Hope called the India series a stern test and urged his players to embrace the challenge starting Sunday.
West Indies captain Shai Hope knows what awaits his side in India. Playing in those conditions is always a challenge, he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, and the series will show where West Indies actually stand.
Hope has made 741 runs in 14 ODIs here at 74.10, three of them centuries, but he says the team keeps falling short on consistency. Individual moments flare up, then disappear. He’s counting on young left-arm wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes to become a regular weapon, especially once the spinners take over on these pitches.
West Indies haven’t won an ODI series in India since 2002.
Cummins trained at the Wanderers and is in line to play the second ODI in Johannesburg.
Pat Cummins is expected to return for Australia's second ODI against South Africa on Sunday after a two-year absence from the format. He trained at the Wanderers ground in Johannesburg on Saturday and is likely to play either in the second match or the series finale in Potchefstroom on Wednesday.
Australia's middle order remains under scrutiny after Josh Inglis suffered a broken finger. Matthew Renshaw scored a hundred from number six against Zimbabwe last week, but the rest of the positions three to seven have managed only two centuries since the 2023 World Cup.
Selectors may also consider recalling Xavier Bartlett if they choose to rest Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood.
Pat Cummins trained on Saturday and could return to Australia’s ODI side after a two-year absence.
Australia captain Pat Cummins trained at the Wanderers on Saturday and is in line to play his first ODI in two years against South Africa on Sunday. Cummins completed a lengthy running session and batted in the nets at the high-altitude venue in Johannesburg.
Selectors are also weighing a recall for Xavier Bartlett if they choose to rest Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood for the second ODI. Australia’s middle order remains under scrutiny after wicketkeeper Josh Inglis suffered a broken finger and was ruled out of the remainder of the tour.
Matthew Renshaw scored a century from number six against Zimbabwe last week, but the middle order has managed only two centuries combined since the 2023 World Cup. The series moves to Potchefstroom for the decider on Wednesday.
India fast bowler Harshit Rana will miss the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan starting on September 13. A BCCI source said Rana has not fully recovered from a hamstring injury and needs more time.
Rana last played for India during the England tour and was also named in the Asian Games squad. Washington Sundar, who suffered a similar injury, has been cleared to play.
Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Reddy remain subject to fitness checks after knee and quadriceps issues respectively. Both players are reported to be on track for a comeback after the Afghanistan series.
Naman Dhir made his ODI debut after scoring 655 runs in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament, including a 173 off 64 balls.
Naman Dhir received his maiden India cap from captain Shubman Gill before the toss in the first ODI against West Indies at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. The 26-year-old Mumbai Indians all-rounder was named in the squad after scoring 655 runs at a strike rate of 217.61 in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament, including a 173 off 64 balls.
Dhir said he initially dismissed a congratulatory message as spam and needed ten minutes to process the selection. He recalled a six-year gap between age-group and senior cricket before returning through the Ranji Trophy and IPL. India handed debuts to Dhir and Gurnoor Brar for the match.
Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first. India fielded three all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir, with Kuldeep Yadav replacing Mohammed Siraj from the previous squad.
Rob Walter wants to see how Vaibhav Sooryavanshi handles pace and bounce in New Zealand.
New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said he wants to see 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi tested on pace and bouncy wickets during the upcoming T20I series. Sooryavanshi made his T20I debut against England in July and has dominated in the IPL.
Walter said the challenge is to see how the batter's IPL form translates to different conditions. He added that coaches always want to observe how young players respond under pressure.
Sooryavanshi is not guaranteed to feature in every match of the five-game series starting on October 22. Walter said India still possess other quality players if the teenager is rested.
Tom Haines' century and Jaydev Unadkat's seven wickets helped Sussex beat Hampshire by 197 runs.
Sussex completed a 197-run win over Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl on the third day of their County Championship match.
Tom Haines scored 130 for Sussex before the visitors declared on 319 for 9. Jaydev Unadkat took 5 for 32 in Hampshire's first innings of 128 and finished with seven wickets for the match.
