup title last month in the UAE, but the skipper's personal returns with the bat were far from impressive
This is the right time for Indian cricket to reach newer heights, Indian cricket has already achieved so much, but now it is time to do it consistently, says India captain Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar mentioned in a social media post that the armed forces and the families affected by the Pahalgam attack were constantly in his thoughts
Team India lift their 9th Asia Cup title by beating arch rivals Pakistan by 5 wickets in what was a thrilling final in Dubai. Tilak Verma and Shivam Dube putting up a match-winning partnership.
Check the top five India vs Pakistan player match-ups for the Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai
The BCCI had formally complained about the actions of Rauf and Farhan earlier this week, while Pakistan raised concerns about India's stance on Suryakumar
ICC verdict on both PCB's complaint on Surya and BCCI's complaint against Farhan and Rauf will be out on Friday, two days before the final of the Asia Cup 2025
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav has urged everyone to stop calling the contests against Pakistan a meaningful "rivalry" given how his team has dominated the arch-foes, the most recent demolition act being the six-wicket triumph in a Super 4 match of the ongoing Asia Cup here. India and Pakistan have faced each other 15 times in T20 Internationals, with the reigning world champions winning 12 of those encounters. After the comprehensive win on Sunday night here, the proverbial question on the gulf between the two teams was thrown at Suryakumar by a senior Pakistani journalist. "Sir, my request is that we should now stop calling India vs Pakistan matches a rivalry," Suryakumar responded with a smile. When the scribe clarified that he was referring to "standards, and not the rivalry", the Indian skipper said it hardly makes things any different. "Sir, rivalry and standard are all the same. Now what is a rivalry? If two teams have played 15 matches and it's 8-7, that's a rivalry. Here
The contrasting batting styles of inseparable best buddies Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill makes them a riveting "fire-and-ice" combination in India's T20 cricket set-up, feels skipper Suryakumar Yadav. On Sunday, what looked like a tricky chase of 172 in the Asia Cup clash against arch foes Pakistan, became a cakewalk because the two best friends since the age of 10, conjured an eye-catching 105-run opening stand. Abhishek went on to score a scintillating 74 off 39 balls, his first fifty in the tournament while Gill shrugged off disappointment of an underwhelming league stage with a facile 47 off 28 balls. "It's like a fire-and-ice combination. They complement each other really well. And that's what I want to see. If someone is batting brilliantly, the other can take the back-seat and rotate the strike. It was required today to have a very good start. And they did (provide that)," Suryakumar told mediapersons after India's six-wicket win in the Super 4 game here on Sunday. Having
India maintained their stand against Pakistan as Surya, for the second time in a row, refused to shake hands with the Pakistan skipper after the toss
Indian players were seen walking off without exchanging handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts, breaking a long-standing cricketing tradition after their Asia Cup clash on Sunday
The PCB later clarified that match referee Andy Pycroft had instructed Salman not to shake hands at the toss, but insisted India's conduct ran against the "spirit of cricket."
Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the win to the armed forces for their bravery in Operation Sindoor, saying he hopes the team keeps inspiring them and giving them reasons to smile.
India's young opener Abhishek Sharma has shown fearlessness against spin in the powerplay, but his challenge against Mohammad Nawaz will be intriguing
India beat hosts UAE by 9 wickets as they chased down 58 runs within 4.3 overs to record their biggest ever T20I win in terms of balls remaining.
India's toss-losing streak began in January during the third T20 International of the five-match series against England
When asked directly about Samson's spot in the playing XI, Suryakumar avoided a straightforward answer, but did so in his trademark witty fashion.
The Men in Blue have shaped themselves into a powerhouse, capable of fielding multiple squads of international quality, yet still entering the tournament with a razor-sharp 15-member unit