Rohit Sharma has said India face a difficult decision on their wicket-keeper batsman selection ahead of their three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Sharma, who declared his retirement from T20I's following India's success at the World Cup earlier this year, watched on as the Men in Blue started off a new era under the guidance of Suryakumar Yadav.
India comfortably beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in that series, and now face the same opponents in three 50-over matches that start this Friday.
Sharma will captain India for the upcoming fixtures, and acknowledged the difficulty in selecting the team's wicketkeeper batter for ODIs, with both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant both in the mix.
Pant last featured in an ODI for India in November 2022, but has since made a comeback to the national team and was part of their T20 World Cup success in June.
First-choice Pant also played in two of the three T20s against Sri Lanka last month but faces competition from Rahul, who has been solid behind the stumps and impressed during the 2023 50-overs World Cup at home.
"It's a tough call. Both are quality players, you know the abilities of both. It's not easy to pick a team when you have players like that," Sharma told reporters.
"That's what these two individuals are all about. They're match-winners in their own way.
"It's always nice to have (such) problems. When you discuss a lot about whom to pick, it means there's quality in the squad. I look forward to these problems."
While Sharma has retired from the 20-over format, he is expected to stay in the role in 50-overs cricket with the Champions Trophy scheduled for next year.
The upcoming fixtures will present another difficult test for new head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is yet to taste defeat in his first three games in charge.
"We'll keep in mind what we want to achieve as a team but this is by no means preparation or practice (for the Champions Trophy). We want to play good cricket and get something out of the series. It's as simple as that," Sharma said.
"We don't want to think about trying this or that. Of course we want to try everything possible, but when you're representing the nation the quality of the cricket should remain the way it is and how we've played in the last few years.
"That's more important, more than thinking that it's a preparation so let's go out and chill in Colombo."
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be without pacers Matheesha Pathirana and Dilshan Madushanka, while Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Thushara are also out with illness and a fractured thumb.
Uncapped Mohamed Shiraz has been brought in as replacement as they look to bounceback from their whitewash defeat in their recent T20 series.
Matthews hits 78* to lead Welsh Fire to six-wicket win over London Spirit in Women’s Hundred
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews produced an excellent knock to spearhead the Welsh Fire in their six-wicket win over the London Spirit in action in the Women’s Hundred at Lord’s on Thursday.
The Spirit first posted 150-5 from their 100 balls after Fire captain Tammy Beaumont won the toss and put them in to bat.
Danielle Gibson led the way with the bat with a 25-ball 41 while Deepti Sharma made 39* off 26 balls in support.
Freya Davies took 2-19 from her 20 deliveries for the Fire while Beth Langston, Jess Jonassen and Georgia Davis shared the other three wickets.
Needing 151 off their 100 balls for victory, the Fire lost skipper Beaumont for 6 off the 11th ball of the innings bringing Matthews to the crease.
The Bajan batted through the rest of the chase on her way to 78* off just 46 balls as the Fire reached 151-4 off 95 balls.
She hit 11 fours and two sixes in her 59 minutes in the middle. Sarah Bryce provided the most support for Matthews with 21 off 18 balls including three fours.
Danielle Gibson completed a good all-round performance with 2-28 off 15 balls.
This was the Fire’s second win in three games and moves them up to third in the eight-team table with four points, the same as the Spirit in second and the Oval Invincibles in first.
Barbados defeat Leeward Islands to complete CWI Rising Stars Men’s Under-19 2-Day, 50-over double
Barbados Under-19s added the CWI Rising Stars Men’s Under-19 50-over title to their 2-Day championship crown with a six-wicket win over the Leeward Islands at the Cumberland Playing Field on Tuesday.
The Leewards were bundled out for just 105 in 39.4 overs after winning the toss and choosing to take first strike.
Isra-el Morton made 20* to lead the way for the Leewards while Devanand Singh (19) and captain Jewel Andrew (17) also got starts.
Off-spinner Saurav Worrell was the main man in the Bajan attack with 4-28 from his 10 overs and was well supported by Zishan Motara’s 2-17 off 10 overs.
Barbados then used just over half of their allotted overs to successfully reach 110-4 and secure the title.
West Indies Under-19 representative Joshua Dorne led the way with 40 while wicket-keeper Joshua Morris made 30 against 2-31 off five overs from pacer Michael Palmer.
In Tuesday’s other round five games, Jamaica defeated Trinidad & Tobago by 65 runs at Arnos Vale while Guyana defeated the Windward Islands by five wickets at Park Hill.
Seales, Hodge achieve career-best positions on latest ICC Men's Test rankings
West Indies seamer Jayden Seales and batsman Kavem Hodge have been rewarded for their standout performances in the recently-concluded Test series against England, as both achieved career-best moves up the latest ICC Men’s Test bowling and batting rankings on Wednesday.
Though West Indies suffered a 3-0 whitewash in that ICC World Test Championship series, Seales emerged as a standout performer, as he earned the player of the series award for his 13 wickets snared across all three games.
That performance saw the 22-year-old Trinidadian move seven places up to a career-best 26th position, joining teammate Jason Holder, who held firm in that position.
Veteran seamer Kemar Roach remains the top-ranked West Indies bowler at 17th, with Alzarri following Seales and Holder as the next best-ranked player at 31st. Kyle Mayers (37th), Shannon Gabriel (43rd), Gudakesh Motie (52nd), Roston Chase (59th), Shamar Joseph (64th), Jomel Warrican (66th), and Rahkeem Cornwall (82nd) are the other Caribbean bowlers in the top 100.
On the batting chart, Hodge inched up three places to 72nd, following a credible display in the three-match series. The 31-year-old Dominican tallied 216 runs, including a maiden Test century.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite remains the highest-ranked West Indies batsman at 41st, with out-of-favor Jermaine Blackwood slipping to 52nd. Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua da Silva (62nd), Holder (70th), Mayer (76th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (86th), and Roston Chase (92nd) are also in the top 100.
Meanwhile, England batter Joe Root reclaimed the number one Test batting position after scoring 87 in the first innings of the third and final match against West Indies in Birmingham, which his side won by 10 wickets.
This is Root’s ninth stint as number one. His first tenure at the top of the rankings commenced in August 2015, and he was last at the top in June last year after a fine performance in the opening match of the Ashes series, also in Birmingham.
While Root overtook Kane Williamson to take the top spot, Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma have all gained a spot each as Harry Brook slipped to seventh position after attaining a career-best third position last week.
In the weekly update to the rankings that also takes into consideration performances in the Ireland versus Zimbabwe Test in Belfast, England captain Ben Stokes, who struck 54 in the first innings in Birmingham and a quickfire 57 not out off 28 balls in the second, has moved up four positions to 30th in the batting rankings.
Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams has re-entered the rankings in 33rd position after scores of 35 and 40, while England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith’s knock of 95 has lifted him 31 places to 64th position.
England fast bowler Mark Wood’s Player of the Match performance of two for 52 and five for 40 has lifted him into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time in his career.
Gus Atkinson of England (up four places to 46th), Blessing Muzarabani of Zimbabwe (re-entered in 50th position), and Mark Adair of Ireland (up three places to 63rd) are other notable gainers in the bowling rankings.
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