SPORTS

India will face South Africa in a two-match Test series. The first Test is scheduled to take place at SuperSport Park in Centurion on December 26, whereas the second will be played at Newlands in Cape Town on January 3–7, 2024. India has never managed to win a Test series in South Africa, and so this time under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, the world No. 1 Test team would like to create history and maintain No. 1 position in the World Test Championship 2023-25 Points table as well. For the Test series, India has named a full-fledged squad but will miss the services of Mohammed Shami and Ishan Kishan.

Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has replaced Indian opener Shubman Gill to regain the number one position in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, announced on Wednesday. The change in the rankings occurred as a result of Gill's absence from the ongoing One-Day International series against South Africa. Babar currently holds the top spot with an impressive 824 rating points, while Gill is a close second with 810 points.

The unheralded Sameer Rizvi hit the jackpot in the IPL 2024 auction as the uncapped Indian batter, with a base price of Rs 20 lakh, secured a staggering Rs 8.40 crore deal with the Chennai Super Kings.

The franchises engaged in intense bidding wars before CSK outbid others to bag the batter. CSK entered the fray for the young talent, followed by Gujarat Titans. A back-and-forth bidding war ensued, rapidly driving the bid up to 1 crore.

It appeared to be a sealed deal for CSK at Rs 7.60 crore but Delhi Capitals jumped in with Rs 7.80 crore. However, CSK has signaled their interest with a bid of Rs 8 crore.

In the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) auction set to take place in Dubai on Tuesday, the cricketing world is abuzz with excitement as top-notch players prepare to be part of the bidding war.

Players can initiate the bidding for their services at up to Rs 2 crore, with expectations that the best will command significantly hinger figures.

India pacers Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan helped skittle South Africa out for a lowly 116 before B Sai Sudharsan scored an unbeaten 55 on debut as India cruised to an eight-wicket win in the ODI series opener at The Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Skipper Aiden Markram's decision to bat first proved disastrous as the Proteas were bowled out for their lowest total on home soil in the 50-over format, narrowly underperforming the previous worst mark of 118 - also against India - in Pretoria in 2018.