The big news: Gautam Gambhir makes comeback

Gautam Gambhir has returned to the Indian Test squad after a gap of two years. The Delhi batsman was called up by the new Indian selection panel led by MSK Prasad to take the place of KL Rahul, who injured his hamstring during the first Test match at Kanpur. Injured pacer Ishant Sharma was also ruled out of the second Test match in Kolkata, with uncapped off-spinner Jayant Yadav being named as his replacement.

Gambhir has been in good form scoring 356 runs in five innings at an average of 71.20 in the Duleep trophy. He played his last Test match in August 2014 against England at the Oval.

Other top stories

  1. Board of Control for Cricket in India President Anurag Thakur slammed former selection committee chief Sandeep Patil, accusing him of being "unethical". Patil had said in an interview earlier this month that his selection panel would have dropped Sachin Tendulkar before his eventual retirement and that they had also considered removing Mahendra Singh Dhoni from the captaincy role.
  2. India can win back the No. 1 Test ranking, which they relinquished to arch-rivals Pakistan last month, as they prepare to face New Zealand in Kolkata on Friday. A win in the second Test would help India leapfrog Pakistan to the No. 1 spot.
  3. South African skipper AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the home One-Day International and away Test series against Australia with an elbow injury, the country's cricket board confirmed. The Proteas are scheduled to play five ODIs at home and three Test matches in and against Australia over the next two months.
  4. Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana has signed a one-year deal with Brisbane Heat for the second edition of the Women's Big Bash League, the franchise announced on Tuesday. The 20-year-old opener became the second Indian woman to sign for the WBBL, after India vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur joined defending champions Sydney Thunder earlier this year.
  5. Pakistan completed a 3-0 whitewash against the West Indies after winning the last T20I game on Tuesday. Pakistan won the match by eight wickets with Imad Wasim taking 3/21 to help his side restrict West Indies to 103.
  6. Ireland lost their second One-Day International on the trot after they were beaten by nine wickets by Australia on Tuesday. Ireland were bowled out for 198 and the Aussies cruised to victory with Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith smashing unbeaten knocks of 82 and 59 respectively.