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• Pant selected for India's T20 World Cup squad after car-crash recovery

  Rishabh Pant will hope to lead India to T20 World Cup glory after being selected in their squad, just over a year after undergoing surgery following a concerning car crash.

  Wicketkeeper-batter Pant was involved in a near-fatal car collision in northern India in December 2022 but comes back into the international fold just 16 months after the incident.

  The 26-year-old's performances in this season's Indian Premier League have secured his place in the 15-man squad, having scored 398 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 158.6 for the Delhi Capitals.

  Pant is one of two wicketkeepers named in the squad for the tournament starting on June 1 in the United States and West Indies, alongside Sanju Samson.

  Despite not previously featuring in a World Cup squad, Samson has impressed in the IPL after accumulating 385 runs in nine innings, striking at a rate of 161.1 for the league-leading Rajasthan Royals.

  India captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Hardik Pandya will lead the side in the United States and West Indies, though Pant and Samson's inclusion leaves no place for KL Rahul or Jitesh Sharma.

  Yuzvendra Chahal did not feature in either T20I squad in the recent series against South Africa and Afghanistan but was another India star included based on their IPL showings this year.

  Leg-spinner Chahal, who will be joined by Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in the spin-bowling department, has 13 wickets at an average of 23.5 for the Royals this term.

  Jasprit Bumrah heads the pace-bowling lineup with Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh, while Hardik and Shivam Dube present all-rounder options with the ball.

  Dube offers a decisive alternative with the bat, too, having top-scored with 124 runs across three innings in the home series against Afghanistan in January.

  At the top of the order, Yashasvi Jaiswal will likely open alongside captain Rohit, with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav providing some high-class backup lower down.

  India face Ireland in New York on June 5 to start their World Cup campaign before meeting rivals Pakistan, USA and Canada.

  India's provisional squad:

  Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

• 'It is not just Kohli contributing now' – Du Plessis relieved by RCB's IPL improvement

  Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis is relieved by his side's recent Indian Premier League improvement after having an over-reliance on India great Virat Kohli in the early stages of the competition.

  A comfortable 35-run away win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday has lifted spirits for RCB after they had fallen just one run short of reaching a big Kolkata Knight Riders total in their previous outing.

  RCB remain bottom of the standings going into back-to-back matches against the Gujarat Titans, but they approach that double-header with new-found confidence after snapping a miserable six-match losing streak.

  "In the last two games we have shown great signs of fight," Du Plessis said.

  "The [first] SRH game we got to 260 [pursuing a big target], then the KKR game as well, just one run [short]. It was almost a record chase. 

  "We have been close for a while, but you need to win matches to get confidence back in the group. 

  "It is a massive relief. No matter where we are, when you are not winning it does affect you, it does affect you mentally, it does affect your confidence. 

  "I will sleep a bit easier. For the first half of the tournament only it was only Virat contributing. It is important as a batting line-up to contribute together because we have seen the scores are so big, it's never going to be just one guy scoring the runs."

  Kohli still impressed against SRH, with his 51 – along with a rapid 50 off 20 balls from Rajat Patidar – helping RCB to score 206-7 after opting to bat first.

  There was also a strong outing from Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, who scored 37 not out before taking 2-12 from two overs with the ball and grabbing a huge catch to dismiss SRH dangerman Heinrich Klaasen for just seven.

  Du Plessis added: "The last week and a half we have been working hard to make sure we get better at our own game. 

  "You can see the last game; there is some confidence in our batting. We have got more guys scoring runs now. Rajat playing two really good innings back-to-back, Greeny getting runs. It is massive for him just to get that load off his shoulders. 

  "You can't speak confidence into the group, you can't fake confidence into the group. The only thing that gives confidence is performance. 

  "First half of the competition we certainly felt like we weren't near our full potential. And when you're playing at 50% or 60%, obviously, you try 100%, but you don't get the confidence in your group. 

  "The competition is so strong, the teams are so strong that you'll get hurt [if you are not at 100%]."

  Green thought Du Plessis had taken a risk by choosing to bat first, but it was a decision that paid off.

  He said: "It was [a brave call]. I definitely wasn't in agreement with [batting first] so credit to the captain and coach. SRH have been batting beautifully when they bat first - that was the main reason.

  "We always have to celebrate little wins and we feel pretty good now. Always nice to be back to winning ways."

  Asked about his catch to dismiss Klaasen, he added: "I think the whole time I kept thinking 'Klaasen, Klaasen' in my head!

  "It was up there for a while, happy I hung on to it."

  RCB are away to the Titans on Sunday, before playing at home against Shubman Gill's side on May 4.

• IPL: Kohli and Patidar star to snap RCB's losing streak

  Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a six-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League by claiming a convincing 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

  Bengaluru still sit bottom of the standings, but have reason to cheer after Virat Kohli's 51 and Rajat Patidar's 20-ball 50 got the job done in style on Thursday.

  Cameron Green chipped in with a useful 37 as RCB reached 206-7 from their 20 overs, and the Australian then took 2-12 with the ball as the Sunrisers failed to get going.

  Shahbaz Ahmed top scored for Sunrisers with 40 not-out, but it was not enough as they only mustered 171-8 in response.

  Data Debrief

  Thursday's match marked Jaydev Unadkat's 100th in the IPL, and though he finished on the losing side, he did take a memorable three-for to celebrate the occasion.

  It was Unadkat who dismissed Kohli, Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, finishing with figures of 3-30.