Hampshire were bowled out for 238 in their second innings, with Tom Price taking 5 for 33. Sussex secured 19 points to guarantee a top-three finish in Division One.
Prasidh Krishna said he wants to be ten times better after injury as he prepares for the five-Test series against Australia.
Prasidh Krishna has already played five-Test series in both Australia and England. Now he's aiming to come back stronger from injury and ready himself for the next one, next year.
The 30-year-old knows India will need to keep intensity up across 25 days of cricket, and he says the side is already planning for that. The series sits right in the middle of the World Test Championship cycle, so the stakes are clear.
Before that, though, comes New Zealand. Krishna sees it as a chance to test how India's fast bowlers handle different conditions, and he puts his own recent consistency down to learning new pitches and leaning on his bowling partners.
Karan Lal and Ishant Bhardwaj stood out at Rajasthan Royals' two-day trials held on September 22 and 23 at the High Performance Centre in Talegaon. Lal scored an unbeaten 54 off 22 balls with six sixes in one of the practice matches.
The 25-year-old Bengal all-rounder also impressed Delhi Capitals scouts earlier in the season with 78 off 34 balls. He topped the run charts and hit the most sixes in the Bengal T20 League 2026.
Left-arm pacer Ishant Bhardwaj, 22, took three wickets across the two matches. Royals veteran Sandeep Sharma spent extended time speaking with the Haryana quick after the sessions.
Gill's ODI year already included 154 against Afghanistan and fifties against New Zealand and England. This was his second hundred of 2026.
Shubman Gill brought up his tenth ODI hundred in the 31st over at the Greenfield International Stadium, putting India on top in a chase of 296. He had won the toss and sent West Indies in, then batted through after taking a blow on the elbow from Mohammed Siraj in Friday's nets. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak cleared him the next morning.
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed Shubman Gill will play the first ODI against the West Indies after the captain took a blow on his right elbow during a net session on Friday. Kotak told reporters the injury was minor and Gill faced throwdowns later in the session.
Gill was hit by a rising delivery from Mohammed Siraj at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. He left the net in visible discomfort before medical staff attended to him.
The 27-year-old will open the batting alongside Rohit Sharma when India begin the three-match series on Sunday.
Warwickshire secured the County Championship with an innings and 79-run win over Leicestershire at Edgbaston.
Warwickshire wrapped up the County Championship at Edgbaston, beating Leicestershire by an innings and 79 runs. They needed seven wickets on the third morning, and Chris Woakes started the job by removing Sol Budinger and Jonathan Tattersall. Ethan Bamber then claimed Ben Cox and Ben Green, while Ed Barnard trapped Ian Holland lbw. The last pair, Tom Scriven and Josh Hull, stretched things until Bamber bowled Scriven for 49 to seal it.
Jordan Cox will replace the injured Jos Buttler as wicketkeeper for England's ODI series decider against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday.
Jordan Cox is set to keep wicket for England in the third and deciding ODI against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Sunday after Jos Buttler was ruled out with a hamstring injury. The 25-year-old has not played an ODI since 2024 but featured in England's 3-0 T20I series sweep against Sri Lanka earlier this summer.
Buttler sustained the injury while batting in the second ODI at Headingley, where he scored 69 off 49 balls before retiring hurt. England lost the match by 16 runs, leaving the three-match series level at 1-1. Sri Lanka posted 321 for six, led by Kusal Mendis's 121, before their death bowlers restricted the hosts to 305 for nine.
Cox has impressed in the Test series against Pakistan, scoring three half-centuries in five innings at number three. He is expected to receive his first central contract next week after a breakthrough summer that has included appearances in all three formats.
Pakistan opener Abdullah Fazal scored an unbeaten 309 off 339 balls on his return from a lower-back injury. His opening partner Hasan Raza made 222 as the pair added 417 for the first wicket.
The innings was Fazal's first since he was ruled out of the West Indies and England tours earlier this year. He had made twin half-centuries on Test debut against Bangladesh in May.
