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Rohit Sharma to lead India in Tests, Ravindra Jadeja returns for Sri Lanka series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squads for the Sri Lanka series. Former India captain Virat Kohli and the wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant have been rested from the final T20I against West Indies and the T20I series against Sri Lanka but they will return to the side for the Test series against the Lankan Lions. 

"Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been rested for the final T20I against West Indies and the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka," chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who hadn't been in action for quite some time due to injury issues has made a return back in the squad while Test mainstays Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane who had faced struggles with the bat in the recent past have been dropped from the side. 

T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (c) Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Bumrah (vc), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Md. Siraj, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Y Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan

Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, R Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin (subject to fitness), R Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, J Bumrah (vc), Md. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar

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NZ vs SA | 1st Test: New Zealand rattle South Africa to go 1-0 up in series

New Zealand created history on Saturday after beating South Africa by an innings and 276 runs in the first Test of the two-match series in Christchurch. After taking a mammoth lead in the first innings, the Blackcaps bundled out the Proteas for 111 in the second innings to clinch a thumping victory. The visitors had a dismal start to the proceedings as they lost early wickets and were left tottering at 46/5 when Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne tried to chip in with a few runs. The two batters stitched a stand of 41 runs for the sixth wicket before Bavuma was trapped in front of the stumps by Wagner for 41 to provide the breakthrough. The South African team never really got into the game and were eventually bowled out. Verreynne scored 30 during the course. For New Zealand, it was Tim Southee in the second innings who bagged a five-wicket haul while Matt Henry and Wagner scalped a couple apiece. Kyle Jamieson returned with figures of 1/24. Earlier, the home side rode on some exceptional batting display to post 482 runs on the board. While Henry Nicholls struck a century, Tom Blundell missed out on getting one by just four runs as he was out for 96. Wagner (49) and de Grandhomme (45) also made some valuable contributions for the host. South Africa who batted first in the first innings, were all out for 95 after Henry picked up seven wickets. "It's not in South Africa's nature to roll over, had some work ahead of us. Just a clinical three days from everyone. Different guys stepping up at different times. It's the way we want to play, and we have played in New Zealand for a long time," Southee said after the match.

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Wasim Jaffer wants Ruturaj Gaikwad to play the entire Sri Lanka series

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has opined that it won’t be a great move to play Ruturaj Gaikwad in the dead rubber against West Indies on Sunday. He also claimed that it would be better if Ishan Kishan plays the third T20I also against West Indies and Gaikwad gets an opportunity during the entire T20I series against Sri Lanka. Gaikwad was part of the ODI squad in South Africa and was picked in both the limited-overs series for the ongoing home series against West Indies. The Chennai Super Kings star failed to find a place in the playing XI in the ongoing T20I series against West Indies as well. “We need to give Ishan Kishan another game and play him in the third T20I. Then we must think about giving Ruturaj (Gaikwad) a chance in the Sri Lanka series. He should be given a longer rope, maybe a series. No point giving Ruturaj one game. It makes sense to have continuity with players so they know that they are going to play the full series," Jaffer told Espncricinfo. When he was asked whether Kishan’s failure in the first two T20Is is a cause for concern, the veteran replied that he did not think so. “We need to be patient with Ishan Kishan. We all know that he is a quality player. He has got the fifties on T20I and ODI debuts and has such a fine IPL record for Mumbai Indians. But he has just been bought for ₹15 crores, which plays on players’ minds. And, it wasn’t easy straightaway. The ball was swinging a little. Even Rohit (Sharma) scored at almost a run-a-ball for his 19. We need to leave him alone. Once he gets going, he’ll be fine," opined the former Indian cricketer. That said, the youngster from Mumbai Indians was dismissed for 35 off 42 in the first T20I and disappointed in the second T20I as well. Following his early dismissal, Virat Kohli came in and played a stunning fifty. “Kohli looked in sublime form. The wicket was good to bat on and he came out like he was already set. Kieron Pollard played with his mind by having a short leg. I don’t know why, but Kohli responded really well. Even though he hasn’t got hundreds in 50-overs and Test cricket, he is in fine form in T20Is. If he keeps batting like this, I don’t think the magic three-figure mark is too far way," Jaffer concl

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Rishabh Pant opens up on his aggressive partnership with Venkatesh Iyer

Team India’s swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has said that they have not set any template as to how they play the death overs with the bat. He once again said that Venkatesh Iyer has batted as per the demands of the situation on Friday. Pant (52* off 28) and Iyer (33 off 18) stitched 76 off only 35 balls for the fifth wicket at Kolkata. Thanks to them, Team India posted 186 for 5, batting first. At a virtual press conference after the match, Pant opened up on their attacking during the partnership. He said: “We have not set any template but we tried to capitalize on the middle overs. At the end of the day, you have to play the situation. When I was batting, I was thinking that I have to take the match slightly deeper. Generally, I would like to hit bowlers from the 14-15th over but I tried to take it deep. I knew after Iyer our bowlers were going to come. He (Iyer) came in and played really well, and we had a good partnership together.” While talking about Iyer’s innings, he said that the all-rounder has read the situation well and played accordingly as well. “When you come down the order, you know the situation. He is someone who reads the situation really well. We talked about keeping it simple and not trying too many things. The plan was to see the ball, hit the ball," the flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman stated. In the 2nd T20I, Pant smashed seven fours and a six during his innings, Iyer smacked four fours and one six as well. However, Iyer opened the innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during IPL 2021. However, for India, he has been batting in the middle order and doing well so far. While explaining the decision, Rishabh Pant stated that the Indian team is trying to fit players into specific roles as well. “He (Iyer) is a mature cricketer. He used to play down the order for MP. Yes, in the IPL he is opening, but we can’t be thinking too much about that. In the Indian team, we are just trying to find different positions for different," Pant concluded.