Just when India thought they had a fixed opening pair in the form of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, Gill suffered a shin injury. He was all set to make his case against the best bowlers of England. However, things changed drastically and he had to return home after the WTC final against New Zealand. Tention arose in the KKR dugout as they were worried about his return to the camp ahead of the IPL.

Also Read: ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 fixture and schedule

However, some recent reports and developments suggest that Shubman Gill has recovered from injury. Subsequently, chances of him returning to the KKR dugout ahead of the second phase of the IPL are high as well. A close source of the entire development has revealed that the Punjab batter has recovered and now is in the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

Also Read: Every injured cricketer will now need fitness clearance from NCA

"Gill is in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and has recovered from his shin pain. He will be departing for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) soon for the IPL. He has been at the NCA for a week now."

A source said according to New Indian Express

India's star fast bowler Mohammed Shami is ready to return to competitive cricket after being away from cricket for almost a year. Shami will represent Bengal in the Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh starting on Wednesday. 

Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Full schedule and fixture

NCA gave permission to play

The National Cricket Academy (NCA) has given Shami approval to play. The return of this right-arm fast bowler was considered certain for a long time, but due to the delay in receiving the fitness certificate from NCA, he was not able to participate earlier. It was claimed that for this reason he was not selected in the Indian team for the 5-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia.

Ready to return after a year

Experienced bowler Mohammed Shami was last seen playing in the ODI World Cup 2023 against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19 last year. Since then the pacer has been struggling with injuries. He has been battling with an ankle injury and underwent surgery on his right foot in March earlier this year. Shami has been at the Bengaluru's National Cricket Academy for his rehabilitation.

Shami will play Ranji match against Madhya Pradesh

Bengal Cricket Association Honorary Secretary Naresh Ojha said in a statement, "In a major boost to Indian cricket and the Bengal Ranji Trophy team, star pacer Mohammad Shami will make a comeback into competitive cricket for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match in Indore starting on Wednesday,"

Shami's inclusion will provide a boost to Bengal's fast bowling attack as their bowlers like Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar are currently in Australia with the Indian team. So far in Ranji Trophy 2024, Bengal has scored 8 points in 4 matches, while Madhya Pradesh has scored 10 points in the same number of matches.

Also Read: 6 things Gautam Gambhir said in the press conference ahead of Border-Gavaskar trophy

May return to Indian team

The Indian team will be seen playing a five-match Test series against Australia from November 22. Shami's fitness will be very important for India and he will be monitored during the Ranji match. If Shami proves his fitness in the upcoming four-day match, then it is expected that he can be included in the team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

The selection committee has selected Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana for this series. At the same time, Mukesh Kumar and Khalil Ahmed have been included in the team as reserves.

Rishabh Pant is finally making a return in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) as he was seen playing in a warm-up game in Alur, a Cricbuzz reported. This is the first time Pant is featured in a warm-up game after the fatal accident. Pant will be leading Delhi Capitals in the upcoming edition of the IPL and will be playing only as a batter, according to some sources.

Pant's ability to run and bat looked at the same level before his unfortunate accident. Pant has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and is now looking fit to play the sport again.

Also Read: Exclusive Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal: "Jumping out" from tough times to become Bengal's star of the season

The accident in December 2022 sidelined Spiderman for close to 15 months. He also went to London for some treatment last month which was arranged by the BCCI. But just like a Superhero, he is making a strong return to Cricket.

The potential return of Rishabh Pant to competitive cricket will attract a huge chunk of fans in the upcoming season of the IPL. Fans are eager to see the Spiderman leading Delhi and entertain them just like he always does.

Delhi Capitals are pretty much confident in Pant's leadership and will assign another player for the wicketkeeping duties to take care of. He was retained by the franchise before the mini-auction and he also took part in the auction by sitting alongside the decision makers of Delhi Capitals. In the absence of Pant, David Warner led the team in the previous IPL season but Delhi would like to forget that season.

IPL Chairman Arun Kumar announced, "We plan to begin IPL 2024 on March 22nd." (IANS)#IPL2024 #IPL #indianpremierleague #RohitSharma #Viratkohli #MsDhoni #ShikharDhawan pic.twitter.com/Py6kWec4hw

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) February 20, 2024

The scheduling of the IPL hasn't been decided yet. It is expected to be finalized after the announcement of the general election dates by the Election Commission of India. The IPL schedule will be adjusted accordingly based on the election schedules in various states.

National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman will be India's acting head coach for the upcoming tour of New Zealand as the Rahul Dravid-led coaching staff has been given a break post the team's exit from the T20 World Cup.