Fazal crossed 2,000 first-class runs during the innings at an average of 47.46. He remains outside the playing XI for the ongoing England series after Pakistan made wholesale changes to the squad and coaching staff mid-tour.
A video of former India batter Vinod Kambli at an elderly care centre in Thane has gone viral. Kambli struggled to speak clearly while praising the facility's care and hygiene.
Kambli, 54, said he was undergoing treatment and felt at home at the centre. He added that he receives love and respect from staff and residents.
His friend Marcus Couto earlier said Kambli has a blood clot in his brain that affects his memory. Kambli's wife Andrea Hewitt dismissed the reports as rumours and said he is fine.
Kohli said the 2019 World Cup semifinal defeat left him distraught. He confirmed 2027 will be his last World Cup for India.
Virat Kohli said the 2019 World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand left him distraught and mentally spent for months afterward. He described the rain-affected loss in Manchester as too tough to swallow after India fell 18 runs short of New Zealand's 239 for eight.
Kohli also said the 2023 World Cup campaign showed progress in team environment despite the final loss to Australia. He confirmed the 2027 ODI World Cup will be his last for India and said he is ready to leave everything out there to win the title.
Kohli needs 59 runs to reach 15,000 ODI runs and 110 runs to break Sachin Tendulkar's record for most ODI runs in home conditions. India face the West Indies in the first of three ODIs at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Virat Kohli said the 2027 ODI World Cup will be his final tournament for India. Speaking ahead of the West Indies series, Kohli said the event is his motivation to leave everything on the field. He added that the goal remains to win the World Cup and that he is ready to do whatever it takes.
Kohli also reflected on the 2019 World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand, calling the loss too tough to swallow. He said he was distraught for months after the rain-affected match in Manchester. He described the 2023 World Cup campaign as a massive step forward but admitted the final defeat to Australia still haunts him.
Kohli needs 59 runs to reach 15,000 ODI runs and will play his 44th ODI against West Indies on Sunday, breaking Mohammad Azharuddin's record for the most appearances by an Indian against the Caribbean side.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been added to India's ODI squad against West Indies as the team prepares for a post-Hardik Pandya future.
India pulled Nitish Kumar Reddy from the Asian Games T20I squad and straight into the ODI side against West Indies. The move signals they're already lining him up as Hardik Pandya's long-term replacement.
Pandya hasn't played an ODI since the Champions Trophy final. A shin injury ruled him out of the New Zealand tour. Head coach Gautam Gambhir said the early call-up gives Nitish game time ahead of the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
Nitish has just six ODIs behind him and is still working on his all-round game, but the selectors aren't treating him as a stop-gap.
Virat Kohli praised Shubman Gill's clarity and intensity as India captain ahead of the West Indies series.
Virat Kohli said Shubman Gill has the perspective and intensity to lead India for a long period. Speaking ahead of the first ODI against West Indies, Kohli said Gill thinks clearly about field placements and bowling changes. He said Gill is not shy to experiment and put opposition batters under pressure.
Kohli said Gill is still young in the role but already possesses the desire to lead in the right way. He said the captain will continue to improve with experience in leadership situations. Gill is currently leading India's ODI side in the three-match series.
Kohli added that Gill has the ability to stay a step ahead of the opposition by devising different plans. He said this quality is a sign of doing something different in the field.
Sagar Virk said Abhishek Sharma’s advice helped him stay calm during difficult moments in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament.
Sagar Virk spent the Sher-e-Punjab T20 in the same dressing room as Abhishek Sharma, and the 17-year-old left with a clearer sense of how to handle pressure. Sharma told the younger players to stick to their own game and trust that runs would follow.
Virk had already shown what he could do — 134 in the Youth Test against Sri Lanka — before he stepped into the India U-19 side for the series against Australia. His parents backed the early-morning nets, and his coach kept pushing after two failed U-16 trials.
The focus now is Australia, then the Asia Cup and World Cup campaigns.