Also Read: T20 World Cup: Same old story, India losses yet another knockout match | 5 Reasons behind India's loss

India is slated to play six white-ball games in New Zealand, including three T20Is and as many ODIs, starting November 18 in Wellington.

Senior players like regular skipper Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli, opener KL Rahul, and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been rested for the tour. Meanwhile, the entire coaching staff has also been given a break after the T20 World Cup.

'"The NCA team headed by Laxman with Hrishikesh Kanitkar (batting) and Sairaj Bahutule (bowling) will join the New Zealand-bound squad."

a BCCI source told PTI

This will not be the first time Laxman will be in charge of the Indian team. The former cricketer previously coached India during the tours of Zimbabwe and Ireland. He has also coached in the recent ODI home series against South Africa.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead the side in T20I while veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan will captain the ODI side.

Rohit will be back to lead the side in Bangladesh. Kohli and Ashwin will also return to the squad for the Bangladesh tour where India will play three ODIs and two Tests. The tour begins on December 4.

Read Also: BCCI to leave it to Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli to decide their T20I future

India was unceremoniously knocked out of the T20 World Cup. Team England handed them a 10-wicket hammering in the semifinal in Adelaide on Thursday.

The members who are not part of the New Zealand leg have already started dispersing. While Kohli left from Adelaide, Rahul and Rohit are also expected to fly out soon.

Team India has good news and bad news to deal with. Mohammad Shami has cleared his fitness test and is all set to be named Jasprit Bumrah replacement. However, Deepak Chahar is unlikely to make it to the T20 World Cup. He is still at the NCA and it is unlikely that he will be fit by October 15, when BCCI has to submit the final squad to the ICC. Mohammed Siraj is likely to be named in reserves in place of Chahar.

Also Read: Most Wickets in T20 World Cup history

Shami, Siraj along with Ravi Bishnoi and Shreyas Iyer will take the flight to Australia on October 13 and will link up with the squad in Brisbane. India will play Western Australia on October 13 in Perth but will move to Brisbane on October 14. Gabba will be India's base where they play Australia and New Zealand in warm-up games before T20 World Cup 2022.

"Shami is fit and fine to go. He had a few good sessions. What he lacks is match practice and we have to bank on the two warm-up games to get him at 100%. It's a big challenge but he is an experienced bowler and knows what is needed. Deepak is still not fit. So, we can't take a call on his inclusion yet. The physios will decide in a day or two." 

a member of the selection committee told InsideSport

Shami was brought into the Indian team after the bowlers' poor show in the Asia Cup. The experienced pacer was picked for the T20 World Cup team as well. But unfortunately, Shami contracted Covid-19, ruling him out of India vs Australia series. Despite being tested negative, he has not been able to come back into the manifold.

Read Also: Roger Binny is set to become the new BCCI President, Jay Shah will continue as the Secretary

It is given that the player normally takes time before attaining peak fitness after Covid and it is a growing concern now. It is not only about his fitness though, Shami has not featured in the shorter format for India since November 2021. Add the fitness angle and his lack of international matches is a major concern.

Fans of Team India should see some promise in this. Times Of India (TOI) has learned from dependable sources inside the BCCI that star bowler Jasprit Bumrah is not experiencing a stress fracture of the back, as was first feared and reported by the media, but rather a "stress reaction."

Also Read: India's T20 World Cup Jersey Over The Years

It is debatable whether India will take a chance by sending the injured fast bowler to the T20 World Cup in Australia in the hopes that he will recover in time for the knockout round at the very least.

However, this practically means that Jasprit Bumrah's injury isn't as bad as it initially seemed and the recovery period will be much, much shorter. 

"Scans by the BCCI medical team at the National Cricket Academy (in Bangalore) have revealed that it's not a stress fracture, but 'stress reaction', which is one step less than a stress fracture. It takes 4-6 months to recover from a stress fracture, but normally only about 4-6 weeks to recover from a stress reaction."

 the report said

It is quite improbable that Jasprit Bumrah will fly on October 5 from Mumbai to Perth with the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, where the team will train for the competition. In any scenario, India can hold off making a decision about whether or not to include an injured Bumrah in their team until October 15. 

Read Also: Mohammed Shami likely to play the ODI series against South Africa: Reports

"If a squad member is injured between 16th September (initial submissions) and start of the support period (October 15), they can be replaced without going through the Event Technical Committee," revealed a source in the know of things to TOI.

Team India will fly from Mumbai to Perth in Australia on the evening of October 5 in an effort to acclimate themselves to the local circumstances ahead of the forthcoming T20 World Cup.